REFLECTOR:Fuel Tank Leak Tests

Thu, 24 Jul 2003 16:40:43 -0400

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The problem isn't that I can't blow hard enough, it's that after blowing
for several minutes I don't get enough pressure to measure on my
improvised water manometer.  It takes a lot of blowing to fill 60
gallons of tank.

John

NMFlyer1@aol.com wrote:

> Whilst checking my tanks for leaks, I developed a method for getting a
> 'little more pressure than I could blow by mouth.
>
> I purchased a bag of those big party balloons. I found that 1 balloon
> did not supply any more pressure than I could blow by mouth, so I put
> one balloon inside another and filled the inner with an air
> compressor.  That supplied a nice constant pressure without the risk
> of blowing up the tanks. It also minimizes the leaking through the
> balloon skin.
>
> This allowed me to find the few pinhole leaks pretty quickly by
> myself. It also helps make sure the fuel caps are sealing correctly if
> you insure all other outlets are clamped off.
>
> Kurt Winker

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<html>
The problem isn't that I can't blow hard enough, it's that after blowing
for several minutes I don't get enough pressure to measure on my improvised
water manometer.&nbsp; It takes a lot of blowing to fill 60 gallons of
tank.
John
NMFlyer1@aol.com wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>Whilst checking
my tanks for leaks, I developed a method for getting a 'little more pressure
than I could blow by mouth.
I purchased a bag of those big party
balloons. I found that 1 balloon did not supply any more pressure than
I could blow by mouth, so I put one balloon inside another and filled the
inner with an air compressor.&nbsp; That supplied a nice constant pressure
without the risk of blowing up the tanks. It also minimizes the leaking
through the balloon skin.
This allowed me to find the few pinhole
leaks pretty quickly by myself. It also helps make sure the fuel caps are
sealing correctly if you insure all other outlets are clamped off.
Kurt Winker</blockquote>
</html>

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