Guy Buchanan
Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 1204
Location: Ramona, CA
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 Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:05 am Post subject: Newbie mistake - pulled the sump plug to drain my tanks |
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At 08:28 PM 11/1/2009, you wrote:
| Quote: | | Was this the right thing to do? |
Nope. Kind of hard in the wing internals.
| Quote: | | - What now? Should I just leave it as is and let whatever water/soap/gas mixture in the wings evaporate? |
Can you pull the wing tips? (Plug for all you builders: make sure you can remove the wing tips.) If not, can you get liquid into the wing from the inboard end? I'd give it a good wash with detergent.
| Quote: | | - Do I really need to drain the tanks to fold the wings back? |
It depends. The only thing you want to ensure is that you don't blow the tanks by sealing them. First you will be replacing the existing caps with non vented ones available from most auto supply stores. (They're ugly, but hey, you're not going to fly with them.) This way, when you fold, you won't have fuel coming out the vents. Next you fold the wings. Finally, you need to have some kind of vent for the tanks. - If this is a temporary situation, pull the upper sight tube off it's nipple. The tank is now vented to atmosphere.
- If this is a permanent installation, install a small fuel valve near the upper sight tube nipple. Open it when folded for vent, close it for flight.
- Open the fuel system downstream and run a tube to a bucket above the tanks so that as the tank pressure changes, any fuel pushed out is captured.
Obviously for one-time folding it's a lot easier to drain the fuel. What you need to drain the fuel is a decent drain port that makes it easy to drain the fuel without filling your wing. I like the Curtis quick drains from Aircraft Spruce. ( http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/curtisquickdv2.php) You can attach the optional hose to direct the flow anywhere you want. Obviously it takes a long time to drain a tank, so it's not something you want to do every flight.
Guy Buchanan
San Diego, CA
K-IV 1200 / 582-C / Warp / 400 hrs. and counting [quote][b]
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Guy Buchanan
Deceased K-IV 1200
A glider pilot too. |
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