Scudrunners

All my life, I have watched students drain the fuel before every
flight, which isn't what the POH says to do, incidentally.  What
a stupid fucking waste of time.  I cringe when I see what FTU's
teach students to do.  What a useless waste of time.

Listen.  Fuel gets into an aircraft gas tank, via the [i]filler neck[/i],
two ways (see below).

Condensation, regardless of what you are told, is not a serious
source of water in the gas tank unless it's been parked for 100
years.  An aircraft that's been parked for 100 years is fucked
anyways, in case you didn't know.

Fuel gets into an aircraft gas tank, via one of two ways:

1) the gas cap seal is older than your mother, and is no longer
perky, and if the aircraft sits outside in the rain, it doesn't do
it's job of sealing the gas cap.

2) bad gas.  I've had water in 100LL from a bowser in NC that
said outside in a torrential downpour, and it pumped a nice
mixture of avgas and water into my tank.

Hopefully #2 never happens to you, and even though no mechanic
will [i]ever[/i] recommend it, change your fucking gas cap seals, ok?

They ought to be changed every 5-10 years at least, for an aircraft
that sits outside in the rain.  An aircraft that is hangared will NOT
get water in the tank, unless someone pumps bad gas into it.

I learned this lesson in an M20J parked in Florida.  Fuel drained ok,
engine quit.  Turned out, it was just water coming out of the drain -
no gas.

Change your fucking gas cap seals.

More irony:  95% of the time, it doesn't rain here.  Sunny, blue skies
and warm almost every day.  That's who's giving advice on airplanes
parked out in the rain.

[img width=500 height=375][/img]

Having lunch, overlooking the 18th green at Pebble Beach, with the
other losers here.  The wife is fond of Carmel-by-the-sea, the home
of the Newly Wed and the Living Dead.  I like to go to Clint Eastwood's
restaurant.  Mission Ranch is nice little hotel.  Last time I stayed there,
I threw Andrew Jacksons at the piano player all night, to play nothing
but Gordon Lightfoot.  Seriously.  Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. 
Carefree Highway.  Sundown.  Early Morning Rain.  Did she mention
my name.

http://www.missionranchcarmel.com

That's what fucking losers do, that aren't employed by TC or AC -
you know, the [u]Kings of Canadian Aviation.[/u]

After I drained the sumps I would always look at the pool of fuel on the ground.
Water sits on top of asphalt in drops while fuel is absorbed by the asphalt.
Useful to know what you are draining.

[quote author=Colonel Sanders link=topic=9252.msg25385#msg25385 date=1540598515]
All my life, I have watched students drain the fuel before every
flight, which isn't what the POH says to do, incidentally.  What
a stupid fucking waste of time.  I cringe when I see what FTU's
teach students to do.  What a useless waste of time.[left][/l][/quote]

[color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][size=16px]I don't think so. I drain the fuel every time. And I have found contamination usually a bit, sometime more than a bit.[/size][size=2px][[/size][/color]


[quote author=Colonel Sanders link=topic=9252.msg25385#msg25385 date=1540598515]
Change your fucking gas cap seals.[/quote]

[color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][font=times new roman][size=16px]It is very good advice, except for one problem, I rent a bunch of different aircraft and have no control over their maintenance. So I drain.[/size][/font][/color]
[quote author=Colonel Sanders link=topic=9252.msg25385#msg25385 date=1540598515]
[color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][font=times new roman][size=16px]I learned this lesson in an M20J parked in Florida.  Fuel drained ok,[/size][/font][/color][color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][font=times new roman][size=16px]engine quit.  Turned out, it was just water coming out of the drain -[/size][/font][/color][color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][font=times new roman][size=16px]no gas.[/size][/font][/color][/quote][color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][/color]

[color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][font=times new roman][size=16px]Had this happen once as well(in an aircraft that had a known problem of some water in the fuel system. That is why you don't just drain and look for a separation between fluids. You drain, look for the line separating water from fuel(or any other sort of contaminant, and then you hold the container of fuel in front of a white background(most planes have some white) and look for the proper colour fuel which is usually blue. [/size][/font][/color]

[color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][font=times new roman][size=16px]Sometimes that doesn't work when using mogas. A sniff might help or some fuel drained on a surface where it evaporation rate can be noted. Water, slow evaporation. Gas, fast evaporation.Worried about jet fuel mixed in. Drop a bit on a towel. If a ring is left after evaporation, think jet fuel contamination. A drop on a tire may work as well in terms of no mark left if avgas, a stain left if jet fuel or a mixture of jet fuel. This last paragraph is only what I read and I have not tested this procedure.[/size][/font][/color]






[img width=500 height=375][/img]

Gas cap seal?  What’s that?
[img]https://www.mytractorforum.com/attachme ... 1262910136[/img]

I love it when its -15 and people are draining the tanks...


Stupid is as stupid does...

If the water isn’t drained above freezing, it
can do damage when freezes and expands
in the drains and the plumbing to it.

[quote author=Slick Goodlin link=topic=9252.msg25413#msg25413 date=1540701097]
Gas cap seal?  What’s that?
[img]https://www.mytractorforum.com/attachme ... 1262910136[/img]
[/quote] only issue I ever had with that kind of fuel gauge was when a small hole developed in the float. The redline painted on it indicated exactly 30 mins usable fuel, if I recall correctly 3 gallons in the Fleet 80.

Ironically, more accurate than the 70s era Cessna 172 gas gauges ....

[quote author=ScudRunner link=topic=9252.msg25430#msg25430 date=1540761207]
[quote author=Slick Goodlin link=topic=9252.msg25413#msg25413 date=1540701097]
Gas cap seal?  What’s that?
[img]https://www.mytractorforum.com/attachme ... 1262910136[/img]
[/quote] only issue I ever had with that kind of fuel gauge was when a small hole developed in the float. The redline painted on it indicated exactly 30 mins usable fuel, if I recall correctly 3 gallons in the Fleet 80.
[/quote]
The ones I’ve used the most have a cork float instead of hollow brass, and the wire bottoms out in the cap to indicate about a half hour left.  Kinda spooky when you don’t know exactly how much of that half hour remains but really the idea at that’s point is to get your ass on the ground.