----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Well what the hell here my two cent worth. My Alon is STC'ed
for
Auto Gas. In the four or five years I have flown her not once have I used
auto gas. While I know the working parts of her I don't know what is in
the
pump or what material (rubber) is used in the fuel lines. (Yes I know time
to install new fuel lines) My EAA STC states no Alcohol. When I need fuel
I
am not the kind of fellow who want to take my gas cans up to get some
fuel.
Test it to see if the water and fuel do it thing then pump three 5 gallon
plastic jugs full. Take it back to the airplane. Ground the can and pour
fuel into the wing tank. Spill a quart on the wing. Wipe it up. Go to the
other tank and do the same thing over again. My time to me is worth more
to
me that the money I save. PLUS I want my FBO to be there tomorrow. Warren
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2001 12:49 AM
To: Coupers Tech
Subject: Re: [COUPERS-TECH] [COUPERS] Auto Fuel
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any
advice in this forum.]----
Harry, Anthony, all .
This story shows the real danger in the use of Auto Gas.
The manufacturer rules are less strict here. In the automobile world one
can get almost anything sold as 'Gasoline'.
If one uses auto gas (like I do) one has to follow common sense and be
alert.
Nothing wrong with using Auto gas. Our little Continentals don't need
100LL, the compression ratio is way to low to requiere high octan
gasoline. There are two fears on using auto gas: Vapor lock and burned
valve seats.
The danger of a vapor lock is pretty much non excisting in Ercoupes
thanks to the Header tank / Gascolator assembly.
Modern Auto Fuels are having additives which take away the danger of
worn valve seats.
And Autogas seems to be nicer to the valves because of the lack of lead
deposites on the stems. So, all in all Autogas seems to be o.k. .
The rules are: Check what you get, check for Alcohol (bad for some fuel
lines and gaskets) and .... burn it away soon. If you don't use your
coupe for a while fill it up with AVGas .(one should do that anyway to
avoid condensation of water in the tanks).
That's it. Safe thing. In my 2 years of using autogas I never had a
problem ( I fly almost every weekend though)
As for the new autogas which supposively will be available soon on
airports one can only hope that the quality control will be the same
standard as for Avgas and the same fuel stabilizer will be used as they
use in Jet fuel . And if it is cheaper then 100LL sure I will fly
that....
Hartmut
N3330H
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Anthony,
>
> I used Amoco Ultimate for many years, with no problems, until the last
> fill
> up.....the gasoilne smelled asphaltic/jet fuel like.....I paid no
> attention,
> and had no problem until I left the airplane sitting for several
> months. On
> checking the gascolater, I had a green substance in the tank drains
> and
> gascolator..and a thick green growth on the underside of my fuel
> caps....
>
> I sent samples to Amoco..they only responded, ????but did not/would
> not
> analyze the green stuff....
>
> I am now convinced the green stuff was algae...typically grows in jet
> fuel,
> and is killed by additives in jet fuel.(Prist)..to prevent its growth.
> Leaded
> Aviation fuel is also poisonious to the algae...(tetra ethyl lead );
> so no
> algae growth when using Av fuel.
>
> And probably no problem if the fuel is used up pretty quickly, before
> the
> algae has a chance to grow....
>
> Gasoline , fuel oil, jet fuel, kerosene are all pumped thru the same
> pipelines through- out the country from the refineries to
> storage/distribution farms. The "plug" of contaminated fuel - that
> fuel that
> is mixed at the interface of gasoline and fuel oil, for example, is
> removed
> from the pipes and re-refined.
>
> I think I got a dose of jet fuel, etc. that was not properly separated
> in the
> transportation of the fuels to the storage tanks.
>
> It took me several weeks to finally clean all the tanks, lines,
> etc.....and
> now because I am still only using the coupe occassionally, I only use
> 100 LL
> with Tetra Ethyl Lead, to kill any potential algae.....
>
> Auto fuel again ?....I think so, but I will carefully notice the
> odor...no
> asphaltic smells for me..., and probably mix with 100LL so as to keep
> the
> algae growth controlled.
>
> I drained my tanks, used 100 LL and Prist ( the additive used in Jet
> fuel to
> kill algae), and still had a hard time getting a clean system.
>
> Foolishly, I saved the gasoilne and put it in my autos ( before I
> realized
> the potential algae problem). Algae likes copper......., and almost
> immediately I lost both auto fuel guages...I quickly refueled one of
> them and
> added prist; and the fuel guage again works. I left the fuel in the
> other too
> long apparently, and now need to replace the tank unit...Could have
> been a
> co-incidence, but same timing on both vehicles????
>
> Now, all this is just my observation, and has not been scientifically
> checked
> and verified. But if true, then the use of auto fuel or even unleaded
> aviation fuel ( no poison to algae) may result in a problem. With the
> development of unleaded av Fuel, a algacide may be needed, because it
> is
> almost impossible to be sure the "plug of contaimnated fuel" is
> completely
> clean.....
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
>
> Harry Francis
> Blacksburg, VA.
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