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Fuel Tank Question
I have been reading up on the process to build the fuel tanks.
Are any people following the "fay sealing" process versus the plans? I assume that the plans are not the same. Essentially put all the proseal in place with cleacos, allow the glue to setup for a while up to a several days, the wet set the rivets. http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...roseal+channel Ken |
I will be starting the tanks this weekend and plan on following the method Rick described.
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So How Did the Fay-Sealing Work
I am starting to assemble my tanks. I would like to know how the Fay-seal process worked out?
Tom Roberts |
On my 7A I built my fuel tanks both ways. Built the first one by the plans, the second one using faye sealing. I HIGHLY recommend going with faye sealing! Much less messy, easier, and the results are fantastic. You can check my wing build section on my website for more info and lots of pictures. I'm sure it's similar to what the RV-14 will be.
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Tested my first tank yesterday (I used the cleco over night method) and so far only the fuel cap leaked. I tightened it and after four hrs the manometer only increased by a 1/4 inch. I was applying soapy water and I think it cooled the tank. After drying off the level raised.
I'll probably regret this post as I'm about to go back out to the hangar and do a check. |
I am fay sealing everything on the tanks. I figure if you can fay seal the ribs, then why not the rest of the parts. The bigger reason is that I got all the tank stiffeners in place on one tank and ran out of proseal. I figured that I would just bring all the parts in the house to cure, then I will wet rivet later.
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Is everyone using Van's tank sealant or are you using the more expensive old proseal?
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Fay sealing the read baffle
Quote:
The plans warn about "pillowing" if you get too much sealant between the baffle and the skin, so I used my seaming pliers to squeeze out the excess while still in clecos. As final insurance that my generous use of sealant didn't present any fit-up problems later, I temporarily installed each tank after riveting while still wet. I'm very happy with the results. No leaks, tanks that bolt-up with no interference. Probably added a few OZ of weight that I didn't need to, but it seemed like a good trade-off. I'll paste in a couple of pictures since I don't have a builder's web site. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
+1 Rick's method..
..and I did 4 tanks, all of which are supposedly leak free. However, I'm not flying yet. Seemed to work real well if you time it right (i.e. DON'T let the proseal completely cure before riveting.)
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I'm certainly no expert but I question using the seaming pliers to squeeze out proseal. You would not want the skins to pillow back out to where they were before the seaming pliers as you could have a leak. I would allow the clecoes to squeeze what they can and then rivet, but that's just my opinion.
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