Agrav8ed

As the title says I am new to turbine jets. I have a couple of questions about the fuel. I am currently using a stainless steel fuel can and running kerosene with the king Tech turbine oil. Here are my questions

1. When I had my turbine on the test stand on a hot summer day I noticed that the fuel sitting in the fiberglass tank got much much darker after being in the Sun for a couple of hours. It went from almost clear to a light tea color. IS this normal? Or if something weird going on?.

2. I mixed my fuel with the kingtech oil but because I had some issues with the turbine and am waiting for my jet to arrive, the mixed fuel has been sitting in the stainless steel can for a few months now. How long can the fuel sit and still be usable. I have several gallons left and would hate the thought of disposing of it if it is still good.

3. How could I dispose of it?

Thanks,
Tone

Henke Torphammar

Find a diesel car, open filler cap, input fuel and your problem is gone

As of running old fuel... is there a problem? if not just go.... turbines do run on virtually anything... diesel, kerosene, jet-A, lamp oil etc etc...

gunradd

My Feedback: (9)

Agrav8ed

The darkness thing was bothering me a bit so thank you for the clarification. So even though it gets darker, the oil is not breaking down or anything? Also, how long is a long time for the fuel to sit in the can?
thanks,
Tone

Steve Collins

My Feedback: (8)

If you still have it next year, it will still be usable. Just take care to prevent moisture absorption.

gunradd

My Feedback: (9)

if its moisture free then a few years would be fine.

Agrav8ed

I have the hsd stainless steel fuel can. How do I prevent moisture? I would assume that the can is sealed.
thanks,
Tone

flyinfool1

My Feedback: (2)

When I had some medical issues and did not fly my jet much, 5 year old kero ran just fine. (it took me that long to use up my 5 gal jug ) Just be sure it is sealed and out of the light and in a place that does not have big temperature swings. Temp swings promote condensation that will lead to water in the fuel. I also use BioBor in all my jet fuel to prevent algae growth.
Your stainless can should be good at sealing, and really good at keeping the light out. Never assume, check to see if the cap is vented or there is any other type of vent.

Agrav8ed

So I was going over my can and there did appear to be a small air leak at the rear seal where the festo was inserted. I removed the fitting, doped the thread and replaced it and the can is now airtight. My question is this, I filled the can the beginning of the summer. This bad seal has been there since the beginning. Would it have allowed enough moisture to get in the can that the fuel would be bad or would it be good to run still?
Thanks,
Tone

john491

My Feedback: (13)

My thoughts would be that it was possibly fortunate that there was a small leak, it may have prevented damage to your storage can. If you have been storing where there are large differences in temperature the can swell and contract if there is no vent ( assuming the storage container was not completely full). Also if that was the only thing venting air into your storage, it is unlikely you moved more than a cubic inch or so of air back and forth, so not much water vapor in there.
If in doubt, filter the fuel into a new container then back through a Mr Filter to remove any remaining water, add fungicide.
John

Agrav8ed

It is a 6.6 gallon can and it has about 4 gallons of fuel in it. It lives in my garage so the only changes in temp would be what is occurring outside. You said that having a small leak may be fortunate, how so? I thought the cans were supposed to be air tight to prevent any moisture wicking?
Thanks,
Tone

CARS II

My Feedback: (7)

I keep my 5 gallon can in the garage, in summer it can get to 100° in there, I keep my can plug, it expands all it wants, not a problem in years.

I was using Kero for over a decade then, I switched to Diesel, I experienced algae growth for the first time, the filter on my Boomerang XL got plug, 3 dead stick landings, found the problem, cleaned the filter with plastic safe cleaner ( got it from HD, thanks Dan Avila ) now I'm back using Kero, under $20 for 5 gallons at my local Ramos oil co. It is dayed red, that helps to see where the level is in the tanks, also less build up inside the engine because the Kero has less oil, use algiecide if you are using Diesel.

Never saw algie build up when I was using the turbine oils, two weeks ago I inspected my Kintech oil plastic can, it had some black stuff at the bottom, algie? I added a bit is algiecide ( thanks Raffy ) today, a week later I looked at the oil can, clear as a whistle, I love the Kintech oil and will keep using it till forever

Since I'm now using Kero from an oil company not the HD cans, I will keep using the algiecide just to be safe.

My two cents of what I have experienced with my fuel recently.

john491

My Feedback: (13)

When there is a significant volume of air above a liquid, the air will expand or contract significantly more than the liquid, which has no significant expansion as far as this kind of storage. A vent or small leak prevents this. You indicate you are about 2/3 full. I would expect there to be some venting of the air as temps increase, unless stored inside of course. I keep my fuel in the garage which can experience a 20 deg change in a day. I have seen my tightly closed cans swell when capped too tightly. They are polypropylene so flex fairly well, but metal container rolled joints don't like changes in internal pressure. Not a problem if the storage is kept mostly full (ie 90% +).
My biggest concern is leakage if the can were to be turned over.
John

Agrav8ed

Wouldn't a small air leak or vent allow moisture to get into the fuel? I thought that the goal was to keep as much moisture out of the fuel as possible.
Thanks,
Tone

CARS II

My Feedback: (7)

For that reason I stopped plugging the vents on my jets.

CARS II

My Feedback: (7)

For that reason I no longer plug the vents on my jets.