To clarify the fuel expiry (I always have to trade between clarity and length), thank you for the comment.
1) The part that expires is the organic 'ethanol' in the fuel. With the recent so-called "green" regulations, the amount of ethanol has increased.
2) The ethanol expires by essentially taking on water molecules. This lowers the combustibility of the fuel, *and* introduces moisture into the system (which can cause rust and degradation of parts).
3) Typically it expires within about 6 months. 12 if you add a special chemical that slows down/interferes with expiry time.
4) How badly expired fuel interferes with the engine/generator depends heavily on the type of engine. This part isn't mechanical advice as it's heavily generalised: smaller engines with fewer stroke pistons *seem* to be able to tolerate it better, however, remember to factor in the moisture issue.
5) Note that the risks of using expired fuel (E.G. fouling of the system, carbon fouling of the spark plugs, etc) typically outweigh the costs of just buying new fuel. It is annoying, but I'm not the one who added ethanol to the fuel.
6) As you correctly note, it is possible to remove the ethanol from the fuel, although some folks may find this process time consuming/expensive *or* not even available where they live (there's a lack of skills in the UK these days)
7) In theory you could also "refine" the expired fuel via separation processes but it is complex, time consuming, and costly. And I haven't seen a service or safe means for doing so yet.
To clarify the fuel expiry (I always have to trade between clarity and length), thank you for the comment.
1) The part that expires is the organic 'ethanol' in the fuel. With the recent so-called "green" regulations, the amount of ethanol has increased.
2) The ethanol expires by essentially taking on water molecules. This lowers the combustibility of the fuel, *and* introduces moisture into the system (which can cause rust and degradation of parts).
3) Typically it expires within about 6 months. 12 if you add a special chemical that slows down/interferes with expiry time.
4) How badly expired fuel interferes with the engine/generator depends heavily on the type of engine. This part isn't mechanical advice as it's heavily generalised: smaller engines with fewer stroke pistons *seem* to be able to tolerate it better, however, remember to factor in the moisture issue.
5) Note that the risks of using expired fuel (E.G. fouling of the system, carbon fouling of the spark plugs, etc) typically outweigh the costs of just buying new fuel. It is annoying, but I'm not the one who added ethanol to the fuel.
6) As you correctly note, it is possible to remove the ethanol from the fuel, although some folks may find this process time consuming/expensive *or* not even available where they live (there's a lack of skills in the UK these days)
7) In theory you could also "refine" the expired fuel via separation processes but it is complex, time consuming, and costly. And I haven't seen a service or safe means for doing so yet.
Modern warfare is flying drones from an office in Whitehall. Our youth have been conditioned to that for years with Call of Duty etc.
Being in an office won't make them safe from long range missiles.
"Every now and then a trigger has to be pulled." - Q
"Or not pulled. It’s hard to know which in your pyjamas." - 007
Skyfall