REFLECTOR:Fw: Testing fuel tanks
Alexander Balic
reflector@tvbf.org
Sun, 27 Jul 2003 09:31:17 -0500
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No offense to you Ronnie or your friend, but I don't understand the logic
about why he doesn't want to post on the reflector- is he afraid that
someone will chastise him for something he might say? or is he "punishing"
us for a few bad comments that are posted here on occasion? Doesn't make
sense to me personally- I appreciate his input (through you) and actually
might go borrow one of those devices, so good for you for forwarding it to
the group, and I'm sorry that your friend doesn't want to talk to the rest
of us anymore- did he take his ball and go home when he was a kid? (please
don't be offended- that was just a joke) as always, ALL input is
appreciated.
Alex
-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-admin@tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-admin@tvbf.org]On Behalf
Of Ronnie Brown
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 8:10 AM
To: reflector@tvbf.org
Subject: REFLECTOR:Fw: Testing fuel tanks
I'm forwarding this note from a lurker who has quit writing to the
Reflector because of some bad manners from some of our members. He is not
the only one that lurks and doesn't write for this very reason. As you can
see, here's some great information but you wouldn't have gotten it
otherwise.
So watch your manners and etiquette! We need all of the input we can get
to make our V's as safe and enjoyable as they can be! Even bad ideas spark
great discussions and information exchange!!!!!
See you at Oshkosh!
Ronnie
----- Original Message -----
From: Ronnie Brown
To: (omitted at author's request)
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 10:03 AM
Subject: Re: Testing fuel tanks
That sounds like the trick for sure! What kind of smoke is used?
And I checked my gas caps yesterday. Just hooked a 3/8" nylon tube to the
vent, unloaded about 3-4 lung fulls of air into the tanks, put soap suds on
the caps and found nothing. Took all of 15 minutes to do it.
I think Don White's idea of checking fuel levels every 30 minutes while in
flight is a super idea (I have a timer set to do the same thing).
My header tank has a Westach capacitance sender in it and it always says
the header tank is full. As it should be with 3/8" vent lines, sloping
upwards to a common header then vented out the bottom with the slash cut
toward the front to build pressure - not vacuum in the vent and tank system.
As some else mentioned, there's not a whole lot of fuel head that we are
working with.
I have seen oil and water lines trap air and impede liquid flow, but a few
bumps or some alternate rudder inputs ought to break these loose. The fuel
lines should slope downward from the strakes, which will help avoid this
situation.
I'm going to resend your note (without your name) to the reflector. Folks
should know about the leak checker available at their local Toyota dealer.
See ya
Ronnie
----- Original Message -----
From: DELETED BY AUTHOR'S REQUEST
To: romott@adelphia.net
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 8:08 PM
Subject: Testing fuel tanks
Hi Ronnie,
Been watching the continuing thread about pressure testing fuel tanks.
Down at the Toyota dealership, we have a neat tool for diagnosing
evaporative fuel system leaks in cars. It is a flow gauge type unit that can
be calibrated to sense a leak as small as .010" with less than 1 psi
pressure. On top of that, it has the ability to inject smoke into the tank
to make any leak readily apparent. Just the other day I used it to find a
fuel filler cap that would seal in one direction but when rotated 180 deg,
would allow pressure to escape. I had performed a pressure test from an
access port at the engine area and found that the system would hold 775mmHg.
I then removed the cap to release the pressure and then reinstalled the cap.
I road tested the car monitoring the fuel pressure sensor and found that the
tank would not build pressure beyond atm of 761mmHg.
That would have been hard to find without the smoke.
Maybe some of the builders could suck up to a tech with a six-pack abd
get their neighborhood wrench to bring a tester home.
--Boundary_(ID_yRfEXGUs3qyOoWPIRxE0Xw)
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<DIV><SPAN class=936402214-27072003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>No
offense to you Ronnie or your friend, but I don't understand the logic about why
he doesn't want to post on the reflector- is he afraid that someone will
chastise him for something he might say? or is he "punishing" us for a few bad
comments that are posted here on occasion? Doesn't make sense to me
personally- I appreciate his input (through you) and actually might go
borrow one of those devices, so good for you for forwarding it to the group, and
I'm sorry that your friend doesn't want to talk to the rest of us anymore- did
he take his ball and go home when he was a kid? (please don't be offended- that
was just a joke) as always, ALL input is appreciated.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=936402214-27072003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=936402214-27072003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Alex</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> reflector-admin@tvbf.org
[mailto:reflector-admin@tvbf.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Ronnie
Brown<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, July 27, 2003 8:10 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
reflector@tvbf.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> REFLECTOR:Fw: Testing fuel
tanks<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I'm forwarding this note from a lurker who has quit writing
to the Reflector because of some bad manners from some of our
members. He is not the only one that lurks and doesn't write for
this very reason. As you can see, here's some great information but you
wouldn't have gotten it otherwise.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>So watch your manners and etiquette! We need all of
the input we can get to make our V's as safe and enjoyable as they can
be! Even bad ideas spark great discussions and information
exchange!!!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>See you at Oshkosh!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Ronnie </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=romott@adelphia.net href="mailto:romott@adelphia.net">Ronnie Brown</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> (omitted at author's request)</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, July 27, 2003 10:03 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: Testing fuel tanks</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>That sounds like the trick for sure! What kind of
smoke is used?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>And I checked my gas caps yesterday. Just hooked a
3/8" nylon tube to the vent, unloaded about 3-4 lung fulls of air into
the tanks, put soap suds on the caps and found nothing. Took all of 15
minutes to do it. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I think Don White's idea of checking fuel levels every 30
minutes while in flight is a super idea (I have a timer set to do the same
thing).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>My header tank has a Westach capacitance sender in it and it
always says the header tank is full. As it should be with 3/8" vent
lines, sloping upwards to a common header then vented out the bottom with the
slash cut toward the front to build pressure - not vacuum in the vent and tank
system. As some else mentioned, there's not a whole lot of fuel head
that we are working with. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I have seen oil and water lines trap air and impede liquid
flow, but a few bumps or some alternate rudder inputs ought to break these
loose. The fuel lines should slope downward from the strakes, which will
help avoid this situation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I'm going to resend your note (without your name) to the
reflector. Folks should know about the leak checker available at their
local Toyota dealer.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>See ya</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Ronnie</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:
DELETED BY AUTHOR'S REQUEST</B></DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"> </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>To:</B>
<A title=romott@adelphia.net
href="mailto:romott@adelphia.net">romott@adelphia.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, July 26, 2003 8:08
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Testing fuel tanks</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT><FONT size=2></FONT><FONT size=2></FONT><FONT
size=2></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Hi Ronnie,</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Been watching the continuing thread about pressure testing fuel tanks.
Down at the Toyota dealership, we have a neat tool for diagnosing
evaporative fuel system leaks in cars. It is a flow gauge type unit that can
be calibrated to sense a leak as small as .010" with less than 1 psi
pressure. On top of that, it has the ability to inject smoke into the tank
to make any leak readily apparent. Just the other day I used it to find a
fuel filler cap that would seal in one direction but when rotated 180 deg,
would allow pressure to escape. I had performed a pressure test from an
access port at the engine area and found that the system would hold 775mmHg.
I then removed the cap to release the pressure and then reinstalled the cap.
I road tested the car monitoring the fuel pressure sensor and found that the
tank would not build pressure beyond atm of 761mmHg.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>That would have been hard to find without the smoke.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Maybe some of the builders could suck up to a tech with a six-pack abd
get their neighborhood wrench to bring a tester home.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
--Boundary_(ID_yRfEXGUs3qyOoWPIRxE0Xw)--