barzini

My Feedback: (4)

Hello,
Can someone show me the best way to plumb a fuel tank for gasoline?I've switched to viton which is still a little stiff.Do I use a heavier clunk? Is there a different way of plumbing the tank to avoid inverted deadsticks? A picture would be great!Any help is appreciated.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

For clunk lines in smaller tanks, I have switched to the 1/8" ID, 1/4" OD Fluorosilicone line from McMaster Carr. This is a very flexible line and advertised to be as resistant to gasoline based fuels as Viton. About the same price as Viton so it isn't cheap. I still prefer the slightly stiffer Viton line in larger tanks.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-pl...tubing/=vajrx1

p/n 9627T14

raptureboy

Not a whole lot differnt than using nitro except all your parts need to be gas proof. Use a good quality tank and the brown stopper. I use a felt clunk available from most lawn mower shops as they hold gas so if they come out of the fuel for a second they don't suck air. As far as fuel line I use tygon, it works.

mustangman177

Does anyone use Hayes Tanks ? I see they are good for both gas and nitro.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

I use to use hayes tanks for glo fuel quite a bit some years back but stopped using them when they switched to the plastic "O" ring sealed stopper. Never had a leak before but the "O" ring version always seemed to leak after a time. Also a problem getting a large clunk into the tank. The clunk can't be any larger in diameter than the stopper hole. There are better alternatives these days. Overall its hard to beat the DuBro tanks for a standard model company sourced tank. The clear water bottle tanks are gaining in popularity these days and seem to have some advantages over the DuBro ones. Some of these clear tanks can be sourced from Wrong Way RC, Fortitude, etc. to name just a few. Quite a few companies offer stoppers, caps and fittings to convert water bottles to tanks .... PSP being one of them.

barzini

My Feedback: (4)

Do you use special clunks to keep the fuel clunk in fuel all the time.The tygon I used in the past got very stiff and the engine quits when flying inverted because the fuel line does not flop over?

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

As mentioned in post 2, the fluorosilicone line works well as a clunk line in small tanks and Viton works extremely in larger tanks. 12 oz. - 14 oz. seems to be the dividing line between tank sizes. Neither of these lines is prone to get stiff with age.

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

Even when using high quality tubing, it is a good idea to do a visual check on the ground to see if the clunk line will move to all parts of the tank once in a while, especially if the airplane has sat unused for a good while. It's better than finding out the hard way that it will starve for fuel; in the air. I had one water bottle tank setup where the back of the tank became indented and would stop the clunk line from moving to the upper half of the tank. Luckily, I found the problem on the ground. And you know how "Murphy's Law" is especially intense with airplanes..... if it dies inverted in flight, it won't be at altitude, it will be 3 feet high over the far downwind end of the runway...

AV8TOR

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

So true and at our field, that would probably be downwind, 3 feet over trees with a 20 MPH plus wind blowing. I guess that's why we have "The Tree Monkey's" phone number on our shelter wall.

Maintenance is always necessary with any fuel system.

VincentJ

Another alternative is to scrap your tank and buy one of these barzini. I have been using them on all of my gassers, and they work flawlessly. I also like the advantage of being able to see what's going on inside of the tank, for the price they can't be beat. They come in 8, 12, 16 and 32 ounces. (You can see how this one is plumbed with a three line tank...)

http://www.aztechaeromodels.com/inde...product_id=478

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

Actually, it is kind of funny how my fuel tank rear wall became indented. I started the plane up one day and had forgotten to remove the vent plug that I use when storing the plane. The engine started fine, then died lean while warming up. I found the problem; the vent plug, and removed it. But the fuel pump in the carb had started to deform the tank because no air could get in. Then, since it was 115 degrees in the shade here in Tucson, Arizona, the tank took a set and was permanently deformed.

I like using water bottle tanks for various reasons, but I just can't see spending something like 20 bucks just for a special cap and fittings. I generally just buy bulkhead fittings from an industrial supply company, or make some from field box fuel can hardware.

AV8TOR