JonJay
Well Known Member
Follow up on previous post.
After dozens of checks showing the sender go "open", then "shorted", then somewhere in between, after I removed it, I could not get it to fail an ohm check.
The only suspect was a strange grey powdery deposit on the soldered main lug running across the insulator. It may be lead or? that only conducted while immersed in fuel? I just dont know....It scraped off easily so I had no evidence to test further. I do know that when I was flying off the tank to make draining easier, it started working below 4 gallons and continued to work all the way to empty. Oh well....a new one was going back in and that one is going in the garbage can.
The process was simple and took just under two hours. The most difficult part is separating the sender from the tank, and that was easy once I made the right tool. Taking the screws out ( standard Philips head) was easily accomplished with a socket mounted driver in a ratchet wrench. (Others have recommended torks head or bolts here but the philips screws presented no problem.)
To make my tool, I took a piece of 4130 (same stuff as the rudder cable links, .063 x .50 or?) about a foot long. Using a grinder, I filed one end into a one sided chisel, rounded the corners slightly, then deburred the edges. This "tool" is flexible enough to lay flat on the access plate and rigid enough to wack with a hammer (gently). You dont want to gouge, dent, or otherwise damage the surface of the access plate!
The hangar was cold, so carefull application of some heat with a heat gun, some manuevering with my home made chisel, a few taps later the sender was free from the tank. It took a minute or two messing with the right angle of the dangle and it was clear of the airframe.
Carefully remove the old Proseal so it does not fall into the tank, Scotch bright and MEK the mating surfaces. I poured some fuel in the tank with the quick drain removed to wash out any dust or small pieces that might have got inside the tank. No evidence of anything there...
I used the 1oz little package of Proseal from Van's and started laying my bead of proseal. I should have opted for the slightly bigger package with the applicator. Smearing on Proseal with a popsicle stick is not the best way to go as there is very little space to move around in there. To insure a good seal, I rotated the Sender back and forth a few times to evenly distribute the product. Finding the screw holes to put the screws back in can be a challenge. Have your dental pick or other sharp tool handy so you can find the first couple of holes and then things go quickly.
The final touch was running around the outside edge of the sender with a finger to make a nice filet of Proseal and we are in business.
Sender ohm checks on empty. We will see when I fill her up but I believe this job is over.
After dozens of checks showing the sender go "open", then "shorted", then somewhere in between, after I removed it, I could not get it to fail an ohm check.
The only suspect was a strange grey powdery deposit on the soldered main lug running across the insulator. It may be lead or? that only conducted while immersed in fuel? I just dont know....It scraped off easily so I had no evidence to test further. I do know that when I was flying off the tank to make draining easier, it started working below 4 gallons and continued to work all the way to empty. Oh well....a new one was going back in and that one is going in the garbage can.
The process was simple and took just under two hours. The most difficult part is separating the sender from the tank, and that was easy once I made the right tool. Taking the screws out ( standard Philips head) was easily accomplished with a socket mounted driver in a ratchet wrench. (Others have recommended torks head or bolts here but the philips screws presented no problem.)
To make my tool, I took a piece of 4130 (same stuff as the rudder cable links, .063 x .50 or?) about a foot long. Using a grinder, I filed one end into a one sided chisel, rounded the corners slightly, then deburred the edges. This "tool" is flexible enough to lay flat on the access plate and rigid enough to wack with a hammer (gently). You dont want to gouge, dent, or otherwise damage the surface of the access plate!
The hangar was cold, so carefull application of some heat with a heat gun, some manuevering with my home made chisel, a few taps later the sender was free from the tank. It took a minute or two messing with the right angle of the dangle and it was clear of the airframe.
Carefully remove the old Proseal so it does not fall into the tank, Scotch bright and MEK the mating surfaces. I poured some fuel in the tank with the quick drain removed to wash out any dust or small pieces that might have got inside the tank. No evidence of anything there...
I used the 1oz little package of Proseal from Van's and started laying my bead of proseal. I should have opted for the slightly bigger package with the applicator. Smearing on Proseal with a popsicle stick is not the best way to go as there is very little space to move around in there. To insure a good seal, I rotated the Sender back and forth a few times to evenly distribute the product. Finding the screw holes to put the screws back in can be a challenge. Have your dental pick or other sharp tool handy so you can find the first couple of holes and then things go quickly.
The final touch was running around the outside edge of the sender with a finger to make a nice filet of Proseal and we are in business.
Sender ohm checks on empty. We will see when I fill her up but I believe this job is over.
