Fuel tanks with soft, tacky residue

[justaircraft]

It has been brought to our attention that there are some fuel tanks in the field that have a soft, tacky interior. After talking with the manufacturer of the tanks we have determined that rinsing ALL tanks with lacquer thinner will eliminate the tacky residue.  

HOW TO RINSE YOUR TANKS:

For tanks set in wings:
1) Fill the tanks with lacquer thinner (9 Gal. tanks fill with 1/2 gal. - 1 gal.) (13 gal. tanks fill with 1-2 gal.)
2) MAKE SURE TANKS ARE VENTED!
3) Rock the airplane for 3-5 minutes to be sure the thinner contacts all inside surfaces. (Decreasing tire pressure will facilitate the rocking process)
4) Drain completely, putting a portion of the fluid into a transparent container to determine clarity. This will look yellow if the interior walls have not completely cured.
5) Repeat this process until thinner is clear. (Our experience with this, had it washed clear by the third rinse, but could vary from tank to tank).
6) Let stand overnight and test walls with your finger. They should now be hardened and impervious to gasoline.

For tanks not set in wings:
1) Follow the above procedures using only about a quart of thinner.
2) Shake the tank by hand.

To determine the extent of the problem, please notify me at Just Aircraft of the following:
1) If you have found soft, sticky tanks
2) The above procedures did not resolve the problem (NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY).

Thank you for your patience and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Harry Berndt
Just Aircraft
864-718-0320
justaircraft@netzero.net[/u]

[scubarider2]

Harry, thanks so much for the information.
Could you please comment on the ethanol issue and fiberglass tanks?  Are the tanks that we were supplied resistant to ethanol?  Do you recommend using 100LL until another solution is found?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Dennis

[Doug Baird]

Harry …
As instructed … My kit, #111 has 'tacky tanks'.  I will try your solution this weekend & let you know how it works.  
Thanks for the assistance.
Doug Baird

[stede52]

I had some pretty sticky tanks when I started flushing them with lacquer thinner.  After 14 gallons of thinner and four rinses my tanks are clean and nolonger have the soft sticky residue in them.  I'm hoping I'm good to go  :P

Steve

[Gary H]

Ditto that Steve,
so far I have used 18 gallons @ $15.00 per gallon, still one more rinse (I hope) to go. They are getting better.
GW

[b1x4nqb]

I was wondering if I could use auto fuel to rinse them then re-use it in the lawn mower without wasting it.  Lowes sells the thinner in 5 gallon cans @ $49.  Still, I hate to waste soo much material.  Just a thought/question?

[stede52]

Car gas will not clean the sticky layer out of the tanks, I know that from experience.  Use the lacquer thinner and I would double the amount, and rinses that Just recommends to be on the safe side.  And if you had tanks as bad as mine, triple it!!!!!

Steve

[KevinC]

FWIW

I used 5 gallons thinner in a 9 gallon tank; 4 rinses; air dry for an hour and seems pretty good so far.  Got to get another 5 for the other tank.  first rinse was pretty nasty (picture). Inside turned really sticky after the first rinse and freaked me out.  Really seems to need the volume to get a good wash on the upper surface of the tank.  M2C

So, what do we do with 10 gal of thinner?  Would start one heck of a weenie roast fire...

k

cup on left is full of laquer thinner.

[pdeinin]

My tanks are in the wings so I put the first wing in a PVC support that allows me to rotate the wing easily.  I then used 1 gallon of lacquer thinner and rocked the wing aggressively, let it sit rocked it etc. to give the thinner time to dissolve the crud.  I then flipped it over completely and rocked it similarly.  I just lived with a little leaking out of the vent in the cap.  AFter draining the 1 gallon, I did it 2 more times.  This morning, the tank is very solid and dry to the touch.  I will reuse the last one gallong of thinner as the first wash in the next tank and thus will probably only use 5 gallons total.

[KevinC]

The first 5 I bought at Home Depot @ $14.97/gallon.
Second 5 was Lowes:  5 gal can for $49.

k

[Jim Cantrell]

I am wondering if after all the tank washing, will putting more E10 back in the tank just start the process all over again.  Maybe the solvent wash removes the sticky layer but what happens when you start adding ethanol back in ?

Has anyoneone tested this ?

[stede52]

Jim,
I"m no expert but I have worked with all kinds of laminating and finishing resins over the past 25 years and here's what I know. It's unlikely that the surface under the soft skim coat will be a problem once the skim coat is washed away. This is due to the fact that the skim coat kept the air away from that underlying surface which therefore allowed it to cured correctly.  if you notice after you've rinsed the tanks the remaining surface (once dried completly of lacquer thinner) is hard.  I was also told by the tank manufacturer that the Vinyl Ester Resin he uses is approved for all oxygenated fuels.

Steve

[stede52]

Jim,
I"m no expert but I have worked with all kinds of laminating and finishing resins over the past 25 years and here's what I know. It's unlikely that the surface under the soft skim coat will be a problem once the skim coat is washed away. This is due to the fact that the skim coat kept the air away from that underlying surface which therefore allowed it to cured correctly.  if you notice after you've rinsed the tanks the remaining surface (once dried completly of lacquer thinner) is hard.  I was also told by the tank manufacturer that the Vinyl Ester Resin he uses is approved for all oxygenated fuels.

Steve

[scubarider2]

I believe that I am finally fixed.....well my plane is anyway    
After doing the $250 worth of thinner in the tanks....and adding seafoam to the fuel for two tanks run through.....no more problems in starting and compression.  ***YIPPIE***
I am flying again with confidence.   The gas now is clear not yellow.  I believe the seafoam burned off any residue on the intake valves.
Happy Camper again...  :lol:
Anyone hear on what happened to the Skycatcher and the accident?
Dennis

[scubarider2]

Here is the article I found:

Federal investigators are on their way to Douglass, Kansas to investigate the crash of a Cessna Skycatcher LSA prototype Thursday. The pilot of the test aircraft was able to parachute to safety and was reportedly taken to hospital with minor injuries.



Cessna media relations personnel were unable to immediately respond to AVweb's request for more detailed information, but KAKE Television is reporting the aircraft crashed into a treeline near the boundary of Butler and Cowley Counties. The television station is quoting witnesses as saying they heard a loud pop and then saw sparks and the plane spiraling down. The pilot landed in a field about 400 yards from the aircraft. The TV station quoted a Cessna spokesman as saying the crash aircraft had about 150 hours on it.



The prototype first flew on March 8, and Cessna is planning on delivering the first customer aircraft in the first half of 2009. What the crash does to that schedule is unclear. There are close to 1,000 orders for the aircraft, which will be built in China and reassembled in three plants in the U.S.