Gascolator what is it?

• Gascolator is basically a gravity fuel filter. The Gascolator is a brilliantly simple.                                                                                

  • As you can see in the photo it's a bowl that allows fuel to enter (orange plug top left) and exit (orange plug top right) over to the engine. However by doing this it passes over the “bowl” and this allows any dirt or water to settle.

  • By allowing this low point for the dirt to settle the fuel is “filtered” but without any filter media to become clogged and potentially stop the fuel flowing to the engine. Brilliant!!           

• Note: because the gascolator is a gravity filter it must be located at the lowest point on the aircraft (typically the belly). Occasionally when you take a sample (particularly in the summer) you may get some debris (grass clippings, etc.) that worked its way into the gascolator line while your instructor was doing some hovering. Then when you took your sample it flushed the dirt out of the sample line and ended up in your sample cup. Don't be alarmed, use common sense if this scenario seems likely, wipe out your sample cup and take another sample.