Aga Premature Carboning and Copper oil-lines
Thursday 1st November 2001
Premature
Carboning
and
Copper
oil
-lines
The
summer
months
have
seen
an
increase
in
the
number
of
cases
of
premature
carboning
in
specific
areas
, particularly
East
Anglia
and
the
Home
counties
.
Although
it
is
wrong
to
immediately
assume
that
the
fuel
is
responsible
, nethertheless
laboratory
tests
of
the
carbon
have
shown
that
there
were
high
copper
traces
present
, suggesting
an
aggressive
fuel
which
may
have
attacked
the
copper
fuel
line
. Early
indications
are
that
over
several
months
the
situation
will
improve
as
the
oil
-pipe
regains
its
internal
natural
coating
, but
often
this
is
unacceptable
due
to
the
number
of
service
visits
required
.
There
are
a
number
of
commercial
additives
available
, claimed
to
overcome
this
problem
, particularly
metal
deactivators
(MDA
), as
well
as
fuels
which
are
often
referred
to
as
a
‘Premium
' grade
. Whilst
these
can
be
helpful
in
an
individual
situation
, there
is
often
a
price
penalty
which
might
significantly
increase
the
Aga
running
cost
. We
must
also
stress
that
Aga
-Rayburn
have
not
undertaken
any
specific
tests
with
individual
additives
and
cannot
therefore
recommend
such
products
at
this
stage
.
We
are
however
working
closely
with
the
fuel
industry
to
seek
a
solution
.
Nov
01
