James Maher wrote:
> Steve,
> This fuel tank has
been in service for over 5 years and 18 hours of engine operation before this
occurance.
> The tank has been flushed several times over
the years and the filters checked for debris.
> It is only
in the past year that I have started to notice the signs of
deterioration.
>
> Ernest was on
the fence about the fuel tank but now is leaning towards aluminum I
think.
> The other Delta Builder who is flying with a Mazda
engine has an aluminum tank and has been flying for almost 4 years without
incident.
>
>
Jim, I'm
definitely going aluminum. I'm working on building a form
right now,
in the exact way that you built it for the glass layup.
I'll lay a sheet of metal around it and beat in a 1/4" flange.
Another
sheet will wrap up from one side, across the top and down the
other, cut
to shape and one long edge weld all the way around. When
I layup the
turtleback, I'll set the tank in place, run a fillet of flox
around the
weld, then glass the weld in with about 40oz of glass
tapes. There will
only be a small amount of volume lost to empty
space, and the load path
won't change. I think it's as true to the
plans as one can get without
having a glass tank.
>
If I had used polyester or vinal ester ,as some have pointed out this would
not have been an issue as they are both impervious to auto fuel with
ethanol.
> This problem has caused me to re-think my entire
fuel system.
> It will be better.
>
> Jim
>
> Steve Brooks <
cozy4pilot@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
>
James,
> Sorry to hear about your problem. I also have
fiberglass fuel tanks on the Cozy, but when I did them, I coated the, with a
sealant made by Jeffco, which is impervious to the various fuels out
there. Well, at least the ones they knew about back in
2002.
>
> I was pretty careful when
I built mine, on getting all of the debris out as well, though I did check the
fuel filters a couple of times in the first 10 hours, and also replace the one
on the primary fuel every year during the conditional
inspection.
>
> I know that I saw a
post earlier by Ernest, who is also building a Delta. He was going with
an aluminum tank, I believe, on his plane.
>
> Steve Brooks
>
>
Just to clarify what I have in my Cozy tanks - I looked up the
receipts and found that I used Pro-Set (not Proseal) 145 Epoxy with Pro-Set
226 hardener. I coated the walls with at least 2 coats and also used it to
bond on the strake top (tank top) since the leading edge is
always wet with fuel (nose down parking).