Ethanol bad for gasoline fuel cell bladders

[mbuskuhl]

... according to Fuel Safe it is, here is the press release

(it's a Fuel Safe PR, just happens to be hosted on NASA site)

http://www.nasaproracing.com/norcal/.../fuelsafe2.pdf

I would imagine same holds true for ATL but have not seen anything yet.

Edit:

Correction, maybe not such an issue according to ATL...

Q: Do ATL Super Cells (soft rubber bladders) resist alcohol fuels?
A: Most Super Cells display good tolerance for 15% ethanol and methanol additives if these are homogeneously blended with gasoline. Otherwise, select from ATL's broad range of alcohol bladders: Saver Cells, Sports Cells, 400 Series Sprint Cells or Type 870-B Custom Made Alky Bladders.

Q:Does ATL produce fuel cells for "flex-fuel" cars?
A:Yes, ATL's Sports Cells and Saver Cells offer good resistance to aromatic gasoline, diesel, Jet fuels, ethanol, methanol, bio-diesel, M85, E85 and oxygenated no-leads. However, a thorough annual fuel system inspection is highly recommended.

Q:What is the difference between Fuel Safe Cells and ATL Cells?
A:Fuel Safe, also known as Aircraft Rubber Manufacturing Inc., uses a "thermoset" rubber technology on most of their gasoline and alcohol cells, while ATL leans toward the "thermoplastic" rubber approach. Of course, we feel the ATL methods are superior in weight saving and longevity, but ATL prices are frankly a tad higher than Fuel Safe's. Both Companies enjoy approvals from all major sanctioning organizations.

[Parrish57]

I had a discussion about this with the Fuel Safe rep about 3 years ago. He stated that they had a problem with their fuel cell foam because some of the race fuels were blended with Ethanol as an oxygenate. It broke down the foam. As it turns out, all fuel cell foam decays over time. Mine was 6 to 7 years old when I noticed foam material in my filter. To my knowledge I never put any fuel in the tank that had ethanol additives. FWIW