It's been nearly 20 years since last I ran a diesel (and even then only for a season). I recently got a PAW .049 from Mr. Clutton, and waiting on the fuel to arrive. I have a couple of questions;

Is it a good idea to refrigerate the fuel, then just topping off a small bottle to take to the field with me?

I understand that plastics don't do all that good of a job keeping ether in, how well does neoprene work? How about nylon? I'm toying with the idea of making a pump can so I don't have to uncap it every time I want some fuel.

The fuel doesn't need refigeration. I have a quart fuel can with two tubes soldered on the top. One goes to the bottom and is the fuel pickup. The other is actually a long grommet soldered to the top of the can for a vent. Store with a neoprene tube between the two. I fuel with a Norvel syringe or a Sullivan black squeeze bulb. Uncap the vent first, then uncap the fuel tube and suck it out.

Another way is to turn the can upside down; use the 'vent' tube as the delivery tube and just let fuel run out to fill the tank.

Ether doesn't escape through neoprene the way it does a normal plastic bottle?

Not that I know of. I made the can several years ago. Does Aerodyne sell diesel fuel in plastic bottles?

I haven't bought any lately but all Aerodyne I've gotten is in metal cans.

George

I'd recommend going with metal cans for storage. I collected several 1 gallon metal cans years ago and still use them for bulk storage, just putting a new thin disk of cork in the cap every now and then. I've got a collection of pint and quart cans as well and use them for holding the mixes I want to fly with. They're sort of color coded with a coat of enamel so nobody can ever confuse them with the original product. The fuel gets stored in the basement where its cooler than the garage in the summer.

Good idea. Another way to seal the cap (stolen from Eric Clutton) is to put teflon plumber's tape around the threads. I usually buy fuel in quarts, but I save some cans so if I get a gallon I can dispense it into quarts.

George

I notice the Sullivan stopper conversions are made from nitrile. Does that mean I could safely use a finger from a nitrile glove to make a fuel bladder? I'm not looking to make a pressure bladder, just one that holds fuel at atmospheric pressure that's also light and won't foam (no air in it).

I think you can use a regular balloon. A number of British CL stunt fliers, around 1950, used balloon tanks with diesel. I suspect the balloon won't last forever.

DTrucker,

There's another thread in here about fuel cans that covers pretty much the same thoughts...

Oh great, now trying to find the magic combination of keywords that will lead to an old thread - howsabout a general diesel sticky FAQ?

Hmm, after some searching I see I'm hardly original in requesting a sticky. Still haven't found the info I'm looking for of course....maybe it's just easier to keep replying to the same questions over and over with 'search the forum' rather than making it convient with a sticky?

Okay Dig, try Polyethelene(sp?), its very impervious to solvents, but it's difficult to bond.
Tony G