REFLECTOR: Float Balls and U-cup seals

Tom tomcat05 at comcast.net
Sun Oct 14 19:16:01 CDT 2007


Thx Chuck, another good suggestion. While I've been playing with this 
I've also had 3 other possible float types submerged in avgas. A 
shellaced wooden bead, another bead with paint, fishing bobbers (little 
painted suckers with hooks (removed), also,  regular cork plus another 
cork painted. By the way, all of these items listed are perfect 
size--will fit in 3/8 hose but too large to get stuck in brass fuel 
fiitings. Both wooden beads sunk by day 3(the paint held up OK). The 
fishing bobbers started to disintegrate by day 5 (I thought they were 
cork but looks now like they were a closed cell foam). Both regular 
corks are doing super-even the unpainted one has not absorbed any gas, 
swelled or lost any buoyancy. Guess this makes sense as many older 
aircraft had cork floats in the fuel systems. Anyhow, I've trimmed two 
corks to the perfect size and have painted them bright orange. I will 
try these out in the sight tubes and check them every day for a couple 
of weeks to make sure there are no issues. Tom


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