I did not make the tanks although all of the installation, plumbing and instrumentation work is mine. They add 17 gallons (8.5 each tank) and I get roughly 0.7 hours out of each one at 10 gal/hr burn rate which is well over another hour of flying time. My wife and I flew back from LOE non-stop in just over 4 hours. With unusable fuel we should still have over 5 hours flying time at 75% power. I have had no contact with the manufacturer since I picked them up in November of 1996. All I have is an address from the invoice and I do not know if the tanks are still being manufactured. The address is:
"Bladder Buster Tanks"
Reed Mfg.
315 Lathrop Lane
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
I am very pleased with them but they add complexity to the build and operations. I discovered I had a very slow seeping leak through the trailing edge when I filled them to calibrate the fuel gauges. I fixed the leak with fiberglass. Some people plumb the tips into the mains but I chose to have all four tanks individually selectable. Takeoffs with partially filled tip tanks in this configuration must not be made on one of these tip tanks - the engine will start sucking air as you go to a high angle of attack and the fuel moves to the back of the tip tanks. Here is a photo taken during assembly to the wing on November 20 1997:
"Bladder Buster Tanks"
Reed Mfg.
315 Lathrop Lane
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
I am very pleased with them but they add complexity to the build and operations. I discovered I had a very slow seeping leak through the trailing edge when I filled them to calibrate the fuel gauges. I fixed the leak with fiberglass. Some people plumb the tips into the mains but I chose to have all four tanks individually selectable. Takeoffs with partially filled tip tanks in this configuration must not be made on one of these tip tanks - the engine will start sucking air as you go to a high angle of attack and the fuel moves to the back of the tip tanks. Here is a photo taken during assembly to the wing on November 20 1997: