Bob,
The detritus is not glass fibres but polyethylene swarf from the hole
boring exercise involved in fitting the unions and outlets to the tank.
The particles pick up a strong charge as they are torn away from their
parent material, they then cling to the inside wall of the tank. I
personally would not trust simply trying to cancel the charges; in my
tank the stuff needed a vacuum cleaner, then careful wiping with a moist
rag to remove all traces.
I heartily recommend installing an inspection/cleaning orifice in the
top between the two headrests. There is a PFA approved mod for it in
place. In any case you shall need it later on to clean the tank in
service - better to do it now.
Good luck
Dave
---Original Message-----
From: JR (Bob) Gowing <gowingjr@acr.net.au>
Date: 03 January 2000 10:31
Subject: Fuel Tank - Washing out fibres
Dear Europa Group Members,
Troy and Paul have the focus on fuel tank installation so it should
be a good time to raise the following -
It has been said that a lot of glass fibre gets into the tank
during construction and there is a vital need to wash the tank carefully
several times. This is apparently needed because of electrostatic
attraction of glass fibres which stick inside the tank and are hard to
shift. So filters clog a lot during the first flying hours.
If the problem is electrostatic I would have thought that some weak
battery
acid or even salt water would release the attraction between tank
and fibres
and let the fibres loose easily and quickly. My question is has
anyone tried
the use of some sort of electrolyte for washing their tank and if so
what
was the result?
JR (Bob) Gowing Kit ex UK No 327
|