Can I really afford a Bonanza / Debonair??

Ever add Stabil when you use MoGas?
 
dudemize said:
I mounted a 90 gal DOT approved tank to an old Harbor Freight trailer I had. See profile pic. I keep the trailer in my hangar (empty). After a flight, I know exactly how much fuel I used from my EDM700 engine monitor. With this information in hand, I hook up the trailer and head to the gas station and get the exact amount of fuel I need and pump it in the airplane! I have to pull the airplane out of the hangar to fuel it. Then the empty tank goes back in the hangar. No gas is stored in the hangar. Autogas is not as stable as avgas which is why I always keep the Deb topped off (80 gal) and never store gas in the storage tank.

Generally I just buy 100LL when I need gas on the road. Usually, its not worth going out of my way to find an airport that has it.
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I appreciate this idea... I do wonder what you would do in a situation that required full passenger load... Or 3 and luggage?

If you don't store fuel in the hangar, and the Deb is always topped off, you can't offload fuel,can you?

Maybe that situation never occurs for you. But I would want the option.
 
CharlieD3 said:
I appreciate this idea... I do wonder what you would do in a situation that required full passenger load... Or 3 and luggage?

If you don't store fuel in the hangar, and the Deb is always topped off, you can't offload fuel,can you?

Maybe that situation never occurs for you. But I would want the option.
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Up to this point, I could load the family with up to 15 lbs of luggage each and still be under gross, so I never had to worry about it. However the kids are continuing to grow and weight is starting to become a factor. I actually did a W&B a couple days ago with their current weights (105 and 95) and we would be about 25 lbs over gross with full tanks. There is no reason that I have to keep the tanks topped off all the time. I just do it so there is minimal vapor space in the tanks to reduce the possibility of condensation and to try and keep the bladders from drying out. If we did have a family trip planned I would probably just fill it to the tabs (or just go fly around the pattern a few times to get the fuel down where I wanted it).
 
dudemize said:
I mounted a 90 gal DOT approved tank to an old Harbor Freight trailer I had. See profile pic. I keep the trailer in my hangar (empty). After a flight, I know exactly how much fuel I used from my EDM700 engine monitor. With this information in hand, I hook up the trailer and head to the gas station and get the exact amount of fuel I need and pump it in the airplane! I have to pull the airplane out of the hangar to fuel it. Then the empty tank goes back in the hangar. No gas is stored in the hangar. Autogas is not as stable as avgas which is why I always keep the Deb topped off (80 gal) and never store gas in the storage tank.

Generally I just buy 100LL when I need gas on the road. Usually, its not worth going out of my way to find an airport that has it.
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Just curious, what's the difference between storing fuel in the 90 gal DOT approved tank vs storing it in the plane? I understand the idea of keeping fuel topped off in the plane but don't see a huge difference between storing it in tank A (DOT tank) or tank B (plane) in regards to fuel safety. Am I just clueless on this??
 
Will Kumley said:
Just curious, what's the difference between storing fuel in the 90 gal DOT approved tank vs storing it in the plane? I understand the idea of keeping fuel topped off in the plane but don't see a huge difference between storing it in tank A (DOT tank) or tank B (plane) in regards to fuel safety. Am I just clueless on this??
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From a practical standpoint, I don't think there's a big difference at all. For whatever reason, fire codes generally do not permit storing fuel in a hangar. I guess fuel in the airplane doesn't count. Don't ask me!
 
I guess you could get a farm style fuel tank sitting high on a stand that gravity feeds fuel. It would sit outside the hanger. Safer? No. But would keep the fire marshal happy maybe
 
dudemize said:
From a practical standpoint, I don't think there's a big difference at all. For whatever reason, fire codes generally do not permit storing fuel in a hangar. I guess fuel in the airplane doesn't count. Don't ask me!
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Ah, now I get it. We have all kinds of stupid rules in the military like that. I just had a base safety person stop by a few weeks ago and tell me I need to take the hand sanitizer off my desk each night and store it in a hazmat locker because its flammable. A couple years ago I kicked the fire marshall out of my squadrons hangar when he told me coffee pots weren't allowed as they produce heat and could start a fire. Fun fact, I still don't have a hazmat locker and won't allow my command to spend the money on the purchase as its wasteful spending in my case. If I was storing hand sanitizer in a 50 gallon drum then I'd consider a hazmat locker, but my half empty 12 oz. bottle isn't getting special treatment. Heaven forbid I tell the inspector that we have paper files, cloth chairs, and wooden doors. But its okay, the building is brick and mortar so it wont burn...
 
Will Kumley said:
Ah, now I get it. We have all kinds of stupid rules in the military like that. I just had a base safety person stop by a few weeks ago and tell me I need to take the hand sanitizer off my desk each night and store it in a hazmat locker because its flammable. A couple years ago I kicked the fire marshall out of my squadrons hangar when he told me coffee pots weren't allowed as they produce heat and could start a fire. Fun fact, I still don't have a hazmat locker and won't allow my command to spend the money on the purchase as its wasteful spending in my case. If I was storing hand sanitizer in a 50 gallon drum then I'd consider a hazmat locker, but my half empty 12 oz. bottle isn't getting special treatment. Heaven forbid I tell the inspector that we have paper files, cloth chairs, and wooden doors. But its okay, the building is brick and mortar so it wont burn...
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Will, that’s insane they wanted you to put your hand sanitizer in a hazmat locker. Never heard that one before. Job security for someone I guess.....
 
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