So I'm getting ready to put a 77Gal tank in the bed of my truck to purchase off airport avgas and mogas since both are WAY cheaper.

I'm looking at pumps and the ones that say 100LL are way more expensive. Take these two for example:

http://catalog.gpi.net/item/electric-pu ... lpver=1001
and
http://catalog.gpi.net/item/aviation-fu ... lpver=1001

They are both rated for gasoline, but the bottom one also includes avgas, and is a bit more expensive since it doesn't ship with hoses or a nozzle.

So what could the difference be? The seals? I can't imagine a seal that works for ethanol, gasoline, and diesel wouldn't also work for ethanol, gasoline, diesel, and avgas. Perhaps it's just the nozzle that's different since I think the unleaded nozzles need to be bigger to prevent them from going into standard auto gas tanks and the AV pump doesn't come with a nozzle.

I'm betting that I could buy the standard pump and it would work just fine, but the distributor is telling me that it's not avgas rated.

Thoughts? What did everybody else do?

akschu wrote:So I'm getting ready to put a 77Gal tank in the bed of my truck to purchase off airport avgas and mogas since both are WAY cheaper....What did everybody else do?

I just walked into Ace Supply on 5th Avenue and asked them for a AvGas setup. Walked out happy. Didn't price compare. Maybe you could do better elsewhere, but they are local, friendly and knowledgeable. No affiliation.
-DP

Hey Denali, sorry I didn't get to visit more at the show, it was a zoo!

Anyway, which pump did they sell you? GPI or FIll-rite? How big is your tank?

schu

I have one in my truck, the whole set up is for gasoline, I originally had a diesel nozzle on it and it only lasted about a year, the gasoline rated one I put on has been there for 3 years with no problems. the filter I have on it is rated for avgas and is a go/no-go filter (at least that's what we call it) once it gets water or contamination in it, it pretty much stops the flow rather than bypassing.

the only thing I would caution is my home airport will not sell me gas as there license only allows them to fuel directly to aircraft. I have to go to the local float plane base to get the fuel. you may not have that problem but it sure caught me by surprise

Roamer

If there’s a difference I haven’t seen it. I have a 20 gpm 12v pump that cost $200 for the kit through Walmart that has thousands of gallons of avgas run through it with no problems. It has a no avgas sticker on it, I’m guessing it’s a legal thing. I’ve also worked with operators that use pumps powered by weedeater engines for the avgas on loader trucks, those things are meant for muddy water and pump gas just fine too. Not an endorsement, just an observation.

I also run 2 filters. A 10 micron that also filters out water followed by a 2 micron filter. The gas coming out looks as good as it does from an airport pump.

We pump hundreds of gallons of AvGas daily thru these (note the essential filter, and static cable is attached but unseen):

akschu wrote:Hey Denali, sorry I didn't get to visit more at the show, it was a zoo!

Anyway, which pump did they sell you? GPI or FIll-rite? How big is your tank?

schu

I was glad to meet you at the LakeFront- hope to cross paths again.

My pump is a Fill-Rite. In fact, Ace Supply sold me the floor display they had built up for the Airmen's show. This was a couple years ago. My tank is the double-wall PT-108 made by Greer. (I don't see it listed on their website anymore though.) Pic below is of my trailer when it was in progress.

-DP

p.s.- if you get a new fuel hose in black, you might want to run a bunch of non-plane gas through it first to minimize the discoloration when pumping plane gas.

p.p.s.- Fill-Rite also offers re-build kits- don't know if the same is true of the competition. I haven't needed to rebuild mine, but I have rebuilt a friend's pump that had seen massive amounts of use.

There is a version that is rated to pump aviation fuel and one not rated for aviation fuel. I have both on two different slip tanks and there doesn't seem to be a difference apart from a bonding strap and warning on the side. The non rated one was old as the hills when I got it and has pumped diesel, gas, av gas, colored fuel you name it for a mate of mine and now over 13000 ltrs into my planes. Just don't get the diesel pump is all and hook up a bonding strap if you want. Pretty amazing pumps the hammering they get on the back of work trucks.

AIH also has all the stuff you need. I got my set-up from them. Fill-Rite as well.

the filter I have on it is rated for avgas and is a go/no-go filter (at least that's what we call it)

I got this on June 22. It concerns moisture filters shedding particles into your avgas.

AAAviation Safety SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESSINFORMATION BULLETIN SUBJ: Engine Fuel and Control – Filter Monitor Media MigrationSAIB: HQ-18-17Date: June 22, 2018 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. IntroductionThis Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) advises airplane operators, Fixed BaseOperators (FBOs), FAA repair stations and Flight Standard District Offices (FSDOs), and foreigncivil aviation authorities of actions and recommendations taken by Airlines for America (A4A) andother aviation industry stakeholders to inhibit or prevent the migration of Super Absorbent Polymer(SAP) filter media particles into aircraft fuel supplies. The SAP media is the filter element materialutilized in ground-based water filtration systems called filter monitors to absorb water from the fuelbefore it enters the aircraft

interesting, so how would one know if the media was migrating into the fuel system?

Thanks for the feedback. I got some other comments on the Alaska Aviators Resource Facebook group, and it seems all agree, no special pump for avgas, but make sure the filtering is good.

I ended up with a GPI aluminum pump and a 77gal diamond plate tank. I think it will look good on the alumiduty.

schu

Following up with a couple additional pictures- the red static reel has two leads that are spliced together about 10' back- I clip one to the airframe and one to a ground rod. Ace Supply has the big 100LL stickers, but disappointingly if you spill fuel it will mess up the edge of the sticker.
Cheers,

If you wanted to protect the sticker, you could probably just spray a couple of layers of clear enamel over it.


It would cost less than five bucks at a Lowes or Home Depot