REFLECTOR: Water Condensation in Wing Tanks & Sump

[Dennis Martin]

Thanks guys for noodling on the condensation problem. The A & P shop in the
hangar next door has a bore scope. My gas caps are the older style plastic
and the water was definitely on the plastic part that dips down into the
tank. Anyway, I'll use the bore scope this morning and drain the sump -
then let you know what I find.

Many thanks,

Dennis
P.S. If you have the original style tank flanges, the metal gas caps won't
fit. I bought them and had to return them to the factory.

On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 8:34 PM, <nmflyer1 at aol.com> wrote:

> Dennis,
>
>  Do you have the aluminum caps, or the plastic ones?  If you have the
> aluminum ones, you could try leaving them off over night, and just covering
> the hole with a towel, tape, piece of wood.. etc. It might help if you
> could see inside the tanks to see if the water is anywhere other than the
> cap. I can send you my bore-scope type tool if you think you would need it.
>
>  Kurt
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dennis Martin <dennis.doc at gmail.com>
> To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list <reflector at tvbf.org>
> Sent: Fri, Feb 10, 2012 7:58 pm
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Water Condensation in Wing Tanks & Sump
>
>  Water is heavily condensed on the INSIDE surface of both caps. Not just a
> little, but big drops of water. I'll do some taxi tests tomorrow and see if
> there's enough water to drain down into the sump and let you know what
> happens. This is not the first time I've found significant water on the
> inside of the cap.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dennis
>
> On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 7:44 PM, Mark Magee <edjonesbrady at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Keep tanks topped off as possible. In 10 years of Long EZ flying I never
>> captured -any- water in the gascolator or sumps. 2 years now with the Velo
>> XLFG and no hint of water from the sump drain. Glass tanks are -much- less
>> susceptible to condensation inside the tank than aluminum aircraft. I would
>> not be concerned on water on the outside surface of the cap.
>> Mark Magee
>> N34XL XLFG 300 HP 80 Hours
>> Brady TX
>>
>>   On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 8:32 PM, Dennis Martin <dennis.doc at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>>  I have not flown my V for a bout 2 weeks while I've been making some
>>> changes. I was going to do some T & Gs tomorrow, but noticed today that
>>> both fuel caps have big drops of water condensed on them when I inspected
>>> them. It's spooky to see that much water on my fuel caps. I tasted it, and
>>> it's definitely water.
>>>
>>> With half tanks, I'm sure that water is condensing on the entire top
>>> half of the tank surface. I've read about fuel tanks being susceptible to
>>> condensation, especially glass tanks. Has anyone had this experience, and
>>> do you have any suggestions other than filling the tanks to the brim to
>>> reduce condensation. I've read that this is one way to reduce it.
>>> Otherwise, I assume you just drain your sumps carefully. I think it may
>>> also be a good idea to taxi for 10 minutes to shake the water loose from
>>> the tank top so it will work its way down to through the sump drain? Then,
>>> check your sump again before take off.
>>>
>>> All the best,
>>> Dennis Martin
>>> Chevy Powered 173 FGE
>>>
>>>  _______________________________________________
>>> To change your email address, visit
>>> http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
>>>
>>> Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
>>> user:pw = tvbf:jamaicangoose
>>> Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
>>> Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> To change your email address, visit
>> http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
>>
>> Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
>> user:pw = tvbf:jamaicangoose
>> Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
>> Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
>>
>
>
>
> --
> All the best,
> Dennis
>
> _______________________________________________
> To change your email address, visit http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
>
> Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
> user:pw = tvbf:jamaicangoose
> Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
> Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> To change your email address, visit
> http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
>
> Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
> user:pw = tvbf:jamaicangoose
> Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
> Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
>



-- 
All the best,
Dennis
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/private/reflector/attachments/20120211/f7272379/attachment.htm>