Hi Jonathan
The Rotax engine is fine with ethanol, as you mention in Brazil. The engine
is designed for mogas and really doesn't like Avgas.
My feeling is that the LAA are living in the past and if it's not Avgas it'
s no good!! Well it's time to smell the coffee and get used to the here and
now. 10% ethanol is coming and I'll be using it.
It might mean changing the rubber more often but that's still much more aff
ordable than having to use Avgas.
Obviously just my humble opinion.
Cheers
Steve
GSTES
XS Trigear 912s..... nearly finished!!
________________________________
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com <owner-europa-list-server@matr
onics.com> on behalf of JonathanMilbank <jdmilbank@yahoo.co.uk>
Sent: Thursday, 18 March 2021, 21:35
Subject: Europa-List: Ethanol in fuel. What about Brazil?
>
We in the UK are faced with the prospect of ethanol content in fuel being r
aised in September from 5% to 10%. About 10 or so years ago (or was it long
er?) this whole subject got debated to death, with the LAA Light Aircraft A
ssociation taking the position that we should always check each fuel batch
for ethanol before pouring it into our fuel tanks. The test using a glass t
est tube with about 1" of water in the bottom, noting its level, then addin
g about 4 X as much fuel before shaking well and allowing to settle to see
if the water level had apparently risen, was not particularly accurate and
I never saw the water level rise.
The LAA's understandable position then was "If you find evidence of ethanol
in fuel, then don't use it!" This position is very unlikely to change, whi
ch will mean that Rotax engines should either use avgas or UL91. For those
of us living in god-forsaken northern latitudes, neither of these fuels are
available and it would be economically prohibitive to either import them t
o our remote airfields or to fly to the nearest large airport to refuel, wh
ile simultaneously incurring landing fees and handling charges of =C2=A3200
!
Obviously (at least to me) Europas should cope with 10% ethanol in fuel, be
cause I believe that at least one, maybe more Europas in Brazil were using
fuel with ethanol having well in ecxess of 20%. Seemingly our "plastic" fue
l tanks, automotive fuel lines and carburettors are unfased by ethanol.
Please correct me if I'm wrong about Brazil and let me know whether ethanol
is to blame for any fuel tank failures in Europas. Thank you.
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=501000#501000
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