Jeff Scott wrote: > People on the KRNet make a fuss about using only vinyl-ester, but > unless you are planning to run alcohol contaminated fuel, epoxy tanks > really aren't an issue...
I've learned not to trust auto fuel of any kind if you buy it from an "off-brand" establishment, and that's often where auto fuel without ethanol comes from (around here, anyway). For a while there were no "reputable" stations (the big names, with actual quality control standards) that sold ethanol-free fuel in my area, so I had to get it in places that gave me the creeps. The last time I bought fuel for the Swift (which has an auto-fuel STC), I filled several 6 gallon cans with some stuff from the local "no-name" ethanol free gas station...and boy did that stuff stink! I should have quit when I noticed the smell, but wasn't entirely sure where the smell was coming from, until I was pouring it in the Swift the next day...very funky smelling fuel. I should have drained it right then, but I didn't think it would be a problem. Next time I came in the hangar that funky smell was overwhelming, the two main 1.25" fuel hoses that connect the wing tanks to the sump were weeping fuel, and the hoses were mushy and failing. I found the tanks empty, and after I removed the hoses later, I found what you see in the photo below...two "exploded" hoses. I don't know what chemical was in that gasoline, but it was not rubber friendly! I suspect "plug gas", which a no-man's-land volume of petrochemical brew that results from the pipeline transport system where two adjacent loads of fuel get combined into something you don't want to run in your car, much less your airplane. It's cheap though, so the no-name no-conscience fuel establishments buy it, and you're screwed! My point is...stick to reputable gas stations, especially if they turn over a lot of fuel. That's a good sign. I've run over 5000 gallons of Raceway auto-fuel through N56ML's vinylester tanks, much of which contained ethanol, and never had any problem, not even water. I have heard lots of stories about various epoxies with ethanol-tolerance "issues" though. See enclosed photo. It's a sobering thought. Fortunately I never had the chance to run the thing, so I don't have to fear carburetor or pump damage. I've since replaced the hoses, and at the moment it's full of 100LL. And the answer to the next question is "yes, I'm still working on getting it back in the air, maybe this spring..." Mark Langford ML at N56ML.com http://www.n56ml.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: exploded_hose.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 84564 bytes Desc: not available URL: <http://list.krnet.org/mailman/private/krnet_list.krnet.org/attachments/20161113/404bbccc/attachment.jpg>
