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John,
Sorry to hear about your fuel tank problems.
A couple of years ago I experienced similar issues
with the fuel tank in my Dyke Delta
which was constructed from Aeropoxy epoxy and fiberglass.
While the primary layups seemed to hold up better, the
secondary bonds, like where
the baffles and sump were bonded into the tank were the
first to dissolve.
The way that I found out was during my 4th flight, were I
lost engine power
due to a very lean mixture, caused by a mostly clogged
fuel filter.
I was lucky enough to be able to throttle back and limp
home at 50% power.
When I began to trouble shoot the problem I found a clear
gelatinous substance in the gascolator and fuel filter.
The reason I am telling you this is to be sure that you
know the side effects of a deteriorating fuel tank.
You are fortunate to have found the problem on the ground
and not while flying.
Be sure to replace or clean all fuel filters and flush the
system to remove all
possibility of residual debris.
You should probably also check the apex seals to be sure
that they have not got gummed up with epoxy from your tank.
Finding a material that is impervious to the effects of
ethanol is very difficult.
I finally decided on reconstructing my tank from vinyl
ester as it seems to be the
best material with regards to ethanol.
I've got test coupons in mogas for about a year now and so
far so good.
I wish you success with the repair.
Please keep us up to date on you progress.
Jim
From:
John Slade <sladerj@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: [FlyRotary] MGS Epoxy and Ethanol
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Date: Sunday, April 5, 2009, 9:33 PM
Just in case anyone is thinking that fuel tanks made with MGS epoxy will stand
up to prolonged auto-gas / ethanol exposure, I'm here to tell you that they
won't.
I'm in the process of removing and replacing the inner skins in both fuel
tanks on my Cozy IV.
See http://forum.canardaviation.com/showthread.php?t=4594 for a detailed report
and pictures. I'll post more pictures on my web site when the repair job is
complete.
Chris Barber - we need to buy each other a beer :)
John
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