Debris in my fuel tanks

[Jpm757]

DON'T fly it! You are just asking for trouble. The sloshing compound seems to have a finite life, works well for a period of time and then it just starts to come loose. I think you will find the problem will get worse very quickly.

[Beagle]

FYI: Van's service bulletin on fuel tank slosh inspection can be found here:

https://www.vansaircraft.com/pdf/ser.../sb11-9-13.pdf

[EXflyer]

There is never a reason to even use a tiny bit of Teflon tape anywhere on fuel items. there are other ways to seal a seeping fitting. It only takes a tiny bit to down an airplane.

[1flyingyogi]

Ok. I hear what you guys are saying. My logic was that the flakes of slosh are pretty big and there's no way they'll get through the screens at the fuel pick up and then after that, there's the fuel filter, and after that, there's an even finer screen at the fuel servo inlet. So there's no way the flakes (especially if it's just a few pieces flaking off once in a while) will get all the way through and cause a problem. Is my judgment off?? I was going to limit my flying but not ground the plane completely and then get this fixed for good in about two weeks when I have more time.

Yesterday after fishing out all the flakes, I flew for an hour including aerobatics and when I landed didn't see any more flakes.

I spoke to some other RV guys with the same problem and one of them said the builder of his plane has been fishing out flakes every once in a while for twenty years and apparently it didn't bother him enough to remove the slosh and reseal. And another guy is using additional filters upstream of the fuel selector to catch the flakes.

I guess I can be extra-cautious and just ground the plane until this is fixed. For me not flying takes a huge amount of self-control! It's not easy.

[1flyingyogi]

Originally Posted by EXflyer

There is never a reason to even use a tiny bit of Teflon tape anywhere on fuel items. there are other ways to seal a seeping fitting. It only takes a tiny bit to down an airplane.

Thanks for the info. I used Permatex on the fuel drain plugs because I saw that it was there before I removed. I asked an AP and he said it's ok to use it there. But later on I was told by other APs that it's not necessary and I shouldn't do it. I will remove it.

[Carl Froehlich]

Originally Posted by 1flyingyogi

Ok. I hear what you guys are saying. My logic was that the flakes of slosh are pretty big and there's no way they'll get through the screens at the fuel pick up and then after that, there's the fuel filter, and after that, there's an even finer screen at the fuel servo inlet. So there's no way the flakes (especially if it's just a few pieces flaking off once in a while) will get all the way through and cause a problem. Is my judgment off?? SNIP..

The short answer is yes.

Just because the screens and filters will keep the flakes out of the engine does not mean the flakes will not clog the screen or filter and fuel starve the engine.

Consider how you would explain to your insurance company why you had an engine out landing - including your decision to fly the plane with a known fuel problem.

Ground the plane and fix the tanks.
Carl

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by 1flyingyogi

Ok. I hear what you guys are saying. My logic was that the flakes of slosh are pretty big and there's no way they'll get through the screens at the fuel pick up and then after that, there's the fuel filter, and after that, there's an even finer screen at the fuel servo inlet. So there's no way the flakes (especially if it's just a few pieces flaking off once in a while) will get all the way through and cause a problem. Is my judgment off??

Your judgment is overlooking the possibility of two or three small flakes completely obstructing the fuel pickup screen in the tank. Yes, it is unlikely that both tanks would be starved at the same time but fuel starvation at 200' over the departure end of the runway will not end well.......

The tanks need to be fixed.

[Jpm757]

Using your logic, then it would be OK to fuel your plane with known contaminated fuel, sump it, and then hope the filter(s) catch the rest. Please heed the advice given in this forum. Should there be an incident, by virtue of your posting on this forum, the FAA may well be able to document operation of the aircraft with a known deficiency. Take the case of the guy with the Subaru powered RV-10 who augered in. The NTSB report makes refference to his posts on this forum. Big Brother IS watching!

[1flyingyogi]

I've decided to ground the plane until I re-do the tanks. Thanks for everyone's input.

[wilddog]

That stuff can also come off in sheets that could easily clog the fuel pick up. I would not fly it and you are smart to ground it. Building new tanks is a good option if your plane was from a pre punched kit otherwise the tank screws are going to be a problem to line up. Some have cut holes in the back of the tanks and cleaned it out, I don?t know how they ever got it all. I tried it on one bay and gave up, very time consuming and difficult. Send them to Paul.