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Running 91 mogas on trips

NinerBikes

Well Known Member
I am curious if some of you go to the extra effort to keep 100LL out of your engine, gearbox and motor oil when you go on longer trips where you don't refuel back at home, and how some of you might go about getting your pump gas in town and filling up your RV-12 again.

Some day, I'd like to fly from kwhp in CA to Yellowstone in a couple of days, via my RV-12, and am curious how any of you get 12 to 15 gallons of pump gas back to the airport, from a town close by, say a first stop in Mesquite, AZ.


Do most airports have a car you can borrow to get to town? Do I buy a One Wheel and ride that into town with a couple of 6 gallon plastic jerry cans and dump those in the tank back at the airport?

Newbie here, looking for some pointers or tips from more seasoned RV-12 XC travelers.
 
I think you are going to find the seasoned RV-12 travelers just fill up with 100LL when necessary and shorten the next oil change interval when they get home.
 
Noting that I have a UL350iS and not a Rotax in my -12 and burn 91 AKI here in wackifornia with 10% ethanol on a daily basis, however I burn 100LL traveling.

I flew to Oshkosh and back in July, and then out to Pensacola in September and burned 100LL both trips. I used 1oz of Decalin per 10 gallons and had no issues whatsoever. I do change my oil at 25 hours when running avgas, along with using Phillips 20w-50 aviation oil instead of the normal Mobil 1 20w-50 synthetic.

My post trip inspection showed clean plugs too, so that's what I'll do going forward.
 
Awesome idea!!!!

Do I buy a One Wheel and ride that into town with a couple of 6 gallon plastic jerry cans and dump those in the tank back at the airport?

Newbie here, looking for some pointers or tips from more seasoned RV-12 XC travelers.
 
Run 100LL when that's all you can get. It won't hurt anything, just shorten the oil change interval if you get over about 30%. And I carry a bottle of Decalin when I know I'll have to fill up with 100LL.
 
I do what a Dale posted. Plugs look good at annual. As a rough guess I?d say I have burned AVGAS between 5% and 10% of the time in almost 1000 hours
 
At the airport we only have 100LL(?2,66/l ~ $11,22/USG) and UL91 (?2,55/l ~ $10,75/USG). At the car fuel station we have E10 and E5 (Ethanol free ?1,84/l ~ $7,76/USG). So to avoid 100LL and high fuel prices I use E5. To refuel in the hangar I use an Emilcaddy 55L (~15USG) with electric pump + filter. For enroute and when no mogas available I have a foldable jerrycan otherwise 100LL + Decalin.

IMG-3007-1.jpg


Foldable-jerrycan.jpg
 
We have a 914 in a Europa, now with over 1000 hours. Early on we ran some 100LL and at the oil change we were surprised at the amount of lead sludge in the bottom of the oil tank. That convinced us to run MOGAS whenever possible.

We use the websites mentioned above as well as Airnav.com to research MOGAS and Swift locations. Neither of the first websites seem to be well supported but we send updates when we encounter them. We also call ahead to be sure MOGAS is available when a website says it is.

When a MOGAS airport doesn't fit our trip or route, we carry bags as shown in the post before available from https://www.airframesalaska.com/Liquid-Containment-Bag-p/5.2bag.htm. We look for an airport near a interstate highway interchange and use their courtesy car to get MOGAS. We're sure to leave a nice tip for the use of the car.

When all else fails, we carry Decalin and use 100LL but we haven't done that in several years.

Jim & Heather
 
Is this "Decalin RunUp" for 100VLL what is being referred to, or is there a different one for regular 100LL?

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/Decalin.php

I also see it says "Make sure you remove and clean your oxygen sensor every 20 hours to remove these lead phosphate deposits when using Decalin RunUp."

Yup, same stuff. It turns lead clinkers into lead phospate, which is more like a white powder residue. You may see it on your tail pipe and if you have an O2 sensor, then you would want to clean it as well. If you have an O2 sensor and you’re running leaded fuel without Decalin, it’s probably coked up by now and not working well, if at all.
 
Yup, same stuff. It turns lead clinkers into lead phospate, which is more like a white powder residue. You may see it on your tail pipe and if you have an O2 sensor, then you would want to clean it as well. If you have an O2 sensor and you?re running leaded fuel without Decalin, it?s probably coked up by now and not working well, if at all.

Cool, thanks. I don't have an engine yet, so it should still be safe. :D
I have to assume the 912iS has an O2 sensor, yes?
 
I have to assume the 912iS has an O2 sensor, yes?

No, it does not.


Regarding use of leaded fuel......

After a lot of years maintaining a bunch of different RV-12's, I have seen no indication that a low percentage of flight making an occasional cross country (even a long trip to OSH and back) where 100LL is used, has any impact on the engine. There is no noticeable accumulation of lead in the oil tank or other internal parts of the engine.
A short interval oil change after the trip is not a bad idea.

If 100LL is used more than just on rare occasions, then adding Decalin to the fuel is a good idea, and then follow Rotax's maint. recommendations.
 
No, it does not.


Regarding use of leaded fuel......

After a lot of years maintaining a bunch of different RV-12's, I have seen no indication that a low percentage of flight making an occasional cross country (even a long trip to OSH and back) where 100LL is used, has any impact on the engine. There is no noticeable accumulation of lead in the oil tank or other internal parts of the engine.
A short interval oil change after the trip is not a bad idea.

If 100LL is used more than just on rare occasions, then adding Decalin to the fuel is a good idea, and then follow Rotax's maint. recommendations.

Interesting. On a related note - do they have catalytic converters?
 
Even a small amount of lead will ruin a catalytic converter.
Take precautions to avoid contaminating fuel that will be used in your automotive vehicle.
Burn unwanted aviation fuel in your lawnmower, not in your car.
 
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