Fuel leaking From Vent Tubes 80 Hours

[cole505]

Hi All,

I just made a X-country flt to Cedar City UT. The plane just hit 80 hours and has been running perfectly ........ I was preflighting the airplane I noticed fuel pissing out the drain tubes on the bottom of the airplane ✈️ I shut the fuel off with the fuel selector ( I always turn it off at the end of every flt.) completed the preflight started perfectly and made the flt to Cedar City UT (KCDC ) all good perfect flt. Stopped in Cedar to stretch my legs and bathroom break maybe an hour....... Did a basic walk around and noticed a big puddle of fuel right were the airplane drain tubes are 55 degrees OAT....... But wasn’t leaking when I did the walk around. I jumped in and it would not start did the 10 second starts not to put much strain on the Starter and batt. After several attempts if finally stared the engine was really flooded it belched for a couple of minutes till all the excess fuel was burned off made it back to Boulder City with out and issue. I checked the fuel trays under the carbs all dry? so I am wondering were is this fuel coming from? And how the carbs became flooded ? The was the first time I had seen this? On this airplane I know if anyone knows you guys do..... VERY FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED? 4-25-2020.

Ray & Lucy ✅😎✈️👍🏻😊🇺🇸

[buzz]

I believe you need to check your carb floats. I had this happen last year during my annual. I had seen a few drips before but thought it was normal. After my annual was done we pulled my plane out to start it. It wouldn't start and I had a full stream of fuel dumping on the ground. We did some research and found that sometimes the floats take on fuel and get heavy resulting in flooded engine and fuel dumping on the ground. So we opened up the carbs and weighed them. To my surprise they were perfect. However we did find a little gunk in the carbs. Also the guide pins that the floats ride on were gunked up. We cleaned everything and now have no problems. So it seems that the floats were getting stuck. So how did the carbs get gunked? Some of the stuff looked like fiber from a shop paper towel. It was that pale blue color. The dirty pins could have been from fuel sitting in the carbs. One knowledgeable A&P has suggested that on shut down you allow the engine to stop by way of shutting the fuel off and allowing fuel starvation to drain the carbs. This keeps the carbs and floats dry if you wont by flying for a while. I think this method has been reported on here. Disclaimer I am not an A&P just stating my experience. Oh before I forget. I have tried shutting down by way of fuel starvation. I don't like it because of how rough the engine runs while the fuel is running out.

[cole505]

Hi Buzz,

I really appreciate you sharing your experiences with me! I have not tried the fuel starvation method yet. I will weight the floats and check the pins. It must be a similar problem like what your describing. This is a brand new Engine, debris in the float pins / Needles make a lot more since and the floats are new. And yes, it concerns me about starving the engine of fuel on shut down and that rough idle that will follow.

I will keep you informed on my progress ✅😎👍🏻✈️

Ray & Lucy

[eddie]

I'm new here. Just got my private ticket renewed after being out of aviation for several years. Currently open to purchasing a P2008.

I've always been paranoid about fuel contamination. Had an engine failure in a 912 powered SeaRay many years ago. From my ultralight days we use to use a product called Mr. Funnel which removes contaminates and water from the fuel. They work really good. I checked around to see if the company is still around and was glad to find out that they are. Here's a link to the website with demo video:
www.mrfunnel.com/Mr._Funnel/Home.html

[buzz]

Apr 29, 2020 18:52:09 GMT eddie said:

I'm new here. Just got my private ticket renewed after being out of aviation for several years. Currently open to purchasing a P2008.

I've always been paranoid about fuel contamination. Had an engine failure in a 912 powered SeaRay many years ago. From my ultralight days we use to use a product called Mr. Funnel which removes contaminates and water from the fuel. They work really good. I checked around to see if the company is still around and was glad to find out that they are. Here's a link to the website with demo video:
www.mrfunnel.com/Mr._Funnel/Home.html

Howdy. I had a fuel contamination issue as well on my brand new 914 powered P2008. Nearly caused a forced landing. I purchased a Mr Funnel in hopes that it would be my safeguard against contamination. It filters well. But what I found was that it did not work well in the real world. First as you know it is top heavy when placed into the tank for filling. This means you have to hold it with one hand. A hard thing while you are on a ladder holding a fuel nozzle and trying not to beat up your wing with the nozzle and hose. The other problem is that the screen is so fine that fuel dispensed into the funnel doesn't drain as fast as it goes in. This often results in overflowing the tank. Overflowing made worse by the fact you cant see into the tank when Mr Funnel is in. You have to understand that on a P2008 the fuel cap is about mid cord. So it is a little bit of a reach. So when you add all these things up Mr Funnel filters well but it is hard to use on a P2008. I am sure on some other applications it might work well just not for a 2008 in my experience. I would love to figure out a better solution.

[Cluemeister]

I used a Mr. Funnel for every single fill up. Even got a small one for when I traveled and had to get mogas off field!

[buzz]

Apr 29, 2020 22:57:06 GMT Cluemeister said:

I used a Mr. Funnel for every single fill up. Even got a small one for when I traveled and had to get mogas off field!

You must have a third hand

[Tony]

Buzz, another way to use the funnel is at the gas station when you fill up your containers. The largest Mr. Funnel keeps up pretty well.

[eddie]

Good points by Buzz. The way I plan to use it is to get a new 2.5 gal container and use as my fill tank. I fill the fill tank from 5 gallon transport tanks using the Mr. Funnel. That will be easy to do being on the ground. Then I fuel the aircraft with the 2.5 gal container. Bonus - it saves me a trip to two to the chiropractor down the road

[cole505]

Apr 29, 2020 18:52:09 GMT eddie said:

I'm new here. Just got my private ticket renewed after being out of aviation for several years. Currently open to purchasing a P2008.

I've always been paranoid about fuel contamination. Had an engine failure in a 912 powered SeaRay many years ago. From my ultralight days we use to use a product called Mr. Funnel which removes contaminates and water from the fuel. They work really good. I checked around to see if the company is still around and was glad to find out that they are. Here's a link to the website with demo video:
www.mrfunnel.com/Mr._Funnel/Home.html

Hi Eddie,

Welcome! To our pro bard forum. I really appreciate your inputs and ideas it’s very much appreciated.......... I did not know about this,  I did watch the video link you posted also 
looks like a great way to make extra sure the fuel we put into our fuel system is clean ....... thats probably what happened a small amount of something got into my carbs..... it’s he only thing that males sense........... with 80 hours this is a brand new engine debris like Buss found some kind blue paper pieces.......

Ray & Lucy ✅😎✈️👍🏻😊🇺🇸

 

[cole505]

Apr 30, 2020 14:38:52 GMT Tony said:

Buzz, another way to use the funnel is at the gas station when you fill up your containers. The largest Mr. Funnel keeps up pretty well.

Hi Tony, 

That sounds like the perfect way to use it! That way you don’t have to fight with it on top of the wing while fueling! Great idea! 

‘’Ray & Lucy✅😎✈️👍🏻😊🇺🇸