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Fuel tanks sealed a LONG time ago...

quinnjim

Member
I am looking at buying a partially completed RV-7 kit. The fuel tanks were sealed about 16 years ago.

There has never been fuel in the tanks. Is there a potential problem since the material that sealed the tanks has been sitting dry for a long time? Is there a pretty good chance that I will have to remake the tanks??

I know a lot of RV's take a LONG time to build, so I was hoping someone would have some experience with this.

The tanks were pressure tested when they were first done and seemed fine.
 
The sealant should be just fine. If you have some squeeze out during assembly and that is on the outside of the tank, it should still be somewhat flexible. It is pretty tenacious stuff. I just spent several days on a tank repair job trying to remove some really old sealant, and it was still stuck on there after almost 20 years.
 
My QB tanks are from 2009. It was 2010 when they got filled with fuel for the first time.
Pressure tested before, no leaks so far.

like you said, pressure test the tanks and you should be fine.

Check on when the tanks were built and what sealer they used. Like jpm757 says, there had been issues with different types of sealant.
 
Sealant shouldn't degrade while tank is stored but 2 things to check;
-if one or both tanks have flop tube fuel pickups- shake each tank and gauge if the rubber hose is getting stiff, it should tap against the top & bottom tank skins freely, if not, the rubber portion of the pickup may have to be replaced.
-if the tanks were stored without caps on the fittings, check that the pickups are open & clear before putting fuel in the tanks, things like Mud Doppers love those small openings.
 
The Expert

I'm pretty sure the sealant is OK. Paul Beck at Leak No More is the guru on these tanks and the sealers used. I'd check with him.
 
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