Fuel check

[old man emu]

Saw 91 octane at $1.14 near Bankstown on Monday.

[onetrack]

91 octane is selling at a Shell servo at Warnbro, S of Perth, for $1.11 yesterday and today. The talk is ULP will soon be at $1.00, so hopefully, avgas will go down - but not to $1.50, the avgas market is too small for that to happen.

[Thruster88]

On a slightly different tack...I guess we will now see avgas at less than $1.50 litre?

 

Avgas has been $ 1.69 at Orange NSW for some time so it may happen. There might also be an upsurge in mogas STC for suitable certified aircraft.

[Roscoe]

Avgas has been $ 1.69 at Orange NSW for some time so it may happen. There might also be an upsurge in mogas STC for suitable certified aircraft.

Really?

I paid $2.04 at Orange 2 weeks ago for Avgas at the Cardswipe Bowser.

[old man emu]

Discount for cash?

[Orf]

I once was refueled from a 44 gallon drum where the refueler put the pump right to the bottom of the drum. The result was over a litre of water being pumped into my tank. On doing a fuel check straight after the refuel, it became obvious that I had water in the tank. I drained out about 20 L of fuel/water and demanded a top-up at no expense.

[turboplanner]

I once was refueled from a 44 gallon drum where the refueler put the pump right to the bottom of the drum. The result was over a litre of water being pumped into my tank. On doing a fuel check straight after the refuel, it became obvious that I had water in the tank. I drained out about 20 L of fuel/water and demanded a top-up at no expense.

Yes, that can be the reality, as is storm ingress, and the reason we do a fuel/water check after every refuel and before each day's use.

[Yenn]

The easiest way for water to get into a 44 gallon drum is for it to be sucked in through the bung as the drum cools and the internal air pressure drops. THey can pick up quite a lot of water that way. Always make sure that the bungs are not covered in water.

[old man emu]

Always make sure that the bungs are not covered in water.

 

The easiest way is to lay drums on their long side. The hardest thing to do is to get a full drum up on its base.

[Thruster88]

Easier just to tip them a little bit and slide a brick under with your foot

[facthunter]

Legally, once a drum is opened you should use the lot. Great care should be exercised in any other circumstances. Nev.

[turboplanner]

Easier just to tip them a little bit and slide a brick under with your foot

That's the way farmers have done it for a century or more.

Bungs at 90 degrees to the brick or 4x2 and the drum is self draining.

Bung Pump pickup pipes normally don't go the full depth, so they leave a safe margin above any collected water.

[Flying Binghi]

Do that at a metropolitan airport in Australia and you are in breach of

AIRPORTS (ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION) REGULATIONS 1997 - REG 4.01

General duty to avoid polluting

(1) The operator of an undertaking at an airport must take all reasonable and practicable measures:

 

(a) to prevent the generation of pollution from the undertaking; or

 

(b) if prevention is not reasonable or practicable--to minimise the generation of pollution from the undertaking.

 

I see the word “minimise” - I woulda thought a fuel checker bottle amount were minimal..

 

 

 

 

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[old man emu]

I see the word “minimise” - I woulda thought a fuel checker bottle amount were minimal..

 

I see your and raise you

 

There's probably more pollutants dropping onto an airport that are generated by the motor vehicles driving past, and the industry of a city, but let's say that each fuel drain is 100 ml. If an airport has some active flying schools, each of which does 10 training flights per day, that's 1 litre of fuel per day. Allowing for non-flying days, that could amount to 250 litres per year. Since a flying school's aircraft would all be parked in a small area, that's a lot of fuel to be thrown on a small space (relative to the area of the airport) to pollute the soil and groundwater. Put it in a tin and use it in your lawn mower and whipper-snipper.

 

I know that 100 ml seems insignificant to a once-a-week pilot, and of itself it is, but it is the cumulative effect that the Regulation is trying to minimise.

[Flying Binghi]

...There's probably more pollutants dropping onto an airport that are generated by the motor vehicles driving past, and the industry of a city, but let's say that each fuel drain is 100 ml. If an airport has some active flying schools, each of which does 10 training flights per day, that's 1 litre of fuel per day. Allowing for non-flying days, that could amount to 250 litres per year. Since a flying school's aircraft would all be parked in a small area, that's a lot of fuel to be thrown on a small space (relative to the area of the airport) to pollute the soil and groundwater. Put it in a tin and use it in your lawn mower and whipper-snipper.

 

I know that 100 ml seems insignificant to a once-a-week pilot, and of itself it is, but it is the cumulative effect that the Regulation is trying to minimise.

 

No argument about using the fuel in the mower or etc - it ain’t cheap.

 

Though the claims of pollution? One bushfire will coat every thing down wind of it with lead and other nasties. Sea spray has lead in it. Unless yer running a smelting operation with yer waste avgas I wouldn’t think there’d be any real level of “pollution”.....?

 

 

 

 

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[barryco]

I fuel up first and then do my pre-flight and general preparation before testing the fuel to allow maximum time for any water to settle. I leave the fuel drainer on the left seat so I don't forget to test before start up.....

[old man emu]

I was trying to point out that every drop of fuel, oil, brake dust and combustion product is a pollutant. There is no way we can have our lifestyle and not pollute. No argument there. The best we can do is to avoid unnecessary polluting.

 

It's ironic that if you don't throw your fuel drain on the ground, but put it in a tin then use it in the mower, you'll still be putting out pollutants. It's a no-win situation, but at least using the fuel in an engine gets some benefit from the energy expended in its mining and refining.