Fuel tank Sealant time

Aloha,

Well after a long break in building (thanks to the good ol USAF)
I am back at it...

I am about to order my fuel tank sealant,
3 questions

1. How much to order, I am building an RV-10 standard tanks nothing custom.

2. Pro-seal from Aircraft spruce, or the Vans brand from Vans.

3. Anything else I should order to save on shipping?



Joe

I bought 2 quarts of the vans stuff and used one per tank, I saw no reason to skimp and risk a leak. I not flying yet but they passed the air test the first time. The real test will be when they are full

Here's what Vans has to say about the RV tanks:

.....With careful application, one can should do one airplane, even the larger RV-7 and RV-8 tanks, but many builders use more (two definitely needed for the RV-10/14). .....

I didn't order anything other than the proseal kit from Vans in doing my 7 tanks. I used 2 quarts on my 7 tanks. I had the same idea that I didn't want to skimp on proseal since it was relatively cheap and seemingly painful to fix once the tanks are closed.

JoeB said:

I am about to order my fuel tank sealant, m
3 questions

1. How much to order, I am building an RV-10 standard tanks nothing custom.

2. Pro-seal from Aircraft spruce, or the Vans brand from Vans.

3. Anything else I should order to save on shipping?
Joe

Click to expand...

1. I used about 1.5 quarts on my RV-10. I would order two.

2. Doesn't matter. Vans may be a little less expensive, but I haven't check pro seal pricing in quite awhile.

3. Fuse kit, finish kit, fwf, etc...... One of the secrets I found with vans when order parts is to have them ship priority mail. Much less expensive than ups and you get it quicker. At least where I live......

I've used the AC-236-B4 from Spruce; it's the same stuff but half the price of the Pro-Seal brand, and has a longer working time (but also a longer cure).

Van's has a good price on theirs, too. However, theirs is listed as a quart instead of a pint, which (if true) would make that an absolute steal. Can anyone confirm if the Van's listing (http://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?ident=1389699291-52-699&browse=misc&product=proseal) is accurate and is truly a quart instead of a pint? Because I'd have bought it there if I'd known

rmartingt said:

I've used the AC-236-B4 from Spruce; it's the same stuff but half the price of the Pro-Seal brand, and has a longer working time (but also a longer cure).

Van's has a good price on theirs, too. However, theirs is listed as a quart instead of a pint, which (if true) would make that an absolute steal. Can anyone confirm if the Van's listing (http://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?ident=1389699291-52-699&browse=misc&product=proseal) is accurate and is truly a quart instead of a pint? Because I'd have bought it there if I'd known

Click to expand...

Yes, I purchased two quarts from Van's.

Overall, I find that Van's has good pricing on misc parts. The downside with Van's for us on the east coast is shipping. Priority Mail has come a long way to resolve that issue. Although free shipping from ACS is nice too. (I've got a grandfathered Pilot card)

I prefer PRC and don't scrimp on using it or you'll be sorry

Vans is correct that one can build the 7 tanks with one quart. I did and had plenty to handwork and filet all joints and had a little left over to do other tasks on the craft. No leaks in 200 hrs so far.

You do have to be frugal in the mixing. The stuff is so sticky that you need to minimize container transfers. I made a balance that uses a paper mixing cup on one end and a tongue depressor on the other so there is no transferring needed. Once it is balanced with resin in the cup and a dab of activator on the depressor, you use the tongue depressor to stir the resin cup.

Patience, preparation, smaller batches that you use completely, syringe, and use of the freezer to extend the pot life were helpful.

Late in the project I did have to scrounge some proseal from other builders to do the tip up seal carrier. Its pretty easy to obtain some from the finished builders that bought 2 quarts....

Joe,

Just order 2 cans - you'll use more than one can but have some left out of the second which will come in handy for misc non-critical tasks later on. If you need help with techniques, getting starting, etc. give me a ring. You back in town for a while?

Bob

Another data point..

I would recommend using the SEM cartridges of the Vans proseal stuff that they sell in 3.5 ounce containers. These are used with a Semco (or other brand) pneumatic sealant gun. The cartirdges will cost you more (about 30% - 40% more) than buying quart cans but here are the benefits:

1) Can order as you need them with other parts orders, means they stay fresh.
2) LESS MESS than mixing up little batches from the cans and applying with a tongue depresser or ziploc baggies.
3) Probably less waste than using the cans, because the 3.5 ounce size seems to be the perfect amount for doing the various stages of the tank build (at least for the 10). In other words, one container does the "flat work" of back-riveting on the stiffeners, then one more for the next stage, inserting ribs, etc, etc.
4) Most importantly, the pneumatic sealant gun lays down excellent, bubble free beads of sealant of various sizes.

The trick is to find a used gun (or a cheap one). I was lucky enough to have a friend who had an extra one.