Bob=0Agood to see you at the show. =0AI have seen water leak into the tank
---From overnight rain.=0Athrough the plastic fuel tank cap that many Europas
have. Difficult to adjust when=0Athey get corroded and the hut rusts up. Al
so the size of the O ring is imprtant.=0AGraham=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A_____________
___________________=0A From: Bob Harrison <ptag.dev@tiscali.co.uk>=0ATo: eu
ropa-list@matronics.com =0ASent: Sunday, 1 September 2013, 21:29=0ASubject:
"Bob Harrison" <ptag.dev@tiscali.co.uk>=0A=0AHi! Raimo/all=0AYou make an in
teresting statement with regards to switching to the reserve=0Atank and got
a clean filter to start up with , however I think you should=0Aremember th
at on a much used aircraft the filling system always delivers=0A"the new sh
it " into the reserve side of the saddle tank and with the best=0Awill in t
he world it is likely to always store water contamination in a=0Agreater pr
oportion than that on the main delivery side, so don't expect that=0Athe re
serve switch will always be your salvation!- The water drain valves=0Anee
d to be often tested on both sides . I did away with the standard glass=0AE
uropa issue filters and use TWO mini Andair gascolator filters one for each
=0Asaddle tank side.=0AAfter an overnight stay in pouring rain I took about
half a litre of water=0Afrom the reserve drain valve which I believe went
into the tank through the=0Alocking fuel cap so I try to tape up the entire
filler cap when in rain .=0AThis incident was at Zelam See (?and I don't t
hink it was from their refuel=0Afacility but who knows?=0ABest regards=0ABo
b Harrison G-PTAG kit 337 Now Rotax 914 total airframe hours in excess of
=0A1000.=0A=0A-----Original Message-----=0AFrom: owner-europa-list-server@m
atronics.com=0A[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of
Raimo Toivio=0ASent: 01 September 2013 19:03=0ATo: europa-list@matronics.c
om=0ASubject: Re: Europa-List: Fuel filters=0A=0A--> Europa-List message po
sted by: "Raimo Toivio" <raimo.toivio@rwm.fi>=0A=0ACarl and the rest of you
who are interested in this topic,=0A=0AI did it also. I cleaned my tank ve
ry careful several times (I had heard=0Awarnings!). I pumped through the sy
stem at least 300 liters of fuel before=0Afirst flight.=0A=0ADespite that -
total hours 5 - I once pushed full power during cruise and my=0ARotax went
silent immediately. Fuel pressure went down. Over mountaineous=0Aforest. M
y co-pilot was Jyrki Laukkanen, a famous test pilot (google!). We=0Alooked
each others and I elected to switch electric pump on AND changed to=0Areser
ve tank (and to another fuel filter also - how genious is that fuel=0Asyste
m - there is always a clean filter waiting!). That was an autonomious=0Aref
lex only. =0ARotax fired up immediately.=0A=0AJyrki said later please never
apply full power with a new construction or=0Aafter a major service if you
are not above airfield! That makes sense. =0AHe also said he is alive beca
use after every service or repair he had had a=0Ahabit to fly at least 15 m
inutes over the field before heading to somewhere.=0AHe had completed 9 for
ced landings and all over the runways, all succesful=0Aand all because of s
ervice failure or service mistake. =0AThat has happened during his career s
ay 50 years.=0A=0AMy fuel filter was checked in lab. It was totally blocked
by small particles=0Alooking gold but they were identified to be shit from
lay-upp processes. =0AMy guess was they (those particles) were "glued" =0A
to the tank inside surfaces by static forces.=0A=0AThat after I checked my
fuel filter after EVERY flight. Flight by flight it=0Aseemed to be cleaner
and cleaner.=0A=0AToday I check my filters say after every 10 hours - alway
s clean.=0A=0AWhen refueling I have only two alternatives:=0A=0A1) Refuel 1
00LL direct to my ac in the airfield. =0ASystems are aircraft quality, clas
sified and certified, filtered and=0Awater-isolated.=0A=0A2) Refuel autofue
l 98E 0-5% alcohol from petrol stations w as good brand as=0Apossible direc
t to MY canisters through Mr. Mc Funnel=B4s debris /water=0Aisolator.=0A=0A
Since that scary action 2007, I have had never any more fuel problems.=0A
=0AI never clean my filters. I change them for new ones once a year (after
=0A50-100 hrs service).=0A=0AI do not use those original puzzle filters w s
everal parts and glass tube.=0A=0AOne was broken during towing action and o
ne was broken by itself in the=0Ahangar.=0A=0AI use original Rotax filters
- they are throwaway models - transparent - one=0Apiece - plastic non glass
- you are not able to assemble them wrong way -=0Acheap - unbreakable.=0A
=0ASold? How many you want?=0A=0ACheers,=0A=0ARaimo Toivio=0AFINLAND=0AOH-X
RT=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A-----Alkuper=E4inen viesti-----=0AFrom: Carl P
attinson=0ASent: Sunday, September 01, 2013 2:21 PM=0ATo: europa-list@matro
nics.com=0ASubject: RE: Europa-List: Fuel filters=0A=0A--> Europa-List mess
age posted by: "Carl=0APattinson" <carl@flyers.freeserve.co.uk>=0A=0AHi All
,=0A=0AI am surprised that anyone ever gets blocked =0Afilters after the in
itial=0Ashakedown. I know it is difficult to clean out =0Atanks after build
but it's=0Adefinitely worth pumping a few gallons of fuel =0Athrough the s
ystem before=0Aassuming everything is clean.=0A=0AIf you have dirty fuel in
your tanks this is an =0Aissue that should be=0Aaddressed first rather ins
tead of relying on the =0Afuel filters to do their=0Ajob. I accept that som
e of us have less control =0Aover what we put in our=0Atanks than others (i
e: if you are purchasing fuel =0Aat the airfield pumps).=0A=0AIn the early
days I recall that clogged filters =0Awere an issue for some=0Abuilders. Th
e filters were becoming overwhelmed by =0Alarge amounts of crud=0Awhich sho
uld never have been there in the first =0Aplace - I do not believe=0Athat c
hanging the size of the filter mesh would =0Aaddress this particular=0Aissu
e.=0A=0APersonally I never liked the factory system and =0Aopted for a gasc
olator setup=0Ainstead - nothing fancy like an Andair, just the =0Acheap ki
t builders one=0Aavailable from LAS or Aircraft Spruce (I priced =0Aone at
the LAA yesterday and=0Athey are selling for =A360) . The beauty of the =0A
setup is that any large lumps=0Aof crud (or water) tend to settle in the bo
ttom of =0Athe gascolator bowl and=0Awill be drained off when you do your d
o your daily =0Afuel checks - very little=0Amuck reaches the filter mesh at
the top of the =0Abowl (this is a 120 micron=0Ascreen).=0A=0AWe are fortun
ate in that all our fuel is from cans =0Awhich we insist on=0Afiltering thr
ough a fine mesh funnel and we have =0Anever found any signs of a=0Aclogged
filter. It is worth noting that metal fuel =0Acans generate their own=0Ade
bris as the internal paint on the cans tends to =0Aflake off and if not=0Af
iltered would cause problems if not pre filtered.=0A=0AFor those who have t
o rely on airfield based =0Asupplies if it should be=0Apossible to carry a
filter sock (wire or nylon =0Amesh) which could be dropped=0Adown the fuel
filler opening to ensure the =0Acleanliness of any external=0Asources of fu
el. This could even be a permanent =0Ainstallation.=0A=0AAdditionally as a
backup, a fuel pressure gauge =0Awhich would give a visual=0Awarning- of
low pressure due to a filter blockage.=0A=0ACarl Pattinson=0AG-LABS=0A=0A--
---Original Message-----=0AFrom: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com=0A[
mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On =0ABehalf Of Pete Lawless
=0ASent: 01 September 2013 11:08=0ATo: europa-list@matronics.com=0ASubject:
wless" =0A<pete@lawless.info>=0A=0AHi John=0A=0AI have the original glass f
ilters and am very =0Ahappy with them.- In the first=0Afew hours of a new
Europa they do get blocked and =0Amine needed cleaning every=0A5 hours or
so for the first 25 hours and on one =0Aoccasion at about 10 hours=0Acaused
fuel starvation on the climb out.- Then =0Aless frequently cleaning=0Aun
til the tank settled down at about 100 hours. At =0A550 hours the filter no
w=0Aneed a clean about every 50 hours.=0A=0AMy filters are installed under
the seats protected =0Aby a Perspex cover, as=0Aper the original Classic la
yout.- I inspect them =0ABEFORE EVERY FLIGHT.- The=0Abeauty of the glas
s container is that you can see =0Awhat is going on, all that=0Ais needed i
s to pull up the seat cushion and look. =0ACleaning is very easy=0Ayou just
change the filter screen for a new one =0Aand wipe the inside of the=0Agla
ss.=0A=0AI would be very reluctant to install a filter unit =0AI could not
inspect=0Awithout taking it to bits.=0A=0APete=0AClassic #109 Rotax 912UL
=0A=0A=0A=0A-----Original Message-----=0AFrom: owner-europa-list-server@mat
ronics.com=0A[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On =0ABehalf O
f John Wighton=0ASent: 01 September 2013 09:23=0ATo: europa-list@matronics.
com=0ASubject: Europa-List: Re: Daily Mail report of =0Afather and daughter
ighton.net>=0A=0AThe photos taken in 2002 of the crashed aircraft =0Aare sh
ocking and hopefully=0Anot an indicator of the condition she was in at =0At
he time of the accident.=0ABut l have to say that if the level of neglect
=0Aextended to the systems,=0Aespecially the fuel system, the cause of the
=0Aincident may easily have been a=0Ablocked filter.- According to a clos
e friend of =0ADavid, whom l spoke to=0Ayesterday at the Rally,- the acci
dent occurred at =0Afull power in the climb=0Aout after refuelling.- If s
o the classic case of =0Apower starvation due to a=0Ablocked filer is a pos
sible cause.- I note that =0Athe photos show the inline=0Afilter used is
the standard glass tube variety. =0ABlockage of this type of=0Ainline filte
r has caused many incidents and at =0Aleast one written off Europa.=0A=0AAn
alysing this filter shows it uses a 22 micron =0Asized mesh.- This is way
=0Asmaller than the 100 micron (largest) stipulated =0Aby Rotax.- I had a
stoppage=0Adue to a blocked primary filter (same type) a few =0Ayears ago,
this led to a=0Ahasty decent into Elstree using the reserve feed =0A(thank
s for the fire cover=0Aguys).- The filter was partially blocked with =0At
ranslucent material.- It ran=0Aon the ground but would not feed fuel to t
he =0Agoverened 5000 rpm of my AP332=0Acontroller.=0A=0AHaving thereafter s
pent a year in a constant state =0Aof fuel feed anxiety l=0Achanged them fo
r Andair filters which have a 60 =0Amicron filter size.- To date=0Athese
have proven extremely reliable (100%).=0A=0AIn 2012 l contacted Andy at And
air to ask if a =0Aversion for 1/4in bore fuel=0Alines could be made.- He
said it was quite easy, =0Ajust a CNC program change,=0Athe filters would
then have a push-on nipple type =0Aend and not require screw=0Afit unions (
as in my installation).- Some =0Adiscussion occurred with Andy=0ADraper a
bout the mod.=0A=0AYesterday l checked with Andair, he had not got =0Aaroun
d to adapting the CNC=0Acode and hence nothing had occurred at LAA =0AEngin
eering.=0A=0AIf it turns out that the cause of the stoppage on =0AGBXS was
filter related=0A(this is speculative but informed on my part) we =0Ashould
support some action=0Awhich will lead to changes in the use of these =0Ast
andard glass tube filters.=0AA possibility for Europas could be a new filte
r, =0Aperhaps the Andair version.=0A=0A=0AI shall write to the LAA with my
concerns over the =0Acontinued use of the=0Aglass tube, 22. Micron filters.
- If any Europa =0Aflyer, or other aircraft=0Aoperator with the same filt
er type, can supply =0Ainformation regarding the use=0Aof these filters it
may assist in deciding which =0Away to go.- Information=0Asuch as frequen
cy of inspection, frequency of =0Acleaning, stoppage or partial=0Ablockage
info, leaks, other issues will br =0Agratefully received and treated=0Ain c
onfidence. Likewise any info showing =0Asatisfactory in service history is
=0Aalso welcome. Please post info or email direct to =0Ame.=0AJohn(dot)wigh
ton@ultraflight.net=0A=0AJohn Wighton=0AChief of Stress=0APilatus Aircra
ft=0A=0A--------=0AJohn Wighton=0AEuropa XS trigear G-IPOD=0A=0A=0A=0A=0ARe
ad this topic online here:=0A=0Ahttp://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p
=407837#407837=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A--=0AThis message has b
een scanned for viruses and =0Adangerous content by Houxou,=0Aand is believ
ed to be clean.=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0Abrowse=0AUn/Subscription,=0AFAQ,
=0Ahttp://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Europa-List=0AForums!=0AList Admin.
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