The only thing I have left on my tanks is to seal/final install the fuel senders and the baffles. Is there a reason to install the sender first or second? The idea of getting a drip of sealant in the wrong spot on the senders makes me want them out of the tank during the baffle install. Is there any reason they need to go in first? The wires have been bent and the travel correct.
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Tank Construction Order
- Thread starter Cholley6
- Start date
PaulvS
Well Known Member
If the root rib access plate (and sender) is left off until after the rear baffle is installed then it is possible to work through the opening to make a fillet on the baffle sealant, at least for the first bay. This will produce a better sealing joint than if the bead of sealant is left untouched. Further, if you want to build access covers into the other bays then all of them can be finished in this way and will result in a tank that is less likely to leak around the baffle.
fgwilliams
Member
When I did my tanks on the -14, I pretested the senders to make sure all was good. I installed baffles before final install of the senders. It will work either way but for the reason you stated, I did baffles first. Too much potential for goo on the good stuff.
PaulvS
Well Known Member
OK, understood.
Just my two cents. I installed mine yesterday. My plan is to leak check the tank with water before I install the read baffle to give me time to rework if any leaks are found. To do that, I needed to plug the hole, so I installed the sender. I did put a meter on it and check its function before I installed it. I installed the sender last. I'm building a -8 so that could be different than yours, but I installed all of the internal hardware first and the sender last. Like you, I didn't want to accidentally get sealant on the sender.
If there is sealant under each of the screw heads, there is no need to put sealant over the entire screw head.
FYI, the specific gravity of fuel is lower than it is for water, so it is possible to have leaks that water did not come through but fuel well.
Understood, but I would prefer a partial check to no check before I close it up. What if you added some soap to break down the surface tension of the water?
What about the threads that are protruding into the tank? Will fuel migrate along them. And as I type this I just realized I should have put sealant under the screw heads when I screwed them down and that's what your reply was saying.
The best test method is slightly pressurizing the tank and then spraying the exterior with a soap/water solution.
