I thought I would share this experiance with the readers.

Did you ever wonder what would happen if a blob of Algae was to find its way into your UAT?
My friend ran into a frustrating set of circumstances last week when flying his Elan, he would start his Turbine and proceed to take off…. No problem, then as the flight progressed (around two minutes) he noticed that his output power from the Turbine would slowly degrade until the point in which he would be forced to land as it would not sustain flight.
Well of course the first thing to do is to blame the Turbine/Electronics…Right???
So he changed the ECU battery thinking this may be the cause… he started the Turbine and took it up to full power on the ground…no problem, he proceeded to take off and after about two minutes into the flight he had to do a landing due to loss of power.
What else could it be other than a faulty fuel pump, so off to home to change the pump.
The next day with the new pump installed he proceeded to start up the Turbine at home, well being in a residential neighborhood and wanting to be a good neighbor he didn’t want to run the turbine at full power for more than 30 seconds, the full power test looked good so off to the schedule jet event for the weekend for some fun and relaxation.
He gets to the event and proceeds to fly…after two minutes he has to land again for lack of power… what the #$@% is going on here!!!!!
Well ….let’s do some more ground tests, let’s eliminate the fuel solenoid in case it has some sort of restriction. Start the Turbine and let her rip on the ground….RPM dropping, PW increasing…
OK …. Let’s eliminate the fuel tank and UAT and connect the taxi tank directly to the pump….Start it up and hold full throttle….it runs great and the pump PW is way down.
Let’s look at the UAT…hey what’s that green blob in the bottom of the UAT?????
Unscrew the lid and dump the contents into a clean paper towel….. YIKES, its like a slimy wad of crap!
Moral of the story, if you have fuel stored for a long period be on the lookout for Algae growth…
The reason it took approximately two minutes for the power to diminish is the fuel draw would pull the slime wad around the UAT bag until it created a large restriction, when you shut off the turbine the slim wad would fall back to the bottom of the UAT so the next time you started it it would run normally on the ground for a short period of time.

There is an algiside that you can add to your fuel. I use it all the time now

Dennis

Thanks we plan on getting some...cheep insurance
Bevar sent me the following link

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...?pid=3779&BASE

BTW, I thought that the UAT filter stopped the contaminants from passing through, I just talked to my friend and he said it made it back to the filter before the turbine...

The main reason for the algae in the UAT is because most people fill the main tank from the UAT so any contaminates in the fuel bowser, water ect are pumped straight into the UAT, any filter in the main tank is useless because the filling is on the wrong side of the filter, the algae is formed on water that lays in the bottom of the UAT, normally called a water bottom, the best way of avoiding it is to have a seperate fill in the main tank and use it to drain the tank and UAT at the end of a flying session.

The water in the main bowser is from condensation forming inside the cannister, get hold of a Mr Funnel filter which will pass kero, but not water and filter your bowser if its been layed up for a time.

Mike

Just use Jet A instead of kero, it already has the algicide in it.

I don't know what it is in Jet A, but it smells something awfull and is very hard to get rid of, at least kero does not smell as bad.

Mike

The fuel in question was Jet A; however it sat over the winter in his 5 gallon container

One other thing to note, my friend informed me that his pick up in his main fuel jug was supposed to have a screen on it, when he examined it he found that the screen had fallen out of the pick-up.

As BaldEagel posted there are a lot of people that fill through the UAT...(myself included) which puts any residue that was not filtered directly into the UAT.

Bottom line is there were multiple things leading up to this condition that could have possibly been avoided... the purpose of this post was to let readers know what the results were of having Algae in the UAT... and they were a time delayed reduction of power.

Fortunately the aircraft was an Elan which is more tolerant of low power situations.

Jet A does not come with biocide (biobor), that is up to the FBO and supplier you would have to ask if they use it. We put it in our tanks here at the hangar for the company I fly for.

Jed

Hi All, do not think that Jet A1 has the addative in to kill the algae,in the uk it is added to the fuel as and when needed, when the aircraft is refuelled.A1 is not allowed to be stored with the addative in, in case of a leak in to a water course with would kill all life!!

Double post sorry about that.

There we are then, interstital condensation causing water to get into the container, bacterial growth in the water and transfered into the UAT, if you are going to store fuel over any length of time ensure the container is absolutly full this will leave the minimum amount of surface area for condensation to form on, hence less water into the fuel and less area for the bacteria to grow on.

I would recommend the use of a ''Mr Funnel'' filter to get rid of the water and growth when transfering the fuel from your storage container into your fuel bowser, and don't leave fuel in the tank or UAT for a prolonged periods.

Mike

if you use an ultra fine filter on the fuel pumping line, will that help avoiding nasty stuff going into your UAT ? or is this algea actually forming inside the UAT ?

Thanks Rich for the link. I may have to order some.
I never empty my UAT and I leave enough fuel in my main tanks to keep the clunk and fuel line covered at the end of the year.
How much of the Biobor Jf are you adding to a 5 gallon can?
Just wondering how long the stuff will last.

Bio-Bor mixes one ounce to 80 gallons so just a dab will do.

While the ad says 1 to 40...that is a "shock treatment" quantity. The regular dose is 1/2 oz to 40 gallons. I have been running it in our RV and my jets for 3 years now with no problems...



Beave

was that my former elan? she's a peach, take care of her..

Hey Goose, no that one was not your old Elan,

Here is a shot of your old Elan which belongs to my other buddy Jack.
The second photo is the other Elan

The algea forms on the water bottom, so if its in the fuel container it can form there, if the water bottom is in either the UAT or main tank it can form there, as far as I know the algea needs the water bottom to formate and the fuel to feed on.

So double insurance is using a "Mr Funnel" filter and a bacterial inhibitor as Beave suggests, personnaly I just use the filter and empty the fuel from my tanks when I store the jet for any length of time.

Mike

Mike, will the mr funnel filter out the turbine oil?

I found this info on an Ultralight page


http://www.ultralightnews.ca/fuelsystem/mrfunnel.html



Filter Tips for the SAFE and efficient use of MR.FUNNEL


Your satisfaction Mr. Funnel by Smart Tech will depend upon how well you understand its design and proper use. The following Mr. Funnel TIPS will help you to best use this cost-effective fuel management tool.

AVIATION USERS be sure to note Tip #8.

1. Carbon powder is injected into the Mr. Funnel plastic so that Mr. Funnel will conduct static electricity (not applicable to colored F1Cs). Grounding is an important safety feature. Always ground Mr. Funnel by Smart Tech.

2. When properly used, the filter will separate FREE WATER from hydrocarbon fuels. Free Water is the collection of H2O molecules in the bottom of gas cans or drums formed when fuel is stored for even short periods of time. The free water formation is due to condensation in the air and/or the separation of water molecules from fuel. Water may be present in hydrocarbon fuels as Free Water or as an emulsion small globules of water suspended in the fuel. Water may be emulsified in fuel by vibration or by emulsifying agents such as HEET, alcohol, or detergents. The filter will not remove water emulsified in fuel. We recommend that you filter out Free Water first by using Mr. Funnel, then add such agents to your tank to emulsify any water that may have formed in the tank previously. If both water and hydrocarbon fuels are present in a container and the container is vibrated by shaking or by being transported in a vehicle (including an airplane), water may be temporarily emulsified into the fuel.

Water emulsified in this manner will usually combine and settle out as Free Water in about five minutes after all vibration has ceased. When properly used, the filter will separate this Free Water along with rust and crud from your fuel.

3. Excessive head pressure can force water through the funnel. If most of the filter is covered with water, the head pressure of a full funnel can force water through the filter. As water is observed collecting in the bottom of the funnel or the flow rate begins to slow, stop fueling and dump the water/crud out of the funnel and then continue. (See recommended test in number 9 below.)

4. 2-cycle oil contains dispersants, (detergents) which may allow some water to pass the screen. The only safe way to filter out water is add the two cycle oil to the tank after filtering the fuel through the funnel.

5. Dry gas (HEAT and alcohol) can emulsify and bind water. See # 2. The filter cannot remove this bound water. Filter fuels before adding dry gas. The filter will stop water from going into your tank; the dry gas will absorb moisture already present in your tank.

6. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE the filter from. The filter is permanently attached to the funnel. (It wouldn't work "in line" anyway due to increased head pressure, so don't try it!)

7. Mr. Funnel is designed to work with gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. CAUTION: Do not use Mr. Funnel for anything else. Other products can compromise the effectiveness of the filter.

8. CAUTION AVIATION USERS: For aviation use, the purpose of this product is to facilitate the inspection of fuel for contamination in the form of solids (down to .005 inch) and free water.
If contamination is found in aviation fuels when checking your tanks or during refueling, drain tanks or take appropriate corrective action. Don't forget to always check the sump for water that may already exist in the tanks.

9. Always test Mr. Funnel before its first use. There's a 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee. Pour a cup of water into the F1C and F3C or 2 cups into the F8C. This amount of water should not pass through the filter. (Of course, we know that you'll probably pour water into the funnel until it leaks. Keep this amount in mind when using Mr. Funnel, knowing that the head pressure caused by the weight of this amount of water in the funnel will cause water to pass through the Teflon coated stainless steel screen.)

10. Frequently inspect the funnel for physical damage. The filter is stainless steel coated with Teflon. With proper us your Mr. Funnel should last for a long, long time.
Teflon Coated Stainless steel Filter Separates water and Dirt from Gasoline, Diesel
Kerosene. Manufactured out of industrial Standard Electro-conductive Polypropylene and can be grounded for extra safety. Fast Flow fuel Rate. Filter Material is the same used to protect the U.S Army M-60 and M-1 Combat Tanks.
Self Cleaning with no replacement parts.
MR. FUNNEL, filters water and other contaminants from fuel. Available in three sizes. Replaceable filter element.

FILTER FUEL BEFORE ADDING OIL.
Additives can damage filter element.

Rich beat me to it, I have used the "Mr Funnel" filter with the oil already combined with Kero and its still seems to only filter the water out of the fuel, but as it says above in Rich's post let the fuel settle before use to ensure the water has seperated from the Kero.

Mike

Rich. Glad that it wasn't anything serious with Cliffs jet. On the other hand if you would just burn more kero in the sky you won't have algea. . I don't get algea, my fuel doesn't sit around long enough for it to grow.LOL

Good to see you guys and we will see you in Oct.

Joe Lewis
Kingtech K-80 owner

I'm confused. I did a test with Oil only (no kero) and the funnel did not allow it to pass. This tells me that using the funnel with kero mixed with the oil will not allow the oil to pass. anybody can confirm?

With the mixed fuel and oil I only get water in the funnel after filling if any is presnet, I suppose the dilution is sufficient to allow the oil to pass, but still keep water out, I just tested my "Mr Filter" and water will not pass so I assume the filter is still working OK.

Mike