Gasahol Update

On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 04:27:28 GMT, George Patterson
wrote:

Casey Wilson wrote:

Sort of..., #'s 1, 3, and 4 don't answer the questions. While #2 seems
to reply by alleging incompatibility, it doesn't state the damage. How are
those components not compatible? Do they explode?

Problems vary depending on the composition of the items. Generally seals,
gaskets, and diaphrams *may* swell and/or soften when exposed to alcohol. This
caused problems with some automobiles when gasohol was introduced in the
mid-70s. I do not reliably remember what substances were most affected

Well I do, I was an auto mechanic with gas started being laced with
alcohol, and saw the results several times.

I'll never forget the first time we got a complaint. They guy had a
midsize Chrysler and brought it in complaining of it not running well.

We got it into the shop and popped the hood. It immediately drew a
crowd, every single mechanic was hanging over the engine compartment
with their mouth's dropped and their eyes wide open in amazement.
Every single hose connected to the fuel system, including vent hoses,
was swelled to twice or three times it's size and was sticky and gooey
to touch.

We realised that this was just the surface. Every diaphram in the
carburator, every rubber piece, would be the same way. The fuel line
from the tank had several hoses also, and they were all shot in the
same way.

And it smelled like alcohol.

It would likely take a mechanic several days to properly replace every
single component that had been affected, and at the time there were no
known compatible substitutes, although they showed up remarkably fast.

So "IF" your airplane does not have hoses compatible with alcohol, or
any component of your fuel system is not compatible with alcohol, this
is what you are facing.

Corky Scott