seanreit

My Feedback: (60)

Do you take tubing off the one that's draining slower (make it shorter)? I just want to make sure.

Thanks,

grbaker

My Feedback: (29)

Sean

Are you sure one is draining faster than the other? I had a similar problem that actually turned out to be one tank siphoning into the other. Each tank had it's own vent line plumbed outside the airframe. I Tee'd the vent lines together and the problem went away.

seanreit

My Feedback: (60)

My setup is UAT To a TEE, to TWO main tanks. They each vent to a TEE that goes into the pickup of a third tank. That third tank vents to atmosphere.

When the two main tanks suck the third tank dry, both the main tanks appear to be full at the time the third tank is dry. Then I am left with one of the main tanks with about 8 ounces of unusable fuel.

You coming to Dallas?

KC36330

shorten the one that is draining slowest. or lengthen the faster draining one (which is most often the case as you have them as short as possible to start with )

kc

jeteffx

My Feedback: (2)

make sure that your fuel lines are of equal length, if not the longer fuel line will have the fuel making a longer trip, thus having the shorter one empty faster

pilott28

My Feedback: (27)

Sean, are the lengths of the tubing near equal right now? If so, I am a bit puzzled that you would see an 8 oz diff ... seems odd.

If the lines are basically equal now, you might check the following if you haven't already ...

1) Are you using felt on the clunks? Maybe one is clogged?
2) No constrictions at all on the line to the T to the third tank? Brass tube not constricted at the bends?
3) Pickup not hitting the back of the tank?
4) No air leak in the pickup line? (UAT doesn't show any air at the end of the flight?)

icepilot

Connect them in series, not parallell...

seanreit

My Feedback: (60)

Ice, I don't like the idea of having them all in series cause they are 50 ounce saddle tanks, that's a carry of four pounds or so on one side of the airplane.

Keith, I plumbed them quick didn't check lengths on the lines, I just wanted to know for sure which side to start cutting on. I'm going to fill/ refill the plane about a dozen times till I get exactly even flow, I left slack purposefully in to do so. I've been spraying PPG primer all day and the fog (even though I wear a hood) gets to you and I didn't want to have to think.

Thanks KC,

Sean

The boys Back

do a flight doing only left hand turns and check it, then do a flight doing right hand turns and check it. sounds like you like doing turns one way than the other!!

when you got the plane on the bench with half tanks, and you leave it on one side for a while you will see that one tank will be fuller than the other.

Dave

Kevin_W

My Feedback: (1)

Sean,

Before you go cutting anything try swapping out the T's first.
I had the same problem when I first plumbed my 262 and it turned out that one of the T's had more restriction on one side than it did on the other.

seanreit

My Feedback: (60)

Kevin, I'll give that a shot. When Elda looked at the orange on the airplane this morning, she made me pull out all the PPG stuff and do it right. So I'm up to my ass in K38 dust at the moment. Thankfully the airplane is above ass level.

Thanks guys.

PS, Kevin, PM me your phone number if you don't mind.

SECRET AGENT

My Feedback: (18)

I have a question about this same subject. If your tanks seem to drain equally on the bench, will they do the same in the air when the g-loads are always on one side?? I always wondered that.

bcovish

My Feedback: (8)

Thank God someone has some sense in the family. lF you need masking tape, I'll supply it.

Elda, the pilots attending the jet rally next weekend in Dallas owe you a big "THANK YOU"

seanreit

My Feedback: (60)

Even worse, Tim stopped by and we just painted the bottom of the plane ( a nod to Covish) YELLOW!

cactusflyer

My Feedback: (4)

I kinda seems like it would be quicker to start out with lines cut to equal lengths than to plumb it "quick" and then fuel/defuel a dozen times.........to check it. Just a thought.

I had parallel tanks in my F-16 and they drain symmetrically, but I was always worried that something would shift and cause one to empty and vent before the other. That happened on on flight and luckily I landed early for some other reason and discovered on tank empty and the UAT about 1/3 full. Whew! I fueled and defueled a half dozen times and I could not duplicate it again. I flew it for about 30 or 40 flights with no re-occurrence of the problem...strange. I understand your point about the lateral fuel imbalance but I bet it would be hard to detect since (I assume) that the fuel tanks are fairly close to the center line..........

Tailwinds,

John

bcovish

My Feedback: (8)

It's about time.

seanreit

My Feedback: (60)

Now the top of the plane is BLUE, canopy will be Red and then I'm going to bed to wait and see how bad the paint job turned out in the morning

But at least it will be painted

A lot of work for one damn flight [X(]

dragonpilot

My Feedback: (38)

I may have been partially responsible but Who can argue with the color of the Sun!

CARS II

My Feedback: (7)

Get read of the "T" on the in fuel lines, instead build your tanks with two fuel suply lines to the foward tank [8D].