Fuel smell inside Jab 230

[skeptic36]

Best brand pfft! How do you know what your getting? In Bruthen we have a (self) service station all painted up in BP colours, but if your driving past at night or early in the morning you are likely to see a United or Mobile tanker unloading. I'm sure it's BP fuel they are unloading right?

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

I have had fuel smell in the cabin of my Savannah when I open it up after a week or so and quite strong but once the doors are left open it just dissappears. It is the osmosis of the fuel hose they used in the kit....just not good enough quality. Reg brost bought a special sniffer meter and worked this out that the odour was generated by osmosis and different brands of fuel were worse than others. The solution is to change the fuel hose out to a barrier type..it is still a rubber hose but it has a very thin teflon type liner on the inside the osmosis factor is like 50 times less with this new hose. All the fuel I use is 98 not avgas....just might be another thought for you...but it is a big problem with most savannah the tube they use is not crap it is just not good enough

 

Mark

 

 

[PA.]

I have been told that 98 octane will reduce in its Octane rating quicker than 95 octane. If you are not using the fuel quickly then 95 octane may actually give you better performance after a month. I use 95 and 98 in my motorbike but I don't use 98 when it will need to be stored for awhile. If I have 98 in the can after awhile I will just put it in the car to burn it off.

 

 

[facthunter]

You must go through some cars. Nev

 

 

[jeffd]

Hey guys, I saw this post a few days back on another forum... have a read.. this guys has a Jabiru.---------------

Fuel for Thought

 

Another gremlin has appeared lately; an especially destructive little monster which has started

 

chewing on fuel tanks, causing leaks. Because formulations vary so widely I normally don’t like

 

naming names, but in this case it does appear that Shell V-Power (98 RON) is a common factor in

 

many cases. Indications are that this fuel (and others like it) contain a relatively high proportion of

 

Aromatics: highly volatile compounds, including nasties like Toluene. Unfortunately, the sealant

 

used in our fuel tanks is not suitable for use with compounds like this: Toluene is often used as a

 

cleaner or as paint thinners and is pretty aggressive stuff!

 

Most issues seem to occur in cooler climates where a highly volatile component like Toluene would

 

make sense in assisting cold starting your car after it was parked in the snow all weekend – but we

 

recommend that all operators review Service Letter JSL007, understand the content, the

 

compromises and risks inherent in using automotive fuel. It’s strange to be feeling nostalgic about

 

the “good old days” when the most destructive component of MOGAS was Ethanol, but here we are:

 

there’s progress! Remember, the days of “fill and forget” are gone: there are many traps waiting to

 

bite if you take the contents of your tank for granted.

 

In response to the leakage issues we’ve started a new round of testing with a sealant which we are

 

promised is the last word in chemical resistance: proof against fuels, volatile hydrocarbons and even

 

acids. All going to plan, we will release this product to service as soon as testing is complete. Early

 

indications are that this compound will also be suitable as a retrofit, to re-coat tanks currently using

 

other sealants. In the interim I’d recommend using a 95 Octane fuel instead of 98 as they appear to contain less

 

destructive aromatics. Of course, good old AVGAS is still a lovely stable fuel which doesn’t attack

 

anything but your bank balance – but we realise that it’s not practical for everyone.

 

------------

hey david am tryin to catch up with u give me a call wen u can 0407717273 jeff

 

 

[magishme]

Hey guys, I saw this post a few days back on another forum... have a read.. this guys has a Jabiru.---------------

Fuel for Thought

 

Another gremlin has appeared lately; an especially destructive little monster which has started

 

chewing on fuel tanks, causing leaks. Because formulations vary so widely I normally don’t like

 

naming names, but in this case it does appear that Shell V-Power (98 RON) is a common factor in

 

many cases. Indications are that this fuel (and others like it) contain a relatively high proportion of

 

Aromatics: highly volatile compounds, including nasties like Toluene. Unfortunately, the sealant

 

used in our fuel tanks is not suitable for use with compounds like this: Toluene is often used as a

 

cleaner or as paint thinners and is pretty aggressive stuff!

 

Most issues seem to occur in cooler climates where a highly volatile component like Toluene would

 

make sense in assisting cold starting your car after it was parked in the snow all weekend – but we

 

recommend that all operators review Service Letter JSL007, understand the content, the

 

compromises and risks inherent in using automotive fuel. It’s strange to be feeling nostalgic about

 

the “good old days” when the most destructive component of MOGAS was Ethanol, but here we are:

 

there’s progress! Remember, the days of “fill and forget” are gone: there are many traps waiting to

 

bite if you take the contents of your tank for granted.

 

In response to the leakage issues we’ve started a new round of testing with a sealant which we are

 

promised is the last word in chemical resistance: proof against fuels, volatile hydrocarbons and even

 

acids. All going to plan, we will release this product to service as soon as testing is complete. Early

 

indications are that this compound will also be suitable as a retrofit, to re-coat tanks currently using

 

other sealants. In the interim I’d recommend using a 95 Octane fuel instead of 98 as they appear to contain less

 

destructive aromatics. Of course, good old AVGAS is still a lovely stable fuel which doesn’t attack

 

anything but your bank balance – but we realise that it’s not practical for everyone.

 

------------

http://www.jabiru.net.au/images/Blurb_fuel_winter.pdf

Here is the source from Jabiru.

 

 

[jetjr]

My fuel smell turned out to be the tester kept in the door pocket!!!

 

Took it out for a few days and smell went away

 

 

[Oscar]

Best brand pfft! How do you know what your getting? In Bruthen we have a (self) service station all painted up in BP colours, but if your driving past at night or early in the morning you are likely to see a United or Mobile tanker unloading. I'm sure it's BP fuel they are unloading right?

Mate of mine used to be the manager of the Shell refinery at Clyde (Sydney). One day, a new apprentice there came and complained to him that the Shell PULP was 'crap', my car runs way better on BP'. He patted the guy on the shoulder and said: 'well, you ought to use the BP stuff then'. What the apprentice didn't realise was that there was a bloody pipeline running from the Shell facility through to the BP depot next door, delivering all of the local BP outlets with Shell product... Most of the difference between fuels in any area served by a local major refinery / distributor is in the paint on the tanker that heads out the gate, though some of the companies may chuck in a slightly different additive here and there - most of which tend to be aromatics that evaporate pretty quickly.

 

I have been told that 98 octane will reduce in its Octane rating quicker than 95 octane. If you are not using the fuel quickly then 95 octane may actually give you better performance after a month. I use 95 and 98 in my motorbike but I don't use 98 when it will need to be stored for awhile. If I have 98 in the can after awhile I will just put it in the car to burn it off.

Absolutely correct, and that effect gets worse with elevation. If you leave your tank(s) full as per the best practice to limit water condensation and don't fly for several weeks even, that 98 RON isn't going to be 98 any more.

 

 

[magishme]

Mate of mine used to be the manager of the Shell refinery at Clyde (Sydney). One day, a new apprentice there came and complained to him that the Shell PULP was 'crap', my car runs way better on BP'. He patted the guy on the shoulder and said: 'well, you ought to use the BP stuff then'. What the apprentice didn't realise was that there was a bloody pipeline running from the Shell facility through to the BP depot next door, delivering all of the local BP outlets with Shell product... Most of the difference between fuels in any area served by a local major refinery / distributor is in the paint on the tanker that heads out the gate, though some of the companies may chuck in a slightly different additive here and there - most of which tend to be aromatics that evaporate pretty quickly.

Quite right Oscar. My previous career was in the Oil Industry in Queensland. They have two refineries here. One is Caltex and the other is BP. They have a national sharing arrangement as the infrastructure costs of more than a couple of refineries in each major city doesn't stack up, so they share nationally and then invoice the differences from what they drew from each other among other calcs here and there.

 

 

[jetjr]

All correct except theres plenty of imported fuel around too Id say.

 

When tendering on buying large quantities like 40,000L per month you get some interesting replies and some really crap product.

 

Big brand companies are shedding smaller regional servos, they then can now buy whatever from whoever they like.

 

Narromine, for example, lost both BP and Caltex in the last year or so, fuel probably still comes from there but now all 3 outlets now run by independants (a good thing in the bigger picture). Im sure they try hard to keep quality up but would be tough on low volume products.

 

Ive heard one of them now owns Avgas pump at the airport too and promises to keep it there and do their best on pricing. Hes a pilot and has a twin there which is great for the future.

 

If you can get good quality 98 then Im sure its OK but I'm not sure away from capitals thats the case.

 

An issue with 98 is outside main centres few use it so volumes are down, fuel is maybe older, uses small storage tanks........... summary is quality can be ordinary and worse it is variable.

 

 

[magishme]

Some independent operators are adding ethanol themselves which causes concern for quality and mix ratios.