Av Gas 100LL in small engines and other things

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I have been using 100LL av Gas in my small engines. It is ethanol free, lasts along time, and smells like race fuel. It has been working well for my non-catalyst applications. What are your opinions?
 
As long as you don't use synthetic oil, you should be fine....actually, probably be fine even w/ synthetic for limited use in small engines... Plus it lasts much longer than auto fuel.


I've been burning my sump fuel in tractors, etc. as long as I've been flying.
 
Originally Posted by das_peikko
Do they sell it to the general public? You don't have to have an airplane to buy it?

Nope they sell to anyone. Some are self serve and pay with credit card
 
It works wonderfully. It does have a tendency to dry out the fuel shut off valve seals on some OPE. Other than that, it's stunningly better than pump gas.
 
Originally Posted by das_peikko
Do they sell it to the general public? You don't have to have an airplane to buy it?
It depends on the airport, some do and some don't. It isn't illegal for them to sell it to the public and it isn't illegal for the public to use it, so I don't understand why some airports won't sell it to the public. Maybe it is because the airport owners don't want the public out on the tarmac.
AvGas doesn't deteriorate like automotive pump gas so it doesn't need stabilizer. Small engines, boat engines, and vehicles that don't have cats love the stuff!
 
I've never purchased av gas before. What's the cost per gallon ? And is it leaded or unleaded fuel ?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by kstanf150
I've never purchased av gas before. What's the cost per gallon ? And is it leaded or unleaded fuel ?

100LL means 100 octane rating, Low Lead. So yes it is leaded.

And the price is whatever the local FBO can charge for it, which might be quite a bit depending on the location. A lot of them post their prices online.
 
Originally Posted by wings&wheels
As long as you don't use synthetic oil, you should be fine....actually, probably be fine even w/ synthetic for limited use in small engines...


Please tell, exactly why would he be fine as long as he doesn't use synthetic oil? How exactly is synthetic oil fine for every other ICE but not for OPE/small engines??
 
Some FBOs are more cooperative than others. Some will want to verify what the fuel is going in. If they have any inking that it is going in a vehicle driven on public roads, they are legally supposed to stop the sale because road taxes have not been collected. The fines to the FBO are pretty hefty and they could possibly lose their license.

This is what I was told some 30 years ago when I inquired about buying AvGas.
 
Originally Posted by chainblu
Some FBOs are more cooperative than others. Some will want to verify what the fuel is going in. If they have any inking that it is going in a vehicle driven on public roads, they are legally supposed to stop the sale because road taxes have not been collected. The fines to the FBO are pretty hefty and they could possibly lose their license.

This is what I was told some 30 years ago when I inquired about buying AvGas.


If you show up with a 5 gallon gas can and tell them it's for your weedeater, will they have a tendency to believe you?
 
Originally Posted by das_peikko
Originally Posted by chainblu
Some FBOs are more cooperative than others. Some will want to verify what the fuel is going in. If they have any inking that it is going in a vehicle driven on public roads, they are legally supposed to stop the sale because road taxes have not been collected. The fines to the FBO are pretty hefty and they could possibly lose their license.
This is what I was told some 30 years ago when I inquired about buying AvGas.

If you show up with a 5 gallon gas can and tell them it's for your weedeater, will they have a tendency to believe you?
5 gal for a weedeater or any other low compression OPE engine will be hard to believe, tell them it is for a dirt bike or old outboard boat engine. Chainblu is correct, never tell them that it is for a car or any other road going vehicle. Ditto 4-wheelers (newer ones have cats on them).
 
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted by wings&wheels
As long as you don't use synthetic oil, you should be fine....actually, probably be fine even w/ synthetic for limited use in small engines...


Please tell, exactly why would he be fine as long as he doesn't use synthetic oil? How exactly is synthetic oil for every other ICE but not for OPE/small engines??


The synthetic oil and heavily leaded fuel is the potential issue. Some synthetic bases, under certain conditions, did not suspend lead adequately. Google Mobil AV1...

The "LL" designates Low Lead, but 100LL still has higher tetraethyl lead levels than auto fuel did.
 
The name Low Lead is very misleading. It's heavily leaded so don't use it in anything that has a cat . Keep in mind many small engines do the last few years. You sure don't want that going into one of those so make sure you don't have one before you use any.
It just loves to leave deposits behind which besides the price was why I almost never used it in my plane., It does store long periods nicely though. You can google around and find a gas prices ( some of them) on the net just like car gas. It doesn't vary much since there's not much incentive to compete.
 
Nice links for the AV gas, thanks fellas. I see it is only $3.94-$3.97 all over my area here in Florida! WaWa is selling junk 87 octane no ethanol for over $3:50!
 
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