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Fuel tank 37-01 AND 37-05 CHANGE!!!

It is good to see something on the fuel tank and it will be interesting to see what they have to say about it, if they do.

It does not appear to change the Plexiglas part, which I understood to be the problem as it is calling out the part we now have. It does change the plate that goes behind it from a flat plate to a plate with a hump in it.

I would sure be interested in hearing how that will stop the degradation of the Plexiglas? It would be nice to hear when the parts will be coming as we are still waiting for the canopy latch parts that would have been much simpler to fabricate and that has been about a month.

I guess we also will have to pay for the new tank sealer as at least in my case it is now beyond the expiration date.

Have a good day.

Best regards,
Vern
 
Vern, take a look at the window again. I believe it has changed, it has slots in the side instead of holes.
 
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I would go along with that

The new backing plate would prevent flexing the 'window'. Don't want something sliding around in the baggage compartment for sure. ( not that you ever want that, but - - - - ).

John Bender
 
Geico266 said:
Vern, take a look at the window again. I believe it has changed, it has slots in the side instead of holes.
Click to expand...

Hi Larry,

Yes I saw that but I noted that the metal part is a new part number with the addition of -1 to the part number and the part number for the Plexiglas is the same part number.

It would be simple to tell us on another page to cut out the slots at each hole, I do sincerely hope the fix works however it is accomplished and that we can get on with it soon.

Best regards,
Vern
 
window is a different material

There is an update on the home page that specifically states they have identified a compatible replacement material for the window itself and that they will ship new ones in October.
 
Tank Plastic

I know they have been working on this for some time...in fact they discovered it...not one of us. They even announced it and asked that we hold off on finishing the tank if possible. We all know for a fact that they have tried many different solutions before they finally found one they are comfortable with. I think its great that they took it as seriously as they did...that they stuck to their plan. And their timing is great...next month is about the time I should be ready to plop it in and finish everything off.
 
Van's home page fuel tank window

Dear RV-12 Builders,
Good news on replacement sight windows for your RV-12 fuel tanks!
After a lot of testing, we?ve identified a fuel compatible material that
will work well for the sight window in the RV-12 fuel tank.
We have material ordered and will have new windows to ship soon
(we expect to be sending them out in Oct).
A drawing revision was posted Sept 17, 2009 relative to drawing 37-05
and initial installation of the new window.
For those of you who have already installed the original windows supplied
with your kit, we?ll be supplying ?retrofit? instructions with the new windows.
We appreciate everyone?s patience and apologize for the long wait while
we figured this one out!
Sincerely, Scott Risan General Manager Van?s Aircraft, Inc.
 
Fuel Tank Window

Since I'm waiting for the engine to arrive, I thought I would go back and remove the old plastic window that I had already installed before the change notice was posted. No problem removing the 22 screws and nuts, but the plastic window was not as easy to get out. Had to cut and pry some of the ProSeal and ended up getting the window out in two parts.
Anyway, my question is, anyone have a suggestion on what our how to remove the left over Pro Seal that is stuck to the tank sides, where the old window was placed to get a smooth clean surface to install the new window? I tried MEK with not much luck.

Jim Olson
Blairsville, Georgia
[email protected]
 
THF

Jim Olson,
At work we used a solvent called THF (Tetrahydrofuran). It was expensive so they did not want us to use a lot of it. If you spilled a little onto the outside of the 50 gallon drum, it would take the paint off the drum as it ran down. It would dissolve things that MEK would not touch. I do not know if it would dissolve Proseal. Or how about a razor blade followed by abrasive?
Joe
 
Mich48041 said:
Jim Olson,
At work we used a solvent called THF (Tetrahydrofuran). It was expensive so they did not want us to use a lot of it. If you spilled a little onto the outside of the 50 gallon drum, it would take the paint off the drum as it ran down. It would dissolve things that MEK would not touch. I do not know if it would dissolve Proseal. Or how about a razor blade followed by abrasive?
Joe
Click to expand...

I have used a razor blade held flat to the surface to slice it off. Get the major portion off but leave the rest. The new proseal will adhere and seal to it just fine. If you start using chemicals but don't get all of the sealant off you could have problems because of it having been softened and contaminated.
 
Geico266 said:
Scoot, Why not just build another tank?
Click to expand...

You can if you want to but why?

I have removed the tank cover plate, removed the old window and sealant, installed the new window, and reinstalled the tank cover plate in about 1 hour. (This was with the tank already removed from the airplane).
 
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