EAA The Spirit of Aviation - 20 May 1996

A question frequently asked is, "Is it all right to fuel my airplane using five gallon cans?" The answer is "yes," but you must know it is risky business to handle gasoline in this manner. There is an added risk of contamination when putting gasoline into your aircraft. Fuel contamination with aviation gasoline or automobile gasoline, or any fuel is a significant safety problem in aircraft. Using five-gallon cans exposes you to the possibility of contaminating with rust or perhaps solder droplets from brand new cans and, in particular, from water formed by condensation or water otherwise entering the fuel system. Our recommendation, when this method of fueling must be done, is to take extreme care in making sure no water or other contaminant is put in your airplane fuel tank. Farm stores sell large funnels with flanges that will screw on your gasoline tank inlet to support the funnel and at the same time provide a 100-mesh stainless steel screen. This should help ensure the absence of water in the fuel tank.

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Revised 5/20/96
The problem still remains, as with all aircraft and fuel systems, of possible condensation forming enough water in the fuel tank to cause a problem. The recommended practice has been to leave the fuel tanks full whenever possible in the small aircraft we fly. We highly recommend reading FAA Advisory Circular AC 20-43 regarding the contamination of aviation fuel.
Caution: Do not use fuel which contains alcohol. It is not compatible with all materials in your fuel system and will cause malfunction of the fuel delivery system, reduce your aircraft range and aggravate the contamination problems and vapor lock potential.

For further information please contact:
EAA Flight Research Center
Auto Fuel STC
PO Box 3065
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065
Phone: (920) 426-4843
Fax: (920) 426-4881
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