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Fuel tank leak - another type

 
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Alfred Buess



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 67

PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 1:15 am    Post subject: Fuel tank leak - another type Reply with quote

Collective wisdom,
My Europa XS is mostly finished. Two days ago I filled the tank with fuel – it leaked after I filled in about 40 liters. Not much, but steadily. After emptying the tank and opening up the access hole on the tank top the culprit was quickly found: On top of the tunnel there are three distinct indentations and three more that are smaller. At least one of them must have a pinhole. The tank leaked exactly where these indentations are. See attached pictures. It must be a manufacturing error. I am not keen to cut this tank out and replace it with a new one, but would rather like to repair it. As it is not a stress crack and as the top of the saddle should not be exposed to particular stress, I think a repair should be possible. I added the spray foam bottom support suggested by Bud Yerly (thank you for the advice !) before filling the tank to minimize deformation stress.
My question: What adhesive sticks well enough to the tank material (I read it is medium density polyethylene MDPE) and is fuel resistant? Is redux the the good choice? Any other advice? Thanks in advance for all suggestions and shared experiences!
Alfred Buess, Switzerland, Europa XS HB-YKI, Ercoupe 415-E N94804
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jan_de_jong(at)casema.nl
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 3:51 am    Post subject: Fuel tank leak - another type Reply with quote

I would be interested in fuel tests on 3M DP-8005:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdno6qS8GTk

On 8/10/2014 11:14 AM, A. Buess Aviatik wrote:

[quote] Fuel tank leak - another type
Collective wisdom,
My Europa XS is mostly finished. Two days ago I filled the tank with fuel – it leaked after I filled in about 40 liters. Not much, but steadily. After emptying the tank and opening up the access hole on the tank top the culprit was quickly found: On top of the tunnel there are three distinct indentations and three more that are smaller. At least one of them must have a pinhole. The tank leaked exactly where these indentations are. See attached pictures. It must be a manufacturing error. I am not keen to cut this tank out and replace it with a new one, but would rather like to repair it. As it is not a stress crack and as the top of the saddle should not be exposed to particular stress, I think a repair should be possible. I added the spray foam bottom support suggested by Bud Yerly (thank you for the advice !) before filling the tank to minimize deformation stress.
My question: What adhesive sticks well enough to the tank material (I read it is medium density polyethylene MDPE) and is fuel resistant? Is redux the the good choice? Any other advice? Thanks in advance for all suggestions and shared experiences!
Alfred Buess, Switzerland, Europa XS HB-YKI, Ercoupe 415-E N94804
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Bill Cutshaw



Joined: 04 Sep 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:07 am    Post subject: Re: Fuel tank leak - another type Reply with quote

Try urethanesupply.com for everything you need to know about plastic
welding.
Bill Cutshaw


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budyerly(at)msn.com
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 2:05 pm    Post subject: Fuel tank leak - another type Reply with quote

Alfred,
Any good epoxy will stick to the tank.  I use Redux and glass for small repairs like a screw put into a tank by the builder.  Still holding after 10 years.  Do not use ethanol based fuels.
 
Also, it can be successfully repaired with a plastic welder as I was shocked by one person that installed drains in the bottom of his tank.  It worked well.  We tried on one tank in the shop by cutting a hole in the center under the aft bulkhead and clearing the area where the tank could be welded.  It worked until the next annual when we could get in a new tank and replace the repaired one.
 
I am surprised to see an indent as you showed in your photo.  Was it there from the beginning?  During your cockpit module install was the module flexed by accident?
 
Regards,
Bud Yerly
 
From: ykibuess(at)bluewin.ch
To: europa-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Fuel tank leak - another type
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 11:14:24 +0200

Fuel tank leak - another type
Collective wisdom,
My Europa XS is mostly finished. Two days ago I filled the tank with fuel – it leaked after I filled in about 40 liters. Not much, but steadily. After emptying the tank and opening up the access hole on the tank top the culprit was quickly found: On top of the tunnel there are three distinct indentations and three more that are smaller. At least one of them must have a pinhole. The tank leaked exactly where these indentations are. See attached pictures. It must be a manufacturing error. I am not keen to cut this tank out and replace it with a new one, but would rather like to repair it. As it is not a stress crack and as the top of the saddle should not be exposed to particular stress, I think a repair should be possible. I added the spray foam bottom support suggested by Bud Yerly (thank you for the advice !) before filling the tank to minimize deformation stress.
My question: What adhesive sticks well enough to the tank material (I read it is medium density polyethylene MDPE) and is fuel resistant? Is redux the the good choice? Any other advice? Thanks in advance for all suggestions and shared experiences!
Alfred Buess, Switzerland, Europa XS HB-YKI, Ercoupe 415-E N94804
<<...>> <<...>>

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