Wing - Left Fuel Tank

2004-04-02 - Final preparations before ProSeal - honest! (3.0 Hrs).

Warning, this entry outlines a deviation from the plans that I have decided to make. Absolutely, do not follow this procedure, unless you have decided it is a good idea, and have weighed the consequences. In fact, don't follow anything on this site without thinking about it first. Doing so, could be hazardous to your health.

Last night, Jeff Bordelon emailed me and said that my problem with the T-915 anti-rotation bracket would be fixed if I installed the sleeve under the nut. Well, that was not the problem with the anti-rotation bracket, but it was the problem with the nut not tightening down on the tube.

After thinking about this, I really felt stupid. I mean, I have a bag of fittings, with two small nuts, two small sleeves, two large nuts, and two large sleeves. I said to myself "I wonder where these sleeves are used." I looked on the plans, and there's no sleeve shown on the fuel pickup. How stupid do you have to be to figure out where the sleeves go? After reading Jeff's email, I slid the sleeve and nut onto the tube and it made things fit a whole lot better. Then, I looked on the plans again, and noticed the following notation: "Sleeve not shown." Doh.

I used the tube for the right fuel tank, and made a new fuel pickup. It looks a lot better, especially with that sleeve inside the nut.
I also decided to cut the notches a little different. With the notches on the top of the tube, the lowest that you can draw down the fuel is the top of the tube. This leaves quite a lot of unusable fuel, so I decided to cut the notches just below the side of the tube. This means I can draw down to 1/2 the diameter of the tube (assuming the tube is flat on the bottom of the tank).

Here's a better picture. Notice, that I cut from both sides, interleaving the cuts. This makes the end stronger (even though that is really not important). I also left a little on the bottom that is not cut through. This prevents the tube from sucking from the very bottom, where the water may be sitting. However, with the holes in this position, the fuel line would probably suck any water off of the bottom, anyway. I ALWAYS drain the water from the fuel drain before flight. Last year my Cherokee (RIP) usually had a half cup of water in one tank.

Here's the finished fuel pickup. Well, almost. Notice, that the end of the tube sticks out past the end of the tank. I crimped the end a little more, and filed down the end some more to get a good fit. We'll see.

I plan on doing my first ProSeal tomorrow, but I found I still had a little more prep to go. I needed to scuff and dimple the fuel tank stiffeners. Also, my tank dimples came in, so I decided to redimple all of the top dimples. These dimples are a little deeper, and I am sure that they will look a little better than the standard dimples after adding ProSeal. I decided not to redimple the bottom of the tank. This is something that I will regret not having done, tomorrow (i.e., it is already tomorrow, and I am writing up today's work tomorrow, or yesterday's work today, oh, forget it).

	I used the tube for the right fuel tank, and made a new fuel pickup. It looks a lot better, especially with that sleeve inside the nut. I also decided to cut the notches a little different. With the notches on the top of the tube, the lowest that you can draw down the fuel is the top of the tube. This leaves quite a lot of unusable fuel, so I decided to cut the notches just below the side of the tube. This means I can draw down to 1/2 the diameter of the tube (assuming the tube is flat on the bottom of the tank).
	Here's a better picture. Notice, that I cut from both sides, interleaving the cuts. This makes the end stronger (even though that is really not important). I also left a little on the bottom that is not cut through. This prevents the tube from sucking from the very bottom, where the water may be sitting. However, with the holes in this position, the fuel line would probably suck any water off of the bottom, anyway. I ALWAYS drain the water from the fuel drain before flight. Last year my Cherokee (RIP) usually had a half cup of water in one tank.
	Here's the finished fuel pickup. Well, almost. Notice, that the end of the tube sticks out past the end of the tank. I crimped the end a little more, and filed down the end some more to get a good fit. We'll see.
	I plan on doing my first ProSeal tomorrow, but I found I still had a little more prep to go. I needed to scuff and dimple the fuel tank stiffeners. Also, my tank dimples came in, so I decided to redimple all of the top dimples. These dimples are a little deeper, and I am sure that they will look a little better than the standard dimples after adding ProSeal. I decided not to redimple the bottom of the tank. This is something that I will regret not having done, tomorrow (i.e., it is already tomorrow, and I am writing up today's work tomorrow, or yesterday's work today, oh, forget it).