----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Leslie, I used Mogas for about 15 years...from the first approval by EAA. However, when my situation changed to very little use of the airplane, I ran into a problem I have not discussed with EAA. On one filling of fuel I noticed a tar like odor...or maybe better - a fuel oil odor to my gasoline. I didn't pay much attention - thought , well maybe the separation was not as good as desired. ( Gasoline and all petroleum products are shipped thru pipelines; and at the destination storage facility, they separate out a portion of the fuel slug so as to assure purity of the fuel stored. ( The seperated slug of fuel/oil mixture is re-refined and sold back to the industry). Evidently the separation on my refill was not accomplished as desired, thus the odor, but I had little concern. This was a serious mistake. It probably would have made little if any difference in performance, etc, if I was flying regularly and refueling frequently, etc.. BUT, the coupe was sitting mostly, and very little fuel used on run-ups, and fast taxiing. After a while, I began to get green goo in my sump checks......and later grew a green paste on the inside of my fuel caps...I sent a sample to Amoco, and they refused to even consider the "problem".... I never did look at the mess under a microscope to assure it was algae....tho I am 99.999% sure that was the problem. Algae grows in fuel oils, jet fuels, etc....and an algicide is added to jet fuel to prevent its growth. (Prist). I understand that Leaded fuels are poisonous to the algae, ...So, we don't see the problem in aviation fuel..., or in automotive high use situations where any small growth is filtered out and/or burned. BUT, my coupe sat for long periods of time, giving the algae a perfect environment to grow..... After cleaning the system, adding prist, cleaning the system many times, and reverting to 100 LL, it seemed I had rid myself of the green goo....or so I thought. John Wright, Jr, is restoring my coupe, and recently had a look at my header tank.....and wondered what the GOO was in the bottom of the tank. It appears the goo was algae that had died, but still was a slug of mess in the header tank.....material that did not flow thru to the gascolater... Sure am glad he trucked the coupe to John's shop, instead of me flying it out there on a ferry permit. I have not shared this with EAA, but will do so. I think it is of real concern for airplanes that are not used on a regular basis...the possibility of a slight contamination of fuel oil and growth of algae.... Perhaps a mixture of 100 ll and Mogas would be suitable...lower lead for the little Continentals, and sufficient lead to kill the algae.....? Regards, Harry Francis Blacksburg, VA N-93530 ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8Sid.bAhN69 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
