srpvw

hello
I did something dumb today pushed my tank with a small screwdiver and put a nice little hole in it does anybody have a 100% way of patching this or should I just go and buy another
Du-bro 10 oz 15% fuel
thanks

GPaloz

My Feedback: (1)

Buy another and be done with it. G.

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

What he said

srpvw

Thanks guys thats what I would do, don't want to risk it

Ed Smith

However, why not experiment and learn something. Buy the new tank for sure. Plug the hole in the old with some silicone glue. Get a good blob either side of the wall. Put some fuel in the tank and let it sit. See if the repair lasts. Then educate us all!

Ed S

will

The tank can be repaired. It depends if you want to spend the time. Take a large hobby soldering iron and wrap the tip with tin foil. That'll keep the tip from being contaminated. Take a sliver of material from an old tank and simply solder up the hole. Works great and it will last.

Your mileage may vary

FlyingPilgrim

My Feedback: (26)

I had an old trainer once that I could not justify spending any money on (it was that bad). I was drilling a hole through the firewall for the new engine mount (had just broken the last one). I drilled right into the tank, which I had carelessly left still mounted. Anyway, I cleaned off the area around the hole and used some silicone sealant on it. It lasted for at least the additional year that I had the plane before I sold it. If it were on a decent plane, I would not have risked leaking fuel, but it was just the ticket for that old dog.

Pilgrim

amelia-air

My Feedback: (82)

put a screw in it--

Ed Smith

Screw you too!

Ed S

volkan

get a new tank!
or
Put a screw in it, then us silicone sealer all around the screw. Then put some saliva over the whole, put your hand over the tubing, and blow into one of them
then see if there are any bubbles!

volkan

Live Wire

Hey Ed
watch what your fingers are doing. If you have any more posts like that you know what to do with them There are women on this site and she can probably fly the tail off of you.
And screws do work .

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Open the cabinet, take out a new tank from the hundreds in there, and put it in. Throw the old one away. 100% fix. Anything else can eventually leak.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Here's something to try. I have repaired tanks in the past - all successful. Take another old tank (if you have one) and cut a strip from it about 1/4" wide x the length of the tank. If you don't have an old tank, a strip from an old plastic milkbottle will work. Simply light the strip with a match, while holding it over the hole in the tank to be repaired. As the strip burns, it will drip red-hot drops of plastic which will weld themselves to the tank, and make the repair. Naturally - this needs to be done outside, as the burning plastic will emit toxic fumes. Let us know how you make out.

Lee Belew

My Feedback: (2)

RE: Holes in Fuel Tank (in reply to AlStack) Report This Post | (Post No. 8)


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(Can you melt the plastic with a soldering pencil and seal it?)

Yes. If you need to add material to the area of the hole use the cover from a small butter bowl. When you heat the tank the area heated will turn clear add material at this point. Clean the area first however I have repaired fuel tank without cleaning and it seemed to make little difference.
When you finish the repair the tank will be as strong as new.

I made some test with a tank. I drilled a 1/2" hole in an old tank and after repairing the hole I cut the tank apart and tried to pull the tank apart at the repair. It did not fail at the repair. I could not separate it any easier the any other part of the tank.
I use a 60 Watt temperature control soldering station that i use for making electronic repairs works find and does not mess up the soldering iron tip

I have been repairing fuel tanks like this for approx. 35 yrs. I have never had one to fail. Some times I teach new flyers about the hobby of RC Modeling. One of the things I do is drill a 1/8" hole in a fuel tank. One for them to repair and one for me. I then demonstrate the method and let them make a repair. Almost all are surprised at how simple the process is.

Good luck

Lee

dcw1969

I ended up with a small hole in a tank last year after a crash drove it into a mount screw. I used Lee Belew's "butter dish" technique that I found here on RCU and it has worked great!!! Very easy to do and it will hold up. (A belated thanks to Lee for the tip!)

srpvw

I will try patching the tank however I will use it for something else for now I will get a new tank
This is my first plane built from scratch (40 size edge 540) just cant risk it
hope to have the first flight this weekend and my heart will be pounding fast enough
Thanks for the replies
Steve

ZM2000

My Feedback: (1)

I have repaired several tanks and had no problem at all.

Clean the area around the hole, sand it a little, plug the hole with a small screw and then apply JB Weld or any steel epoxy over it. It works fine.

-ZM