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Gas, Ethanol and Mr.Funnel
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henry.voris



Joined: 02 Mar 2007
Posts: 116
Location: Pueo Field, Kula, Maui

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 12:04 am    Post subject: Re: Gas, Ethanol and Mr.Funnel Reply with quote

Jack,

I like your fueling routine. I'm looking forward to returning to a more relaxed regime when I'm able to get ethanol free fuel. The ethanol/gas mix has given the boaters such fits they've pressured the state, so soon we'll be able to ethanol free fuel at a few sites. (I wonder if I'll have to put floats on her???)

I also like your advice about using 2.5 gallon cans... I am constantly eye-balling my fuel cans for contaminates In Arizona I would use Red Line and a dash of Marvel Mystery Oil for my mix. It made the fuel red and it was very easy to see the bottom of a five gallon can. In humid Hawaii I switched to the Pennzoil. It turns the mix blue and I can no longer see the bottom. I think 2.5 gallon cans could be the solution.

When your fuel is switched to ethanol, perhaps you might consider a switch in your approach to water in the bottom of the fuel cans... I would not fly on ethanol/gas that has water in the bottom of the can. By absorbing water, the ethanol masks any water in the fuel, until the fuel is saturated and can hold no more. If I can see water at the bottom, I know that fuel has reached it's saturation point, and any additional water or a drop in temperature can cause further failure and separation. Also... (minor point) the water at the bottom of the tank isn't just water. It's water bound up with the ethanol. Without the ethanol the octane rating of the fuel plummets.

You said your state will be switching to ethanol/gas at the first of the year. The first of the ethanol/gas into the system should be the most contaminated. It will pick up all the moisture that has accumulated since the system was last purged... When Hawaii first went to ethanol, I got some that filled my float chamber with water/ethanol separate and killed the engine. Lucky it was in my motorcycle. Since then I haven't had a problem.

After they've run enough of it through the system, the ethanol should work in favor of delivering "dry" fuel to the customer.

I believe that the dangers from ethanol are rather small. (I agree with Jet Pilot, that we don't hear of a lot of planes falling out of the sky because of bum fuel...) With extra care in handling the fuel and the right equipment (gascolator or sump) the problems can be further reduced to a manageable level. Until I can get unadulterated fuel, I'll fly on the stuff.... But I'm not happy about it.

There are reasons why neither the FAA nor the EAA will OK flying on an ethanol/gas mix at any ratio...


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jb92563



Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 314
Location: Southern California

PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Gas, Ethanol and Mr.Funnel Reply with quote

Well I just bought a Funnel from West Marine.

Description: Medium Funnel - 3.5GPM, 8-3/4"H x 5-1/2"Dia., 100 Micron
Price: $ 24.99 USD

It says right on the box that is will not work on the water saturated in the ethanol, and it also does not work as well if the water/fuel is highly agitated from vibration so you should let the fuel source sit still for a couple minutes before pouring if it was highly agitated via vibration.

It does say that you can filter pre-mixed fuel but the detergents in the oil cause more of the water to make it through the filter so they recommend mixing the 2 cycle oil after filtering the fuel.

I'll filter all my fuel from now on based on what I have heard here.

All this talk about dirty fuel has surprised me as I did not expect the fuel to be so contaminated with dirt, organisms and water....I just though that it was ME introducing contamination in the fuel.

Thanks for the lively discussions and illuminating knowledge.


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