Pressure test fuel tanks

[Charlie Starr]

FWIW: Several builders advised me that balloons tend to leak pretty badly through the material, and weren't too reliable an indication. They advised me to us a good grade of condom???? While (at my age) I had trouble remembering anything about condoms, I did use these and found that they worked well - to check the tank for leaks, that is.

I fitted my tank quick-drain with an inner-tube valve, and used a bicycle pump to inflate the tank (and condom) - to keep from over pressurizing the tank. After finding several small leaks, and repairing them with the vacuum cleaner trick (the air leaks were fairly obvious by sound - only one was found using soapy water), the condom remained "erect" through the night. Keeping a constant temperature during the test is also important. Be sure and clean the area where you use any soap, since the residue can cause corrosion.

Charlie Starr



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[wiflier]

Ted what ever you do DONT put 20 pounds of air preasure in your tank. 3to
4 pounds is all you should use and use lung power so you don't break
something. If you need to slosh your tanks I suggest using 3M EC776 it works
very well.

Si



r On 2/11/2008 9:21 AM, tedwaltman@i1ci.com wrote to rebel-builders:

-> Looking for comments & suggestions for pressure testing my fuel tanks
later
-> this week. Here's what I plan to do per input from some A&P friends:
->
-> - Close/seal the filler cap
->
-> - Mist (spray) a soapy water solution over the top & bottom of the
-> fuel tank area
->
-> - Place a big (??) balloon over the fuel drain fitting
->
-> - Hook up low pressure (maybe 20psi) compressed air to the fuel
-> cross-feed output fitting, thereby.
->
-> - Inflate the balloon to a reasonable size, then turn off the air
-> compressor
->
-> - Watch the balloon for perhaps 20 minutes to insure it
-> (hopefully!!) remains the same size
->
-> - Look for air bubbles while continuing to mist more soapy water
-> over the entire fuel tank area.
->
->
->
-> If I do find leaks (who am I kidding-"If" <grin>), I have some flowable
-> Type-A Proseal. Per another Moose builder, he reported good results by
-> spreading a thin layer of the Type-A Proseal over the offending rivet or
-> seam then putting a very slight suction on the tank using a shop vac and
-> holding the hose over the filler cap with cupped hands. This method
-> resulted in a small bit of the Type-A Proseal being sucked into the leak.
-> I'm aware that one has to be VERY careful not to create any adverse air
-> pressure or risk collapsing/expanding the tank. Hence, this shop vac
-> portion of the procedure has me a bit concerned.
->
->
->
-> Suggestions, alternate approaches, ideas, comments all appreciated.
->
->
->
-> Ted Waltman
->
->




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