Microbs in fuel tank

[tomusa]

Hi, I have microbs in my RV 8 / IO360 fuel. Reason: water in fuel and two years sitting. I have replaced the engine servo, distributor block and cleaned all lines. I decided to empty thanks by pumping from electric pump right into a barrel. All emptied fuel look very clean and I decided to pull the filter (new filter 40 mc). The filter had evidence of microbs so now I am going to fill the tanks with 100LL and add biobor JF (microb killer) and recheck things. Has anyone else had this problem? Any comments or advice? Thanks. Tom

[sibriggs]

Try running some bleach full strength to kill anything hiding in cracks?

[Pat Stewart]

Biobor will work. Make sure the aircraft sits motionless for 24 hours.

[xblueh2o]

Never had it in avgas.
The Biobor should do the trick. Follow the directions to the letter.
I would be leary of bleach or other chemicals that have unknown interactions with fuel tank sealants without testing them first. In the short term it is probably easier to just go with something designed for the job.

[1001001]

Do not even think about putting bleach in contact with materials in your aircraft.

Sodium hypochlorite has a severe corrosive effect on aluminum, not to mention steel (including most grades of stainless steel), cast iron, and brass.

[rmartingt]

You're going to want to change your filter again some time after your biobor treatment (after burning a full tank or two of fuel), because all the dead microbial debris is going to get caught in it.

[donaziza]

Long time ago, Eastern Airlines used to operate the A 300. The tip tanks, ( not the bomb shaped jobs like on a Lear jet), just the ends of the wings held 2000Lbs each. You never used it. One day, somebody decided to inspect the insides of those tanks. You wouldn't believe what they found growing in there---even grass if I recall correctly. After that, maintenance started cycling that fuel (fresh stuff of course) to the mains and always putting fresh stuff in the tips.

[tomusa]

Thanks for all the good advice. I was really panicked about this but now I'm confident I can eliminate the bugs. Since I have already drained the fuel I have noticed that there is a small amount of trapped fuel in areas around the ribs and in the lower tank corner. In order to rid any small amounts of water that may be there (remembering that microbes must have water) it was suggested that I put a few gallons of alcohol in the tanks, slosh it around, and drain it out then let any remaining evaporate for a few days. The alcohol should absorb and contain the water. After that, I will fill the tanks adding the Biofor JF, ground run the engine for awhile then pull the filter, clean or replace as required then repeat until the filter remains clean. Next, I will fly (over the airport for a few hours then pull the filter again. After that, I will pull the filter every 10 hours until I'm confident that the bugs (dead or alive) are gone. What do you think? Tom