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01-13-2016, 02:27 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Martinsville, IN
Posts: 2,326
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In the nice and wet Pacific Northwest, what fuel do you suppose Mr. Van himself, uses in his Rotax? Yep, 93 E10 (I'm told). I fly at least once a week and my -12 sits in a dry hangar. Having the fuel absorb water is a non-issue for me.
BTW, there are thousands of Rotax engines in Europe using 30 percent ethanol based fuels with few issues. I'm not too worried about it but you should use the fuel you feel most comfortable with. If it takes you out of your comfort zone, then don't let anyone tell you what YOU should do.
__________________
Randy Pflanzer
Greenwood, IN
www.pflanzer-aviation.com
Paid through 2043!
Lund fishing Boat, 2017, GONE FISHING
RV-12 - Completed 2014, Sold
427 Shelby Cobra - Completed 2012, Sold
F1 EVO - partially completed, Sold
F1 Rocket - Completed 2005, Sold
RV-7A - Partially completed, Sold
RV-6 - Completed 2000, Sold
Long-EZ - Completed 1987, Sold
Last edited by f1rocket : 01-13-2016 at 02:30 PM.
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01-13-2016, 02:52 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Omaha, NE (KMLE)
Posts: 2,247
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Having used E10 almost exclusively in every car, pickup, motorcycle, scooter, mower, snow blower, edger, leaf blower and weed whacker we've owned in the past three decades or so, and having had exactly zero problems related to corrosion, water absorption and hose deterioration... I guess I'm OK with using it in the Rotax if Rotax and Van's are OK with it.
__________________
Dale
Omaha, NE
RV-12 # 222 N980KM "Screamin' Canary" (bought flying)
Fisher Celebrity (under construction)
Previous RV-7 project (sold)
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01-13-2016, 03:35 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,516
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Quote:
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Take a look at the pictures of the fuel pump that was disassembled recently, and posted on this forum, which shows all of that interior corrosion in just 20 hours of operation, which might be another good reason to keep the ethanol out of your gas, in you can.
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If I read that post correctly the op used 100LL or ethanol free mogas on that engine.
It is precisely why that kind of corrosion formed because the water in 100LL and ethanol free mogas separates out and settles in low spots in the fuel system. As someone pointed out in that thread, ethanol mogas keeps the water in suspension and it passes harmlessly through the combustion cycle.
__________________
Ernst Freitag
RV-8 finished (sold)
RV-10 Flyer 600 plus hours
Running on E10 mogas
Don't believe everything you know.
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01-13-2016, 04:23 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 863
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Initially (the first 6 month I flew my -12) I used E10 premium, without any problem. Then comes winter and the plane was left about 2 months with a full tank of E10 gasoline. My local Rotax guy told me that, depending on weather conditions, E10 gas may start degrading after 1 month of storage. I did not want to take the risk and dumped the content of the tank which was a bit cumbersome... and promised myself not to use Ethanol fuel any longer. As the service station is close to my A/P it worked well until... go back to the first post of this thread.
Still mulling what to do based on the interesting feed back provided above. At this point I am reluctant trusting any Ethanol free source for aviation usage. My preference would be to go back to E10 premium, except for January and February when I would fill the tank with 100LL. I figure it would result in 100LL usage low enough (including refills on trip stops during the rest of the year) to make minimum lead deposit inside the engine.
Only time will tell if this is effective and workable.
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01-13-2016, 06:20 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Omaha, NE (KMLE)
Posts: 2,247
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There may be another option to consider. I am certainly no expert, but from what I have read what you're concerned about is not only water absorption from the atmosphere but also octane loss from evaporation. The water problem can be minimized by keeping the tank full and the cap on. Less surface area exposed to air, and less air exchange with the humid outside world, means less water absorbed.
Everything I have read indicates that if you keep the tank FULL, you have less to worry about. There's less surface area to either absorb water from the atmosphere, or evaporate the lighter hydrocarbons. On the other hand, if you have a gallon or two of room in the tank, topping it with 100LL would probably provide a pretty good little boost for fuel that's been sitting for a few weeks.
__________________
Dale
Omaha, NE
RV-12 # 222 N980KM "Screamin' Canary" (bought flying)
Fisher Celebrity (under construction)
Previous RV-7 project (sold)
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01-13-2016, 06:36 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 2,820
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I just go down the street and buy what ever comes out of the premium pump. In 420 hours and 4 years I haven't fallen out of the sky yet!😀
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01-13-2016, 06:50 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: MN
Posts: 2,269
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johngoodman
I am not an expert on fuels, but I started out burning 93 E10 in my LS1 conversion. After 20 hours, I noticed a lot of build up in the filters. I bagged it and took it to a guy who sells 90 E0. He pointed out that it was the same stuff he found when he did a phase separation test. He showed me the test jar, and the same junk that I found was at his phase separation level. Turns out that the yellowish fibers are Corn Silks. The little brown globs are Corn Syrup. I switched over to 90 E0, and also use some 100LL on cross countries. Filters have been clean since then.
John
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This is interesting - I found some gunk in my filters after using 92 E0 and 100LL. My brother-in-law runs the mass spec at major university chem department. We tested it and, yup, you guessed it, ground up dinosaur bones........ 
__________________
Cheers,
Pete
Amateur Plane - RV-9A N789PH - 2350+ Hrs
Amateur Radio - KD0CVN
Doggies Delivered - 25+
St. Paul, MN
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01-13-2016, 07:00 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 2,820
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What filters are you guys referring to? The gascolator or an inline filter you use during fueling?
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01-13-2016, 07:33 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central IL
Posts: 5,516
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petehowell
This is interesting - I found some gunk in my filters after using 92 E0 and 100LL. My brother-in-law runs the mass spec at major university chem department. We tested it and, yup, you guessed it, ground up dinosaur bones........ 
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Somebody had to say it. 
__________________
Bill
RV-7
Lord Kelvin:
“I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about,
and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you
cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge
is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind.”
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01-13-2016, 08:37 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Fall City, WA
Posts: 138
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Is the an additive one can put in to get the octane from 90 to 92?
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B2RV12
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