Shoey949

Well I'm a little frustrated becuase I haven't yet flown my piece o'cake and it has been finished for about 3 months. I have been busy this summer but not too much that I would be able to fly. Well my big hangup on this thing is the dang fuel tank. I have built a film canister tank but I don't have enough room to set it at the angle that it needs to draw fuel, b/c it is only pressurized by propwash.(I drilled a hole in the firewall for it) I need to find something, I don't want to have to buy a 40 dollar engine just because it doesn't have an external tank.

Thank you for the help!!!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

HI SHOEY! I make fuel tanks out of hobby store tin and 3/32" brass tubing. 50/50 solder , paste flux and a typical iron work. I make the tank form out of scrap wood and hand form the tin around the form. You can cut the tin with scissors. Make the tin edges overlap each other by 1/8 ", and solder the main body of the tank. Now cut out the end caps slightly over sized and solder them to the main tank body. If you take the time to make the tin parts fit with a zero gap, you will have done a good job. Take an ice pick to punch holes for your tank pickup line and vent tubes. Check your work by filling the tank with alcohol and look for leaks. This tank will allow for aerobatics, but not for extended inverted flight. BTW, the small SULLIVAN fuel tubing is the best that I've seen to do your 1/2A plumbing with.

Shoey949

Any other suggestions?

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

what engine is it? there are fuel tank mounts for norvel on their site or you can find the same thing for a tee dee on ebay....Rog
You could probably make a tee dee fit in a norvel tank mount as the part that holds the engine is solid plastic,not the part that holds fuel...

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Shoey,
Looking for tanks? You didn't give us much to go on, but look at these links to tanks on tower. The flex tank can be heated and molded.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFU66&P=0

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFU33&P=0

Shoey949

I already tried the 1 oz sullivan tank that doesn't fit either. I think I'm just going to keep playing around with the film canister tank 'till I can get it to work properly.

muddy69

My Feedback: (2)

I had to make a balloon tank to work in my POC.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

What engine is it?

Shoey949

I'm not sure, it uses an external tank and it came off a cox r/c plane, the lazy bee, or something like that. How does a balloon tank work?

cortacesped

I´m not an expert here, but I read once that somebody made a fuel tank from a latex glove finger. Try with the search tool [:@]. Regards

Claudio

NJ Georgee

My Feedback: (3)

I made one out of a 3-X condom,works great it fills the entire fusalage with fuel for extended flights.But dont use ribbed ones they foam up the fuel.

BMatthews

It uses party balloons to hold the fuel. Get some of the larger party balloons that when inflated but not stretched at all they are about 1 or a little more inches in diameter. You only really need one balloon but I suggest putting one inside a second so the outer balloon protects the inner from any scuffs or sharp bits. Now you need to add a cork.

Take a short length of brass tubing and build up a "cork" over the tubing using bits of silicone or automotive fuel line so the "cork" is about 3/8 in diameter and about 1/2 inches long. On the inner side of the brass tubing add a short length of that semi stiff vinyl tubing with a few 1/16 holes punched into the sides of it. This little seive ensures that the balloon does not fold over the outlet and cut off the flow before it's empty.

In use you fill the balloon to the point where it becomes tight but does NOT stretch. No vents or secondary tubes are needed or wanted. Fill the balloon, suck back any air bubbles by tilting the tank or model and put in the last bit of fuel. As it empties it just gets smaller until it collapses around that center line sieve.

And it'll fit anywhere. Just put a 1/2 inch hole in the side to fit it into and bring the fill/feed line out. The balloons will probably last a couple of weeks at a time but are cheap and easy to replace over the center line cork and sieve.

Shoey949

sounds interesting, but construction sounds a little confusing. I tried a smaller film canister today and it just seems like their is absolutely no fuel draw.

BMatthews

The tank for these small engine must be very close to the carb and up at the same height. Basically the centerline of the film can tank should be no more than 1/4 inch below the spraybar and needlevalve assembly and no further back away from it than about 1 inch. If it won't draw fuel from that far away then I suspect you've got a clogged spraybar.

Shoey949

Well that's about where it is so I'll check that out.

ELTIGRE

I'm a tad confused here. been around 1/2A many years. if the 1 oz tank does not fit how can a film canister fit?. I think the plane was designed when Cox was the predominate motor for a firewall /radial installation. any of the cox motors should fit.

Shoey949

I'm using the shorter film canisters, where the base is oblong not circular, they are smaller