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Fuel Tank Swelling

 
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saafbusiness(at)gmail.com
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:32 am    Post subject: Fuel Tank Swelling Reply with quote
I asked the group this about 8 -10 months ago. One person responded with a similar problem (he had no fiberglass tape on the inside only micro from the factory...mine has glass tape), but I was wondering if anyone else has seen it lately,

My Pulsar XP is 16 years old. It was in Utah for 12 years with no problems and in Florida the last 4. The tanks appear to be swelling and changing shape somewhat, although they do not leak. The entire tank has changed texture on the outside (orange peel that was not there before) and I can see lines where the bond lines are. 


I thought maybe it was the ethanol in the fuel. I have stopped using any fuel with ethanol for the last year hoping it would stop the progression, but is has not.
I guess my only choice is to pull the wings, sand off the paint in the tank area, put some additional fiberglass on the outside and try to re-seal the inside of the tank.


Has anyone tried to re-seal the inside of the tank ? Is there a way to etch or prep the old rubber PR77 sealant without trying to scrap it all off ? Scrapping it seems impossible due to access only via the end plates.


Thanks
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barrynorman(at)comcast.ne
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 4:06 pm    Post subject: Fuel Tank Swelling Reply with quote
Mark,

I had a similar problem with mine over the course of seven years where the tanks appeared to swell a little causing irregularities in the surface of the wing where it met the spar and where there were internal baffles. I agree with you, it might be the result of the ethanol expanding the structural adhesive in those areas. I have a Pulsar III and the tanks were sealed at the factory with Jeffcoat. There was one area where it had cracked and that was the small built up area over the flap return spring. I scraped it clean and used Poly-sulfide to seal it.

I'm not sure how you can reseal what you have unless you use a chemical to remove it or etch for a new coating. I would talk to the manufacturer of the sealer for the best approach.

I just fixed the outside of the wings cosmetically using normal body working products and repainted. For now, they look great but wouldn't be surprised to see them show imperfections in the future.

I had pretty much ignored it until one wing started to leak from the end plate and then finally fixed it all.

Barry


From: "Mark Fox" <saafbusiness(at)gmail.com>
To: Pulsar-List(at)matronics.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 9:32:01 AM
Subject: Fuel Tank Swelling

I asked the group this about 8 -10 months ago. One person responded with a similar problem (he had no fiberglass tape on the inside only micro from the factory...mine has glass tape), but I was wondering if anyone else has seen it lately,

My Pulsar XP is 16 years old. It was in Utah for 12 years with no problems and in Florida the last 4. The tanks appear to be swelling and changing shape somewhat, although they do not leak. The entire tank has changed texture on the outside (orange peel that was not there before) and I can see lines where the bond lines are.


I thought maybe it was the ethanol in the fuel. I have stopped using any fuel with ethanol for the last year hoping it would stop the progression, but is has not.


I guess my only choice is to pull the wings, sand off the paint in the tank area, put some additional fiberglass on the outside and try to re-seal the inside of the tank.


Has anyone tried to re-seal the inside of the tank ? Is there a way to etch or prep the old rubber PR77 sealant without trying to scrap it all off ? Scrapping it seems impossible due to access only via the end plates.


Thanks
[quote]
[b]

- The Matronics Pulsar-List Email Forum -
 

Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:

http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Pulsar-List
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