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New RV-12 owner: fuel plan question

LanceH

I'm New Here
This question may seem obvious but I'm a bit paranoid :). My son and I are taking delivery of our RV-12 tomorrow (first airplane too). Based on what I've read from Vans and this website, I want to use 91 UL, which my airport doesn't sell, so here is my plan for fueling and just wanted to run it by you guys:
  • Buy three 5-gallon plastic fuel tanks for my Mazda3 hatchback trunk.
  • Fill them with 91 octane at the local Costco (it has ethanol. The only non-ethanol gas around is one station that is not 91)
  • Use this pump to get the fuel from tanks to the RV-12 tank: pump
  • Pump the gas through this water/dirt filter: Filter

Is this a reasonable plan? Is using the filter in this way a good idea or is there something better (wondering if it will keep up with the pump)? Thank you.
 
This question may seem obvious but I'm a bit paranoid :). My son and I are taking delivery of our RV-12 tomorrow (first airplane too). Based on what I've read from Vans and this website, I want to use 91 UL, which my airport doesn't sell, so here is my plan for fueling and just wanted to run it by you guys:
  • Buy three 5-gallon plastic fuel tanks for my Mazda3 hatchback trunk.
  • Fill them with 91 octane at the local Costco (it has ethanol. The only non-ethanol gas around is one station that is not 91)
  • Use this pump to get the fuel from tanks to the RV-12 tank: pump
  • Pump the gas through this water/dirt filter: Filter

Is this a reasonable plan? Is using the filter in this way a good idea or is there something better (wondering if it will keep up with the pump)? Thank you.
Look into flo-fast containers https://flofast.com/
 
September 15th through June 1st we’re getting winter-blend gas, which has a higher Reid Vapor pressure (RVP) than summer blend, meaning it vaporizes more easily. Higher RVP, lower octane and increased altitude are ingredients for vapor lock or fuel pump inlet cavitation. It happened to me during Phase 1 testing using 91 ethanol free in February. Since then, I use 93 octane, even though it’s got ethanol, which the 912 can easily use. Or, use a 50/50 AVGAS/MOGAS mix. Once you experience a low fuel pressure incident in flight, it’s not something you’d like to repeat. Others may have different opinions, but that’s my experience.
 
I also use 3, 5 gallon containers and purchase 93 octane fuel from Costco. I transfer the fuel to a 15 gallon Flofast container and pump. I add 1 ounce of Sta-bil 360 Ethanol treatment and fuel stabilizer to each 5 gallon container of fuel. No problems for 300 hours, but I am very careful to keep all of the containers sealed and free of contamination.
The Flofast container is marked in 1 gallon increments and makes it easy to keep track of how much fuel you are adding.
 
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Las Vegas doesn't really get winterized cold temperature fuel, with REID type pressure problems, due to being situated in the desert.

I wouldn't use Mogas above 6 or 7000 ft, but if you're flying 3 or 4000 ft AGL in the winter, it shouldn't be a problem.

A blend of 20 to 40% 100LL if you were running winter grade gas in late spring would be recommended, but if you buy Mogas from a high turnover fuel station like Costco, and buy right before you fill up and go through 4-5 gallons or so a week in regular turnover, you shouldn't have problems.

Keep in mind, Rotax rates this engine in south america up to 15% ethanol unleaded, and currently allows 91 octane unleaded, with or without ethanol. Van's also maintains another electric pump in addition to the Rotax mechanical pump maintaining fuel pressure also and prevent vapor lock.

Worst case scenario is running January bought winter grade Mogas in late spring on a hot day. Keep your fuel turnover rate high, and you shouldn't have any problems.

I ended up measuring my ethanol content on my Costco premium fuel purchases, with fuel samples with every 20 gallon purchase, and at least in my area, I never had over 3% ethanol in any batch I ever purchased, with many measuring no ethanol. YMMV, the pumps usually say " Up to 10% ethanol", so keep that in mind.

Fuel refineries are constantly changing their fuels formulation by the month, based on seasonal highs and lows, per month.

I'm based in Los Angeles and run Costco Premium all the time, from 6 gallon jugs from years ago from my jet ski days back in the 1980's for my RV-12. Never a problem, but I've never spent a lot of time waiting to take off on a really hot summer day, either. 85F outside is mighty uncomfortable inside, cooking inside that canopy if the sun is shining. That canopy will bake you, so getting your flying in early in the day becomes a big consideration in a RV-12
 
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i bought a 50 gallon tank mounted on a small trailer with a 12 volt pump and all the trimmings. originally i thought i would haul it to the gas station but what i am doing and it is the easiest for me is to bring 5 gallons whenever i go to the airport. the can sits firmly on the 50 gal. tank so it is easy and no mess or risk to use a jiggle hose and dump it into the 50 gal tank. when i fuel the plane i pump from the 50 gal tank. fuel is filtered and no risk of damaging skin of airplane.
 
I don’t think that it’s rigidly enforced, but somewhere in the lease agreement at the airport where I rent my hangar is a clause which prohibits storing fuel in there. I don’t think that that is a rare prohibition at some hangars.
 
I fly out of Redlands Ca, hot in the summer. I use Costco 91 octane and check every jug for alcohol content. Typically it is 7 - 8% year round. On long flights I hit 10,000 - 11,000’ and have never had a vapor lock issue.

Vapor lock at altitude is a manageable problem... Vapor lock on takeoff can result in a very bad day. Pay attention to heat-soak on the ground. I had vapor lock in early spring (winter fuel) on a warm day. Repeated takeoff / landings with long downwind taxi. Engine decided it wanted to quit making power at about 400’ AGL. 912 ULS tried to shake itself loose from the airframe and almost succeeded. Gets your full attention really quick….

I shouldn’t speculate… but I would bet money that several RV-12 takeoff accidents can be attributed to vapor lock. Difficult for NTSB to prove… Fuel lines run on top side of hot engine – not a problem in cruise flight, but ground ops need extra care and planning.
 
You are correct, anything out of the ordinary is more dangerous at low altitude.
I mentioned the high altitude no vapor lock because of what Bob Y said, “Higher RVP, lower octane and increased altitude are ingredients for vapor lock or fuel pump inlet cavitation”
 
that's true. probably could be extended to 5 gal jugs too, depending on the management.

They freaked out (a little) even over the 5 gallons of kerosene I was storing for the bullet heater I was using to warm my hangar enough to work on stuff in the winter. They freaked out even more about the actual bullet heater. Not a major freakout about the kerosene...just a "we are concerned..." sort of freakout.
 
My friend stores 40 gallons of 100ll in his hanger. He keeps it in aluminum tanks in the wings of his Mooney, oh wait that’s safer😂.
 
Transferring fuel

Use high quality fuel containers and 15-gal FLO-FAST container and hand-pump. I have been using Costco 93E10 for a least 500 hrs. Costco is top tier fuel supplier.

Out of curiosity, why do you transfer the fuel from the 5 gallon containers to the 15 gallon container before transferring it to the fuel tank rather than transferring it from the 5 gallon containers to the fuel tank?

Thanks.

Brett H
Columbus, IN
 
Out of curiosity, why do you transfer the fuel from the 5 gallon containers to the 15 gallon container before transferring it to the fuel tank rather than transferring it from the 5 gallon containers to the fuel tank?

I’ll turn 70 this year. I used to have Briggs Stratton 5-Gallon containers and lift them to fuel the RV-12. I used EZ-Pour fuel spout which emptied the container very quickly.

I can no longer lift fuel containers to pour into the filler neck… so I devised this simple method for safely transporting fuel without heavy/ sustained lifting. I’d like to fly another ten years as I age and I think this fueling method is part of the solution…

I have gained a healthy respect for the 912 ULS… when handling the four fuel containers with 5-gallons each, I realize how hard the engine/airplane have to work when climbing ~ 1000 FPM at near gross weight. Very efficient engine that is well matched to the airframe….
 
My friend stores 40 gallons of 100ll in his hanger. He keeps it in aluminum tanks in the wings of his Mooney, oh wait that’s safer😂.

And the aircraft tanks are VENTED into the hanger. I don't think these fire dept inspectors understand aircraft fuel systems.
 
Back to the OP - you will want to use the freshest gas possible which means using a high volume station (Costco - good). And then fueling on the day you fly. Most of your flights will be local so probably burning less than 5 gallons. Which means in practice you will only be using one of the cans most of the time - leaving 5 gallons in the plane and putting in 5 gallons for the day's flight. So a pump is nice but optional. Pouring in one can only takes a few minutes - you can use a stepstool to make it easier. Having three cans is still a good idea for the days when you go out and back or cross country.:)

Safety note: Always place your can on the ground when filling at the station. And you should have a grounding wire from the plane to your can.
 
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Vapor lock at altitude is a manageable problem... Vapor lock on takeoff can result in a very bad day. Pay attention to heat-soak on the ground. I had vapor lock in early spring (winter fuel) on a warm day. Repeated takeoff / landings with long downwind taxi. Engine decided it wanted to quit making power at about 400’ AGL. 912 ULS tried to shake itself loose from the airframe and almost succeeded. Gets your full attention really quick…..
I can also testify that it will indeed get your full and undivided attention in an instant, and you can skip your next cardiac stress test. In our case it was winter blend gas and the weather had warmed up while we did some extended maintenance. Lesson learned.

In our case it was difficult to reproduce on the ground. Only running at full power for a minute or so would do it, and even then not reliably. Troubleshooting that was not a happy time for us. Me especially, since I was the test pilot during both incidents.
 
Fortunately I have a mogas station nearby that offers an ethanol free 93 octane unleaded. Before this I would mix the ethanol free 90 octane 50:50 with 93 octane unleaded from Costco. Net result is a 91.5 octane mogas with half the ethanol.

I use Flo-Fast 10 (I think they might be called 10.5) gallon with the Flo-Fast crank pump.

When I will be flying more than 1.5 - 2 hours one way I throw one or two empty plastic 5 gallon cans and a funnel in the baggage area and utilize a crew car to run to the nearest gas station for premium unleaded.
 
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