Reserve fuel

[Adsie]

Just wondering about the quality of reserve fuel

If you never use this fuel - would it not go off, as in go stale ?

[Lasiorhinus]

But if you never use it, does it matter?

:ugh:

[Adsie]

But what happens if you do have to rely on it one day and you have to use it ?

Is there a requirement that you have to refresh this fuel - as in aircraft time or calendar period ?

[Rod Con]

Just buy some fuel preservative from the Pilot Shop.

[wishiwasupthere]

I know there is no such thing as a stupid question, but really?

In most fuel systems I'm aware of, fuel is drawn from the bottom of the tank. Except for any unusable fuel (i.e due to a standpipe) this would mean that apart from the unusable fuel, all the fuel in the tank would be used over the course of one or several flights. If you land with just reserves remaining, when you fill up the tank, that fuel remaining from the previoue flight would be the first fuel to be used (not taking into account any mixing from refuelling).

[Adsie]

Is this pilot shop online?

And is the additive CASA approved?

[Kenneth]

I had so many replies to this... but really I'm speechless! :ugh:

[Rod Con]

They are out of stock until Thursday! If you go there you will find it on the same shelf as the Sky hooks.

[Adsie]

So what your saying is the reserve fuel remains on the upper level of the fuel?

So to replace that fuel you have to drain the upper level of the fuel.

How do I get that preservative stuff by Friday, do they do overnight delivery?

[Rod Con]

I think an easy solution to your problem would be to keep the reserve fuel in a Jerry can on the back seat.

[rutan around]

The question is sensible. The Vari-Eze a canard type aircraft has 3 fuel tanks. The 2 mains in the wings feed together. The 3rd reserve tank,behind the passenger's headrest hardly ever needed to be used and was good for about 30 minutes. It gravity fed the engine so dodgy fuel pumps weren't an issue.

Most Vari-Eze drivers would use up all the fuel in the reserve tank from time to time in order to refresh it. Of course this would be when there was plenty of fuel in the mains.

The reserve tank was a good idea because it was vented separately and fed independently to the mains. Also if anyone ever got down to reserve only they knew exactly how much fuel they had left and knew they needed to get serious about finding somewhere to land.

[The name is Porter]

Given that reserve fuel is never used I replace it with water. Not ordinary water, it's too heavy and will sink to the bottom of the tank. You need water with a specific gravity of .68 or less. You can get it from Supercheap Auto.

[Adsie]

The name is Porter - I am heading to super cheap tomorrow for light water.

And to be sure, a jerry can to place in back seat

Thank you for the replies !!

[jas24zzk]

Seriously....a skyhook....dang last time i used that one was a work experience student back in about 94. LOL!

Love ya work!

[djpil]

Pitts with the extra tank in the upper wing. Effectively a lot of the reserve fuel because you leave it there until you burn fuel in the main tank down enough. No gauge on it and there are a few situations where it can be surprisingly empty when you need it.

Then there was Herman who put a 44 Gall drum in the front seat.

I remember seeing a photo of a skydiver using a Pitts as a skyhook.

[Seagull V]

ADSIE,
Today is March 28th. You are a just few days early with your question.
On a more serious note: How much of the statutory reserve are you going to use if you ever put yourself in the situation of needing it. 1 minute? - 15 minutes? - 44 minutes. What if it's not there? Or gone stale?
I helped a bloke to push his C172 off the runway after the engine failed in the landing flare. The guy complained that he was only 20 minutes into his 45 minute statutory reserve.

[Ascend Charlie]

I expect that the Variable reserve is kept in a jerry and you need to vary the location of it, sometimes in the back seat, sometimes in the boot.

The fixed reserve jerry is bolted to the bulkhead.

The fuel you carry for Mum and The Kids is in a Thermos in the picnic basket.

the Alternate Reserve can be in a jerry, or alternately, a Camelback hanging from the canopy.

Do I have to tell you new guys EVERYTHING??? That's the problem these days, us old blokes with the experience are way too rare.:sad:

[The name is Porter]

Adsie, it's near the distilled water. But don't mix that **** up, that's for compressor washes :ok:

[Obidiah]

"You need water with a specific gravity of .68 or less. You can get it from Supercheap Auto."


It's called Lighter Fluid if anyone is having problems finding it.