Fuel Smell Removal and other fuel stuff

[Mike Kimball]

I had some fuel leaks through some flare fittings that I just about have
fixed. Other than the passing of time, I was wondering if anyone had a good
method for getting rid of the smell! One very distinct disadvantage to auto
fuel versus avgas. Stinks much worse.

FYI - The fix for the leaks was polishing the tube flare surface with fine
grit sandpaper. Apparently, my flare tool leaves a less than perfect
surface. Three fittings, all right at the Andair fuel valve, were leaking.
I got two out of three to stop. The third one is the slowest leak ever.
After about an hour it just starts to show a tiny bit of wetness. The good
news is that after having fuel in the tanks for a couple of weeks I can find
no leaks! Yay!

I came up with a quick and easy solution for a fuel restrictor in the sight
tube. I just ground down a piece of nylon or UHMW (not sure what it is,
likely UHMW) into a cylinder and drilled a 1/16 hole in it. I placed this
in the lower sight tube feed tube (a ~3 inch piece of tubing going from the
wing to a 90 deg. barb fitting inside the fuselage). It's a snug fit and
won't move around. If 1/16 inch hole turns out to be too big (and I think
it may be based on raising and lowering the tail and checking the fuel
bounce in the tube) I can easily replace it once I get below 15 gallons. On
the ground it takes more than 15 gallons before there's any fuel in the
tube. I'm pretty sure nylon is OK with fuel. Anybody know if UHMW and fuel
are OK?

Mike
044SR




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[jimsrebel]

You are supposed to oil the flaring tool to give the smooth surface needed.
You can use Fuel Lube to plug up small leaks. The Dell seal are commonly
used on fuel nozzle hose connections which have a very high working
pressure, over 500 PSI.

Jim



On 7/20/2006 11:37 PM, mkimball@gci.net wrote to rebel-builders:

-> I had some fuel leaks through some flare fittings that I just about have
-> fixed. Other than the passing of time, I was wondering if anyone had a
good
-> method for getting rid of the smell! One very distinct disadvantage to
auto
-> fuel versus avgas. Stinks much worse.
->
-> FYI - The fix for the leaks was polishing the tube flare surface with fine
-> grit sandpaper. Apparently, my flare tool leaves a less than perfect
-> surface. Three fittings, all right at the Andair fuel valve, were leaking.
-> I got two out of three to stop. The third one is the slowest leak ever.
-> After about an hour it just starts to show a tiny bit of wetness. The good
-> news is that after having fuel in the tanks for a couple of weeks I can find
-> no leaks! Yay!
->
-> I came up with a quick and easy solution for a fuel restrictor in the sight
-> tube. I just ground down a piece of nylon or UHMW (not sure what it is,
-> likely UHMW) into a cylinder and drilled a 1/16 hole in it. I placed this
-> in the lower sight tube feed tube (a ~3 inch piece of tubing going from
the
-> wing to a 90 deg. barb fitting inside the fuselage). It's a snug fit and
-> won't move around. If 1/16 inch hole turns out to be too big (and I think
-> it may be based on raising and lowering the tail and checking the fuel
-> bounce in the tube) I can easily replace it once I get below 15 gallons.
On
-> the ground it takes more than 15 gallons before there's any fuel in the
-> tube. I'm pretty sure nylon is OK with fuel. Anybody know if UHMW and
fuel
-> are OK?
->
-> Mike
-> 044SR
->





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