I had such a problem on the plastic tank of Kitfox some years back. There is
nothing I know of that gets a grip on polyethylene, except heat welding. The
owners of poly. canoes use a hot-glue gun to repair leaks; but obviously
that would not be advisable for a fuel tank without extensive tests
For the Kitfox, returning to the factory was not an allowed option. But I
reasoned that the primers made to enable car bumpers to be
painted would provide a key. So thats what I injected followed by 2-pack
lacquer. The hole was just a pin prick and the method seemed to work,
although the rest of the tank always gave the impression of sweating; not
wet but just a vague whiff of fuel all the time and always "a pint" off full
when next flown. The latter may have been due to slow tank-stretch under the
loads of a full tank.
Duncan McFadyean
-----Original Message-----
From: John Cliff <john@crixbinfield.freeserve.co.uk>
Date: Monday, July 02, 2001 11:05 AM
Subject: fuel tank leaks
>Forwarded from the bounce bin. Message is from
>"steve" <msl99@quixnet.net>
>
>*****************************************************
>
>Has anyone had a problem with fuel tank leaks? I was washing out my
>tank today, getting ready for the installation step, when I noticed two
>pin hole jets of water coming from the "weld" seam. Upon closer
>inspection, I noticed that at each of the leak holes there was an air
>bubble in the plastic with a thin skin of plastic over the bubble and,
>of course, a hole in this thin area. Examining the rest of the seam
>section, I found several other embedded air bubbles but these did not
>have leaks (yet). Anyone else found this? I'm guessing it's repairable
>with glass/epoxy. I wonder if any of those fuel leaks/smells some have
>noticed could be due to this same problem. If anyone has experience
>with repairing this type of defect, please let me know.
>
>Steve Leisch
>A208
>
>
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