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Old 06-21-2018, 08:52 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ndutton View Post
I'd be interested in knowing what testing connected this engine's failure to ethanol caused water absorption. If that were actually the cause, where did the water come from because it must have been a helluva lot.

What is different between the low compression engine in your anecdote and ours? My engine has been on a steady diet of E10 for at least 13 years and doubtless many more prior to my ownership without a single issue that was attributed to fuel contamination. Considering it has lived its entire life in the marine environment (the highest humidity), how can this possibly be? 1% MMO is the only additive I've ever used.
I have got an *entire quart* of water out of an airplane that sat through a few thunderstorms on the ramp in North Eleuthera. Draining fuel and checking for water is a routine preflight activity. Between old fuel cap gaskets that are not perfect, sitting through numerous temperature changes, and flying through rain at 150 knots, water can get in there. Most planes have at least 3 drain points and after Cessna got sued over a water contamination fatal accident, some of their airplanes have around 11 drains!
A lot of water indicates time to buy new fuel cap gaskets, but even with good ones it was not unusual to get a few drops of water in a plane I had flown the night before. Water can also freeze in fuel lines. A buddy of mine had an engine failure for just that reason and now his model aircraft have drains at a low point that did not have drains before. No one realized there was a gentle slope back up to the water separator from a few feet back and that was enough to trap enough water to freeze.
http://download.aopa.org/epilot/2010...034.1529585724

Last edited by joe_db; 06-21-2018 at 08:57 AM.
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