Visual Inspection Procedures

Shipping Instructions Samples are to be forwarded to appropriate testing laboratories by the most expeditious means. Wherever feasible, samples should be delivered directly to the laboratory by hand. Samples in amounts up to 10 gallons may be shipped via Railway Express. Four l-quart samples or a l-gallon sample (1 gallon maximum) of fuel may be air shipped via military aircraft when packed according to NAVAIR 15-03-500 (USAF AMF 71-4), which fur- ther indicates that fuel samples may be transported on passenger-carrying aircraft. Visual Inspection Procedures Since very small percentages of water or foreign matter can cause trouble, the sampling and inspection of fuel must be done carefully. Proceed as follows: 1. The first check you make is to visually inspect the color of the sample. The color of the sample must agree with the color for the grade of fuel that the system is supposed to carry. The color of the fuel may have changed because the fuel has been mixed with another petroleum product. A definite yellow cast or darkening of color in gasoline may be caused by lubricating oil, diesel oil, or jet fuels. Lubricating oil and diesel fuel also can cause a change in color in jet fuels. Since the percentage of another petroleum product in a fuel may be so small that it cannot be detected visually, yet can make it unacceptable for use, no off-color fuel should be used until an analysis is made to determine its usabil- ity. 2. The second check of the sample should be for water. The sample should be free of any cloudiness. See the first sample illustrated in figure 3-3 for an example of acceptable fuel for this visual check. The sample must be clear enough that newsprint can be read through a l-quart sample. If the fuel is cloudy and the cloud Figure 3-3.—Degrees of cloudiness in JP-5. The left sample is clean and bright and is the only acceptable fuel for aircraft. 3-13