When FBO's sump their Jet A fuel trucks, they are not allowed to pump the resulting test fuel into an aircraft or sell it. They have to dispose of it as per environmental regulations. However, they are allowed to let us dispose of it.

All it took for me was to show the FBO supervisor one of my turbines and tell him that that was where the fuel was going to be used and he had no problem with giving me what I needed.

Although there may be water in the fuel, it can (and should) be filtered out with a "Mr Funnel" water blocking funnel manufactured be Smart Tech. http://www.mrfunnel.com/

I now fly for a company that has 2 Lears and a King Air. The mechanics sump them every Saturday. It yields about 5 gallons of perfectly good Jet A and when I need it they are more than happy to accommodate me as it saves them the trouble of going through the disposal process.

Jet A does smell worse than kerosene but doesn't smell as bad as an empty wallet.

Nice job Bob, good score. There are a couple guys down here at the Van Nuys airport that have that same agreement. It works out great for both parties, the airport doesn't have to pay to get rid of it and the rc jet pilots don't have to pay for fuel. Perfect relationship.

CYA,
Billy

Hello Bob

I too obtained Jet fuel through a similar agreement, but I was worried about the quality of the fuel so I am very interested in these funnels. Wich one exactle are you using? The conductive type or a regular one?

Thanks for your imput


Pedro

I am using the Water Blocker by MrFunnel and it works great. It has a resevoir below the 5 micron filter to trap water and debris. It works great.

RH

Hi, I am in the fortunate position in that I look after a Bell 412 (in Air Ambulance configuration), that runs on JetA1. We drain at least 2 litres a day from the aircraft, and the storage tanks for testing. And as Rjbob said, it can't re used. Lucky Me

I believe most aircraft operators would be the same, and would probablly be happy to give it to someone to used, rather than paying for disposal.

Cheers,

Greg

That how I used to get my fuel in the UK for many years. You certainly don't need any filter contraptions, either. Just let the fuel settle in transparent plastic containers such as white spirit bottles, after a few days draw off the fuel by syphon from above any water and or dirt/ debris and transfer it to you fuel container. Do it this way and you wont have to change your aircraft filters either because the fuel is totally free from water and debris.

Regards,

David Gladwin.

Good stuff...so basically all one has to do is find an aircraft operator and just ask them if I can "dispose" of their sumped Jet A?


Thanks for the info guys.

same here but they don't just pump out 5 gallons what ever they drain the whole full tanks of the plane so us few here get a 44 gallon drum for 80 dollars and it last us for ages and we do screen it for any foreign matter as well

Same here except there's no water in the fuel
(very rare that the lack of water here is a GOOD thing)

Yep, I just go to all the squadrons at North Island and find the one with the fullest 55 gal disposal drum and pump 10 gallons from the middle of the tank.

That sounds all fine and good guys, but has anyone or any of the turbine manufactures commented on the effects of Prist? Prist is fuel additive used in full-scale jets to keep small amounts of water that’s in the fuel system from freezing at high altitudes. I was told that it is very corrosive. Some FBO’s have their fuel premixed with Priest and some do not.

You might try to find whoever told you that prist was corrosive and ask him/her if he/she would ride in a passenger plane if the fuel had a corrosive agent in it...I think not. Toxic does not equal corrosive.

http://www.csdinc.org/prist/

Unfortunaltly here in California, it is part of the States EPA regulations that all sumped fuel must be accounted for and hauled off by a certified disposal company, if not i could offer you guys fuel like crazy,,,

I'm still in the process of trying to find where i can get some jet fuel for Cheap for you local boys here in SoCal. Since I'm now at the other end of the airport, looks like that might not happen anytime soon as i have lost my connection with the fuel guys at the north end of the field.

Gene

The fuel systems in full scale jets are completely different than r/c jets. For one, full scale jets do not use the fuel as a lubricant unlike r/c tubines do. I'm not trying to bust ur ballz, just making an observation. I for one will not use sumpted fuel until someone at Jet Cat (in my case) says it's ok to do so! That's all.

Hmmmm...I am thinking not a good idea....

A&P Mechanic here, and I can tell you that anything and everything goes into those drums...I don't care what they tell you.

Sure, I would sump 10 727's a night and have gallons of good fuel, it would go into the sump barrel....then I would do a 1000 hour on a APU and all that oil would go into the sump barrel along with safety wire and anything else that made it to the 5 gallon bucket I was using.

No way in hell I would use sumped fuel on my jet, the 15 bucks for 5 gallons is well worth it when it comes to my equipment.

YMMV

Hey guys. I guess it depends on the source of the fuel. There are different varients of Jet fuel, and some do have additivies, and some don't. If you know the source then there should be no problem.

In my case the drained (and tested) fuel from our helicopter and bowser sits in 2 glass jars inside a locked cuboard for the day. The next morning the fuel goes from the glass jar direct to my own fuel container. I completly understand about taking fuel from drums, you would need to have a lot of confidence in the person filling the drum, and even then may not be the best idea. Using the surplass fuel from the daily fuel drains (for testing purposes) is the best option.


Cheers,

Greg

Bottom line...full scale jets filter and pump fuel to the engine exactly as we do with models but on a much larger scale. The fuel controllers are different but the actual fuel system is very similar. Also...we do not use fuel as a lubricant; we use the oil which is added to the fuel to lube the bearings. A small amount of fuel is diverted and sent through the bearings to accomplish this.

I always know where my jet-A comes from. Still...I filter it with a "MrFunnell" before I add turbine oil. That removes ANY water and impurities from the fuel.