Take the POLL: Premium Mogas vs Rec Fuel

[NoWingsAttached]

Originally Posted by eddie

its the alcohol fuel that has a short shelf life.however i have used alcohol fuel that was a year old in my mower and weedeater without any problems,wouldnt put it in my gyro though.
I burn alcohol 10% fuel in my turbocharged 2.5 RAF without any problems. best regards,eddie.....

I've done random sampling of gasohol and never found anything worse than 5% -OH, even though they warn that it "may contain up to 10%".

So chances are pretty good you never burn any 10%, or rarely do. You can get a $5 calibrated test tube from any popular aircraft parts supplier for builders, comes with instructions how to use it. Very simple, very accurate, and not very messy.

EAA Advisory is that ANY aircraft fuel with ANY trace of ethanol MUST BE USED IMMEDIATELY, WITHIN 3 days of pumping it into your tank. If you are not flying until the next week, or more, YOU MUST DRAIN YOUR TANK AND STORE THE FUEL IN A NON-VENTILATED CAN OR CELL!!! If you do not follow this rule, you'd better drain the tank before you fly again, and use it in your truck or your tractor or something else. This goes for all engines, not just 2-cycle.

[gyronutjoe]

Good Luck with That Eddie. Alcohol in gasoline causes more problems than just damaging rubber and plastics. It will pull moisture out of the air and as the fuel gets warmer during the day the more it pulls. Now when fuel gets cooler at night the water settles out into the bottom of the tank or when your flying and with the cooler air a few thousand feet up. Doesn't remix and it doesn't burn. The ethanol can and will etch needles vales in carbs causing leaks. Damage injectors so they wont spray even. This damage is caused by the water as its denser than gas. And sometimes even the aluminum will be attacked. I deal with it every day as a business owner and vehicle mechanic. Oh just for laughs if anyone says that the first cars made ran on alcohol they were correct. those engines had no plastic or rubber parts. gaskets were wax coated paper or copper. seals were graphite coated string (crankshaft seals). Valves used leather seals fuel pumps also leather. Steal fuel lines were coiled to allow flexing from body to engine. Plus other things that are not done anymore today.

[eddie]

GYRONUTJOE/NOWINGS ATTACHED: Thanks for the info i know a fellow in s.carolina that has been using mogas with acohol for years in his RAF without any issues,to date i have had good success . sometimes my fuel sits for a week or more without any problems,i am aware of all of the related problems and have been keeping track of them,so far so good,its good to know about the actual percent of alcohol in the fuel. thanks again.best regards,eddie.....