Dang, I don't even think my airport will allow adding fuel to the tanks unless it is at the fuel farm, let alone storing fuel. What a PITA.
Dang, I don't even think my airport will allow adding fuel to the tanks unless it is at the fuel farm, let alone storing fuel. What a PITA.
Thanks guys. I would LOVE to run 100LL all the time, but getting it is going to be a PITA. I talked to the local, and I mean a mile away as a crow flys, fbo and they will not sell me gas unless the airplane is there. I would literally have to use a tow bar to haul the plane with wings folded about four miles each way to buy gas. I foresee about two tickets from the cops and one person causing an accident.
Which brings about another question. How much fuel can be stored in the tanks and still be able to fold them?
I have my airfield on my farm 0PA2 (ZeroPA2) in Pa. So having the fuel on site is not an issue. The fuel was delivered to my business address that just happens to be the same address as the airfield so truck shipping was not an issue either. The delivery was with a 28 foot box truck with a lift gate, the fuel and container, called a tote weighed around 2500lbs. Swift provided a transfer pump to pump the fuel out of the tote and into our own containers. I have 2-100 gal tanks on a trailer that I store my fuel, the remainder of the fuel from the shipment was split between a couple other pilots that keep their planes at their own private airstrips.
Swift was great to work with, you can order the fuel in these totes, 55gal drums or by tanker shipments.
As for airport regulations and keeping your own fuel on site I am sure is a predicament for owner/operators of airports.
Any other questions? I will be happy to respond.
Danzer1, I have never recommended running 100LL, only using it for long term storage. However, many of us do run the 100LL occasionally when on x-country trips and Mogas is not available. Therefore, if I were to use it for storage, I wouldn't hesitate to use it up for flying when the storage period was over. Although I don't personally go along with it, as a point of interest, John McBean at the factory and Paul Leadabrand at Stick & Rudder burn 100LL exclusively in all their Rotax engines. They simply don't trust Mogas for cleanliness, additives, etc. They adjust oil change intervals accordingly and have never had problems with the lead as far as I know. Bottom line, the Rotax engines appear to be very forgiving when running (not storing) various types of fuel as long as the octane requirements and oil change intervals are met.
Jim Ott
Portland, OR
Kitfox SS7 flying
Rotax 912ULS
Just for clarification, My quote of "fill the tanks (and run the engine) with 100LL" was meant for just prior to long term storage to fill with 100LL and then run for just a few minutes to flush out the Mogas from the carbs.
Jim Ott
Portland, OR
Kitfox SS7 flying
Rotax 912ULS
Thanks for the input. After two pages I'm left with the impression I should run no lead mo-gas for daily summer use. Then add some 100LL and run that before I put her to bed for the winter. Fogging the engine of course.
It's hard to believe, but with twenty acres and my own grass strip, I have a storage issue. I have a good sized barn, but the layout sucks. I have a big post right in the middle of the 30' opening. Once I get everything put away for the winter I can't get the airplane out without playing a full sized game of Chinese Checkers! I even made my own roll around pads so I can move the plane sideways. I have to have the wings folded to go in the barn, then jockey it around until I can open the wings. Then I can put her on the rollers. Once on the roller pads I can fold her up and put it where I want. It's a two person job. So I'm still wondering how much fuel I can keep in the tanks with the wings folded.
Thanks,
Jay
Here's what Rotax says to do for long term storage. Personally I'd just follow the official procedure. Section 11.1.3. Fog engine, Drain everything, Seal off entry and exists. Maybe pull the battery and store it somewhere out of freezing conditions too.
https://rotax-docs.secure.force.com/...AG?asPdf=false
Ok, so here we are almost a year later and I have yet to turn the key on this engine. I've weighed the aircraft and have to put fresh batteries in the ELT and run in the engine before calling the A&P for the inspection. I'm thinking of five or six gallons of leaded auto gas mixed 50:1 with proper oil mix with some Staybil. Run in the engine and run it out of fuel. Drain what is left and then removed the air filters and fog the engine by just cranking it over. I've never fogged an engine before so I'm asking if this will work as described.
Jay
Last edited by beeryboats; 09-18-2018 at 05:52 PM.