REFLECTOR: what kind of foam

[doug.holub at tx.rr.com]

The air bubbles are coming up through the strakes in the baggage compartment, a foot away from the fuel bulkhead. My strakes are 20 years old, and I think they may have become a little porous in that time. I didn't seal the fuel tanks with Jeffco before I put the baffles in, so the part of the strakes underneath the baffles aren't sealed with Jeffco, and I suspect that is where the air is getting out. It's not much air-- a balloon deflates in about 30 minutes.

It sounds like a drastic measure to rip out the baffles, but it's really not that big of a job. I'll cut out a really big hatch in the top of the strake, remove the baffles, seal the tank really, really good, put new baffles in, put a flange around the inside of the hatch opening, and then replace the lid. It's pretty important that there are no fuel leaks.

Doug
---- Milton Mersky <miltonm at airmail.net> wrote: 
> 
> Make a water tight really big hatch on ea. strake. Then go in and find your 
> leak. Use Jeffco to re seal.
> 
> milt
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lawrence J. Epstein, MD" <ljepstein at hotmail.com>
> To: "'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'" <reflector at tvbf.org>
> Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 11:26 AM
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: what kind of foam
> 
> 
> > Before you "rip it all apart", why not cut a generous hole in the top, see
> > if you can "caulk" from the inside and close that up? That is what the
> > factory suggested to me when I became frustrated.
> >
> > Larry Epstein
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
> > Behalf Of doug.holub at tx.rr.com
> > Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 11:40 AM
> > To: reflector at tvbf.org
> > Subject: REFLECTOR: what kind of foam
> >
> > Air is still escaping from my fuel tank, so I'm going to rip out the
> > baffles, re-seal everything, and put in new baffles.  The baffles are made
> > of 3/8" Clark foam that came with my kit. I know Clark foam is not 
> > available
> > anymore. I see AS&S has Divinycell (PVC) foam and styrofoam. Will either 
> > be
> > ok in the fuel tank?
> >
> > Doug Holub
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