Portable Fuel Bladder - For Cheap Gas

[johnpaul44]

Long story short there are airports close to me that offer gas sometimes almost $2 a gallon cheaper for 100LL compared to home airport, if i fly 100 hours a year at 9 gallons an hour that's $1800 a year savings.

Thinking about carrying a few jerry cans or bladders to fill up along with my tanks when i make the journey , what does everybody think about something like this? https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/skysupply_11-20281.php

other alternatives? I picked the above because its easy to lift in and out of the plane, not too big, and can take 3 or 4 of them at once

 

[bertschb]

Carrying gas in the cockpit to save a few bucks???? No thanks. When the time comes that I can't afford the fuel for my airplane I'll sell it. But that's just me. I know many people go to great effort to save money on fuel. My Mom drives across town to save $.05/g on gas in her car. I suspect she spends more to drive there then she saves but she feels better about it.

 

[Cth6]

I personally would not want to carry portable fuel in my aircraft.

I too am based at an airport with fuel priced well above market. Most of my flights are sub 2 hours. I am in the habit of topping off anytime I am at a place with reasonable fuel. I don't mind making a fuel stop along my route as it gets me an extra landing or two. There have been a few times that I have paid the airport rate just because it was easier for my schedule.

 

[raabs]

We don't have fuel at our airpark. It's never been an issue to hop in the plane and fly 10 min to fuel up at the cheapest airport in FL. Umatilla.

 

[Pilotjim77]

It's illegal to carry fuel in the passenger area of a motor vehicle. Although I don't know the regs well enough, I'm guessing it's probably the same with an aircraft.

 

[Dan 57]

Well, I have a couple of very similar fuel bags (obtained directly from China), green of color. Now I usually carry them along empty as my motor and myself prefer to run Mogas. Fetching a courtesy car, or any other means, to fill them at the next auto station to then refill the tanks on the airplane. I don't mind the savings, but that is not the driving reason.

I have been flying to some isolated places where no fuel is available, with the same fuel bags full. Taking off with full mains, my 25 gallon Turtle next to me, a full fuel bag in the rear and another one on the floor... ain't a nice experience. Max weight towards the rear CG riding a flying bomb, I wanna avoid renewing the experience if possible. Any slight mistake will make you, and maybe others, history.
On top, not sure about that fuel bag linked above, but those have pretty fragile threads on their caps, very easy to missthread, and loose o-rings to be properly set for no leak.

Final take, fuel bags to go get fuel from the station to refill, yes, absolutely. Flying with the same bags full, to be avoided.

 

[Jjackh10]

I'll be the one contrarian, I think its a fine idea. Ultralight and gyro guys fly with a seat gas tank. The fuel in a cub is essentially in the front seat lap. And my motorcycle puts the fuel between my legs. Personally I'd prefer hard jugs, just cause pouring out of a bag with some control is like pushing a rope or herding cats.

 

[Jjackh10]

It's illegal to carry fuel in the passenger area of a motor vehicle. Although I don't know the regs well enough, I'm guessing it's probably the same with an aircraft.

Depends on the state your in.

 

[Dan 57]

pouring out of a bag with some control is like pushing a rope or herding cats

which one can easily avoid by placing said fuel bag on the wing, and then use the always on board jiggle hose to xfer the precious dyno juice. And those bag don’t weigh a lot and take little space once empty.

 

[sansoneservices]

I'm quite price conscious when fueling my plane or truck. I fly 15 minutes from home airport to get cheap avgas. I normally make that trip if the purchase will be 30 gallons. Less than that it's not worth the effort.. I don't carry fuel in the cockpit

 

[Majorpayne317641]

Depends on the state your in.

Portable Fuel Container Business Guidance

The requirements for portable fuel containers vary depending on the fuel and the container type. Below are the requirements for portable fuel containers which range from package performance to labeling and certification.

www.cpsc.gov

 

[Dan 57]

Alright, and fully agree @larryMar, and I should have stated that I'm located in central Europe where landing fees are standard, or for isolated destinations, or those not providing the proper grade of juice, Mogas in my case (prob90 for all the Rotax owners too).
Again, not really a matter of price, but more to keep a clean engine (and lower fuselage), and saving myself from unnecessarily lead propagation in the air we all breathe...

 

[N40ES]

I would suggest putting the containers under the wing and draining a known amount from the aircraft before each flight. Then store the fuel properly until needed. Fly back more often when the price is right if that is important to you. But NO, do not any carry portable fuel in your plane. Ed S.

 

[Dugaru]

Long story short there are airports close to me that offer gas sometimes almost $2 a gallon cheaper for 100LL compared to home airport, if i fly 100 hours a year at 9 gallons an hour that's $1800 a year savings.

Converting your aircraft to a fuel tanker seems like a lot of hassle and risk for $1800 a year. And note that number may be too high, since it assumes all your current 100 hours annually are flown with fuel from your home base. A significant amount of my fueling is done at other airports, just because that’s where I’ve flown for other reasons. If that’s true for you, presumably a lot of that fuel is cheaper than what you can get at home.

 

[Webb]

Best to check your hangar lease about storage of fuel. Also if you travel, half of your gas is purchased elsewhere which cuts your savings by half. Pleasure flying on Sat afternoon gets you an extra landing and cuts cost. You might even make that the $100 hamburger run.

Since you asked, my answer is the risk isn’t worth the gain.

 

[Ironflight]

We’ve lived at a couple of airparks, neither of which have fuel farms, so “tankering” gas is a daily thing for us - always thinking ahead to the next mission as to whether we should pick up fuel at the nearby fuel field or not. So we’re very conscious of the issue. I usually keep twenty gallons of 100LL on hand in approved gas cans in our hangar (along with ten fine-gallon Jeggs jugs of JetA for the little jet) so that if we need to top off before a long flight, we can start full. But I fill those jugs and cans by putting them in the back of a pickup and driving the twelve miles to the fuel farm. I’ve been flying a long time, and have been tempted to put a couple gas cans in the baggage compartment to bring back cheap fuel - but dang it - those cans always seem to have leaky caps and you can smell a Lottie’s fuel when in an enclosed space….

I was a volunteer firefighter for twenty-five years, often walking through flames (in full protective gear) - the smell of gas in an enclosed space just gives me the heeby-jeebies….. If I had a mission that could ONLY be accomplished by carrying fuel in the cockpit, it would be with a really rugged tank with metal fittings, like something designed as a ferry tank. Might even plumb it into the system…

Not dead-set against the idea of carrying fuel in the cockpit (and yes, I fly Cubs and other planes that have that fuselage tank - but they are fuel TANKS, not carry-on cans), but I’d have to really be convinced that all the risks were explored - and had a VERY good reason.

 

[sansoneservices]

Best to check your hangar lease about storage of fuel. Also if you travel, half of your gas is purchased elsewhere which cuts your savings by half. Pleasure flying on Sat afternoon gets you an extra landing and cuts cost. You might even make that the $100 hamburger run.

Since you asked, my answer is the risk isn’t worth the gain.

Yeah my City owned hangar can't contain fuel in jugs. I'm not comfortable with fuel in the cockpit either. The $100 hamburger AND a fuel purchase sounds good to me

 

[Dan 57]

Yep, I also see quite a difference in the safety in a built-in tank (à la RV-12...), or a Turtle ferry rubber tank, vs the fuel bags the OP mentions...
The expression of my caustic humor is we all are gonna go for good, the question being only as to when

Pictured below the ones I use (only given the conditions stated in my posts above):

 

[Mikeyb]

Long story short there are airports close to me that offer gas sometimes almost $2 a gallon cheaper for 100LL compared to home airport, if i fly 100 hours a year at 9 gallons an hour that's $1800 a year savings.

Thinking about carrying a few jerry cans or bladders to fill up along with my tanks when i make the journey , what does everybody think about something like this? https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/skysupply_11-20281.php

other alternatives? I picked the above because its easy to lift in and out of the plane, not too big, and can take 3 or 4 of them at once

To get that savings you would have to fill, load, unload and fill 17.3 gallons a week. You also have to recover the $340 you spent on 4 bags.

 

[gasman]

You have 38 gallon tanks built in (6A). What you need is this. It will pump the fuel out of your tanks, and back in when needed.

 

[j4cbo]

I'm not a huge fan of the idea of a fuel tank in the passenger cabin, but as an RV-12 owner, I've gotten over it...

My "auxiliary tank" is a Wavian jerry can. It's made of welded steel and I trust it more than I trust the rivets-and-proseal aluminum main tank, which has leaked on me twice. It normally lives in the "frunk" of my car (and is therefore not in, or connected to, the passenger cabin) but I've flown with it in the back of the plane as well.

 

[johnpaul44]

thanks all for the suggestions, i have decided to not keep any gas in the cockpit with me. As a few others pointed out the risk is probably not worth the reward.

 

[titanhank]

My solution. 350 gal, road legal fuel trailer. I pull it to the cheap gas a couple times per year. Bought on sale for $4200. I own my hangar and no airport restrictions to deal with.