edneff

edneff

Well Known Member
Skipping all of the sad details, but the end cap of a self-service fuel nozzle which was not attached to its lanyard ended up in my right fuel tank.

I'm not the builder, but a new first time RV owner. Any ideas how to get it out? It's some kind of rubber, slightly larger than the diameter of a fuel nozzle, and about 1.5 inches in length.

Thanks

Ed
 
I would first try bending a hook in the end of a piece of welding rod, and fishing it out. Shouldn't be too difficult.
 
Grabber

I would also recommend a "grabber" (available at auto parts stores, Sears, etc.). These have prongs that extend when a plunger is depressed on the end of a short (usually 18"-24") cable. The prongs are closed by a spring when the plunger is released. These work great at retrieving lost non-ferrous parts.

Good luck,
Mike
 
Sears Tool-Grabber update

The formal name is "pick up tool".

Craftsman 23-1/2 in. Pick Up Tool
Sears item #00941322000 Mfr. model #41322 $5.95

No, I don't work for Sears, and you should be able to find a similar item at the store most convenient to you!

Mike
 
Thanks for the responses. I'm wondering how do I find it? I tried to look inside the tank and couldn't see it anywhere.

Since it was designed to cap a fuel nozzle, I'm not too worried about it dissolving and contaminating the fuel. But I don't know if it will float or be on the bottom...
 
Looking

Needless to say don't use a match to look. :) :eek: Sort of kidding....but please do think of sparks when illuminating the tank and looking. A small LED flashlight should be spark free after turning it on several feet away from the vapors. Also an empty fuel container is more dangerous than a full one (ie. Flight 800). You probably know all of this but keeping it in the front of your thinking while looking for the foreign object is pretty important. Ground the pick up tool prior to putting it close to the filler neck.
 
Last edited:
Inspection Mirror

Edneff,
Depending on how much fuel is in the tank, you may need to drain some/all of the fuel to find the cap. Hopefully it's in the same section as the filler and hasn't moved over a baffle! Sloshing the fuel around by rocking a wing could help or hurt, so you're on your own with that technique!

Once the fuel level is down a bit, try a small inspection mirror and flashlight to locate the cap. The flashlight beam can be bounced off the mirror to shine light around the tank.

Once you find the cap, try to fish it close to the opening. Mel's welding rod recommendation may work well for this; you may even be able to catch it on the hook for retrievel, or at least have it in a good position for the pick up tool. The pick up tool cable is flexible and can bend a fair amount to reach the corners of a tank section, but it won't make a sharp bend.

So if the cap has moved past a baffle, you may need a longer welding rod/wire and will need to be creative with bends in the wire to fish it closer. Any reasonably stiff copper or stainless wire (12ga electrical wire, safety wire, etc.) will work, but don't use coathanger or other coated wire since the fuel will dissolve the coating!

Good hunting,
Mike
 
I seriously doubt that it would move past the rib/baffle. The holes in the rib are pretty small. If your RV is a tail dragger, pick the tail up and put it on a saw horse or other strong support. This may help move the object further forward where you can see it and grab it with your mechanical fingers.

Karl
 
hydroguy2 said:
Drain the tank and use a piece of hose hooked to a vacuum.
Click to expand...

Please be VERY careful if using a vacuum. They seem to be the greatest generators of static electricity in our shops. That, plus empty fuel tank, could equal big boom.

George
 
VERY DANGEROUS!

I have to agree with George here. PLEASE do not use a vacuum cleaner to suck gas fumes.
 
Mel said:
I have to agree with George here. PLEASE do not use a vacuum cleaner to suck gas fumes.
Click to expand...

110% AGREE!

NEVER use a vacuum cleaner to suck up flamable vapors! BOOM! :eek:

If not boom you'll have a jet enginelike afterburner coming out the exhaust of the vacuum!

Now that I mention it, that might be kinda kewl to do and put on U-tube. :cool:
 
Back to the post.

Since it is rubber I would not worry about it too much if you can't find it. It won't damage anything bouncing around, and should not decompose. Just take a flash light and a pickerupper and see if you can find it. If not just fly and sump tanks & gasolator regularly.
 
ok,

I admit I didn't think about the fumes being a problem. I figured if the tank as drained completely and vented, there wouldn't be any fumes. I still think a vacuum source could work. There are venturi vacuums, also your compressor and a siphoning nozzle.
 
Fumes don't go away very quickly. I say a guy welding on a Model T fuel tank that had not had fuel in it for several years. It had been laying out in a field. It still "popped" a good one when he hit it with the torch.
 
Geico266 said:
110% AGREE!

NEVER use a vacuum cleaner to suck up flamable vapors! BOOM! :eek:

If not boom you'll have a jet enginelike afterburner coming out the exhaust of the vacuum!

Now that I mention it, that might be kinda kewl to do and put on U-tube. :cool:
Click to expand...

Hmmm. A really long hose and a really long cord and you might get a job at Mythbusters!

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Geico266 said:
Back to the post.

Since it is rubber I would not worry about it too much if you can't find it. It won't damage anything bouncing around, and should not decompose. Just take a flash light and a pickerupper and see if you can find it. If not just fly and sump tanks & gasolator regularly.
Click to expand...

Is there any chance that if left inside the tank it could block the pickup tube?
 
edneff said:
Is there any chance that if left inside the tank it could block the pickup tube?
Click to expand...
YES. Just assume YES. Be safe & get that thing out of there.
 
Me? I would drain the tank and use this borescope to get an eyeball in there.

P5110344.JPG


Once the offending article was located, I would pluck it from the tank with one of those "pick up tools" to retrieve it.

If that didn't work, I would blow it all up with the vacuum cleaner!
 
Turn it over!

And shake it out!! ;) (unless of course it is a -9... which isn't supposed to be turned over!) He he... :p

Sorry... that was my first impulse. I can't believe I'm the first one to say it!

Ok... turning off computer. G-nite!

DJ
 
Captain_John said:
Me? I would drain the tank and use this borescope to get an eyeball in there.
Click to expand...

That looks like a really cool tool, just what I need. Where do you get one and how much does it cost?

I am not comfortable leaving it there. Some good ideas here, and what a great resource. VAF is one reason I decided to buy an RV!
 
Well, you can google them up. I got mine... for the right price, if ya know whattimean...

;)

Too bad you aren't in New England. I loan it out all the time.

Do a web search for them. Typically this model goes for about $300. A lot of electricians and mechanics have them now. Ask around. Someone in your area might have one that you can borrow.

Mebbe putting a thread up here asking if someone in your area has a boroscope you can borrow?

Also, consider looking at some tanks or pics of tanks under construction so that you understand what you are looking at a bit more clearly.

Hope this helps.

:) CJ
 
tilt the a/c?

Hi.

Have you tried tilting the a/c so the object would roll towards the fuelcap-end of the tank?

I was thinking that if you put some woodblocks or similar under one wheel and raise the tail, the a/c would be slanting so hopefully the object would obey gravity and roll towards the lowest end of the tank? Hopefully right underneath the fuelcap....

Yes, you might have some exiting moments raising your RV up towards one side, but maybe if you did it carefully and with good support?

Good luck!

Alf Olav Frog / Norway
RV-7 Finishing
 
Another Tool Option

Brown Tool has a fiber optic inspection light in their hard-copy catalog that includes the light, fiber optic extensions, an inspection mirror and a pickup magnet. The mirror and the magnet clip onto the fiber optic wand(s). P/N KLIK10C, $25.95. Obviously the magnet won't be of any use in this situation, but it looks like a good quality kit.

Not as cool as a borescope, but less cost.

They also offer the borescope in two sizes:
18" (P/N PV-100) is $239.95
36" (P/N PV-300) is $299.95

Also have clip-on accessories for these (mirrors, magnets, etc.)

Lots of greats suggestions in this thread-just be careful out there!

Mike
 
Air Powered Vacuum

Less than $25 thru ACS - I use this all the time when doing drilling/riveting work. Air powered thru the compressor - NO SPARKS as it just runs off compressed air...

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/minivac.php

It doesn't have incredible suction, but certainly enough to pick up a rubber cap. And it has a long enough nozzle that you can run it around the tank (after draining it of course) and get back into the aft inboard portion of the tank where it is likely to end up after draining it.
 
Bore Scope

We use those scopes here at work all the time, only ours have a longer hose on the end. We use them for exactly what you'd like to do, putting them into gas tanks. Olympus, the manufactuer, claims it is safe and the light on the end is sealed.

Just go down to your local Customs/Border Patrol office and say, "hey I think someone droped some dope in my tank, can you check and see?" They'll find the rubber hose, just don't blame me when they get mad, or try and seize the plane! ;-)

Oh, one last thing, us goverment employees are notorious for scratching things, you have been warned!

Seriously though, I think most A&P's have them also.
 
Compressor!

Here's another "suggestion" to get it out, easy, and cheap!:

Assuming it is a light rubber thingy and it is bigger than the holes in the baffles: drain the tank out enough so there is no more fuel in the outboard bay of the tank. Put a piece of plastic hose on the end of your compressor hose, put it in the tank and let it go mad inside the tank. Make sure you hold the hose in the filler neck so, that the opening is still as big as possible. It may take a minute, maybe ten, or it may not work at all, but if you are lucky the light rubber thingy will bounce around in the tank and eventually comes flying out with the air trough the filler neck. Be sure not to smoke during this operation and earth the tank! There will be a lot of petrol-fumes/air mixture coming out of there also!

Good luck, PilotTonny
 
A guy{NOT ME} turned his fuel tank over in his jon boat. He used the shop vac to get the fuel out of the carpet . What he got was a new garage and boat when it caught fire.
 
Pilottonny said:
Here's another "suggestion" to get it out, easy, and cheap!:

Assuming it is a light rubber thingy and it is bigger than the holes in the baffles:
Click to expand...


Only trouble is, the cap is smaller than the baffle holes...
 
Then you need to get it out immediately. If I remember correctly, the baffle holes are 1". If the object gets into the next bay, it will be nearly impossible to get out without cutting extra holes. It really shouldn't be that difficult to get out. Lift the tail wheel to above flight level and just fish it out.
 
You need to get that thing out NOW!

Sorry. I just looked back at my builders log. Looks like the holes are 1 1/2". BTW, Draining the fuel will only encourage the "object" to go through the lower hole. Once it has gotten out of the outer bay, you don't know where it is.
 
I'm hoping it blew into the back of the compartment where the filler opening is. If so, I think I'll be able to see it with a flashlight and an inspection mirror, and then pick it up...

That's my plan, anyway, and I'll be on it tomorrow morning. I can't really tell from the plans but it looks like there is one large opening in the baffle/rib near the front, and then only much smaller openings toward the rear of the compartment. If that's the case, then maybe theres' a good chance it's contained in the outboard compartment.
 
There should be a 1 1/2" hole at the lower rear point of the rib and another 1 1/2" hole about the middle.
 
Coat hanger....

Bend a coat hanger and also bend a hook in it....carefully "fish" around.....sure, it may take hours, but I guarantee you that you will eventually hook it.

Plus, it costs you nothing....you probably have 100's of wire coat hangers in your closet.
 
Somebody on this thread said don't use coat hangers because the coating would dissolve and contaminate the fuel. I guess If I drained the tank first that wouldn't be an issue.
 
Coathangers, Vacuum Cleaners, et al...

EdNeff,
Like a lot of what you read on the 'net, you need to use a grain of salt with what you read here.

Some of the recommendations provided are amusing. Some make sense. And some are downright dangerous! In the end, it's your plane so use your best judgement.

In any event, your goal should be to:
1. Fix the problem-get the junk out of the tank.
2. Use the right tools for the job. Inspection mirror with flashlight/borescope, pickup tool, decent wire etc. may be available from your local A&P or another aircraft owner. Even if you have to buy an inspection mirror and a pickup tool, you won't break the bank.
3. Not stick anything in your fuel tank that may end up getting dissolved only to be sucked into the fuel system later-don't make the problem any worse than it already is. There are lots of different coatings on coathangers, hence my earlier caution against using one. Some coatings definitely dissolve in gas (ask me how I know). Clean wire is cheap insurance.
4. Avoid blowing yourself or your plane up in the process. Stay away from vacuum cleaners/compressed air, etc. They all generate serious static electricity.

Stay safe out there and good hunting.
Mike
 
Thanks for all of your suggestions and discussion.

I went out to the airport this morning and got ready to inspect the fuel tank to see if I could locate the rubber cap. Naturally a couple of fellow RV'ers stopped by to chat, and they wanted to help look for it too. Couldn't see it. So, I was not happy, thinking that the cap had migrated to another part of the tank.

It was difficult to see inside the tank clearly. There was about 18 or 19 gallons of 100LL in there, and it was really bright, so even inside the hangar there were a lot of reflections and movement in the fuel made focusing difficult. Well, eventually everybody wandered off to do their own work and I was left to ponder the situation. I decided that if I could get a better look I might get lucky. I closed the hangar door and shielded my head from reflections with a towel and took another look inside the tank, using a thin flexible LED light to focus on different parts of the tank. There in the back inboard lower corner of the chamber, I saw a dark circle which I took to be the opening for the fuel to drain to the next compartment, but as my eyes adjusted to the light, I began to make it out as the rubber cap-- which was blue, like the fuel. I got the grabber tool, and after slowly familiarizing myself with the feel of the tank, and making about 10 attempts, I finally snagged it! What a load off.

I don't think I'll ever make that particular mistake again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.