Aspen is a brand name of Alkylate petrol, which can be used instead of fuel from petrol station pumps. ‘But why not just use petrol from a station pump?’ we hear you ask. Well, Alkylate helps to keep your engine cleaner, and gives better running protection, performance, and an improved service life. Have you ever gone to use your lawnmower after a holiday, or forgotten to drain the petrol before winter storage and found that the engine won’t start? While the petrol in pumps is perfectly good for larger engines like the ones you’d find on a car or a motorbike, for use with smaller engines such as the ones you find on a lawnmower, a cleaner fuel (such as Aspen) is much more effective.

Aspen lasts approximately 10 times longer than regular petrol, and can be stored for up to five years without losing quality. This means that if your machine is going to be used periodically, or you store it over the winter, you’ll be able to leave the Aspen in the machine and start easily when it comes to next use. In fact, many manufacturers recommend that only alkylate petrol is used with their engines.

Carburettor damage can be caused by using fuel with ethanol in small engines.

Regular petrol typically contains between 5 and 10% ethanol, while Aspen doesn’t contain any. In cars, ethanol reduces fuel mileage, and it can even damage the fuel system if the engine it’s used with isn’t specifically designed for it (which many smaller engines won’t be). Carburettor seals, fuel lines and valves can all fail prematurely when they’re not designed for use with alcohol, which is one of the reasons we see such a good uptake of Aspen for use with garden machinery.

Another benefit of Aspen fuel is that alkylate petrol is actually much better for the environment (and the user) than regular petrol. The fuel contains 99% less hydrocarbons than the fuel you buy at the petrol station, which means that the exhaust fumes are cleaner, and health risks are reduced. Aspen fuel has been labelled as harmful, while unleaded pump fuel is labelled as toxic. Regular petrol contributes to the formation of ground level ozone (not the good type) while Aspen gives out a far reduced amount of the substances which cause this. In fact, when compared with premium unleaded petrol, Aspen fuel emissions contain significantly reduced amounts of each of the hazardous emissions which are a by-product of fuel combustion.