tomkk
Well Known Member
My plane was down for painting for quite a while. When I picked it up the painter asked if I knew about the fuel leak. "Fuel leak" I said? I wasn't aware of one. Anyway, it turns out that I've been using (clear) auto fuel for all my flying. I refilled with 100LL before taking it to the painter because it would tolerate the down time better than the ethanol auto fuel I'd been using. During that long down time, the fuel seeped out of a very small leak around a screw head and left a stain. I would have eventually discovered it by the smell but I would have had a heck of a time finding it without the dye.
So, the question: is there any sort of dye we can put in auto fuel to help detect the presence and location of small leaks? I could have just used 100LL once I realized there was a leak but, in this case, that would have meant a lot of the 100LL - the leak turned out to be around a screw near the top of the tank. It would only appear if the tank were 3/4 full. If I'd been using auto fuel with a dye it would have eventually been evident.
So, the question: is there any sort of dye we can put in auto fuel to help detect the presence and location of small leaks? I could have just used 100LL once I realized there was a leak but, in this case, that would have meant a lot of the 100LL - the leak turned out to be around a screw near the top of the tank. It would only appear if the tank were 3/4 full. If I'd been using auto fuel with a dye it would have eventually been evident.