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Header tank issue

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03 May 2021 09:23 #1 by Matt Gunsch
Replied by Matt Gunsch on topic Header tank issue
You would want to remove as much of the old sealant as you can, the put the new sealant in place.

A&P, IA, PPSEL
too many years GA and Warbird Maint
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03 May 2021 06:42 - 03 May 2021 06:43 #2 by Larry Snyder
Replied by Larry Snyder on topic Header tank issue
Did you look at it with the fuel valve on or off? I had a tiny crack in the copper tubing to the primer. I never smelled fuel when the airplane was sitting with the valve off but I could smell when the valve was on. Also, the primer itself can leak. You should be able to spot blue stains anywhere it leaks.
Last edit: 03 May 2021 06:43 by Larry Snyder.

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02 May 2021 22:26 #3 by John Farrell
Replied by John Farrell on topic Header tank issue
S/N is 4989 with six gallon header tank. After a close look today by me, I do not see any sign of seeping, weeping or whatever. Yesterday, I had taken the word of a "gymnastic' type of individual who had somehow (!) inserted himself under the panel during his inspection of my Coupe (considering to buy). I had never tried to insert, that's a good word, myself far enough under the panel to take a close look at the condition of what's under there. I did today to either confirm or reject what the gymnist saw and reported as "seepage" coming from the tank. I just took his word he saw what he said he saw. He rejected the plane for that reason, he said!

The logs indicate that in 2011 the repair was accomplished using Kemseal PRC. I intend to just fly the plane and have it checked out by a knowledgeable Coupe A/P I/A in September during its annual. Hope to get a few more years of flying her before replacing the tank. A smarter person would just buy a new tank now for the inevitable!

Thanks for your help.

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02 May 2021 21:32 #4 by Larry Snyder
Replied by Larry Snyder on topic Header tank issue
You might be able to buy some time with a sealer, but it will fail sometime in the not-too-distant future. I messed with it for a couple of years but it slowly got worse.

If you have an older serial number (I can't remember the cutoff, in the 2000s somewhere) it was built with a 5-gallon header tank, which is no longer available new. The only header tank available new is the 6-gallon header tank from Univair, at some crazy price (used to be $3,000). These are welded tanks and are not rebuildable. My airplane was legally converted to use a 6-gallon tank in the 80s, but after 20 years that tank failed. I finally purchased a riveted 5-gallon tank from Vernon Gregory, and we tested it and replace a couple of rivets. It was installed in 2010, and still working fine. I'm sure a tank from Univair would still be fine, too. Regardless, the labor of removing and installing a header tank is huge. Everything under the tank must be removed - for me that was control cables, radio and transponder trays and wiring, control columns, gauges, etc. It requires a lot of work in an uncomfortable position in a tiny space!

Many people have removed a tank and had a licensed shop "rebuild" it by replacing everything but the filler neck...

I hope you can get some time out of your current tank!

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02 May 2021 15:12 #5 by Matt Gunsch
Replied by Matt Gunsch on topic Header tank issue
Aircraft spruce is one place, B 1/2 has a half hour working life, B2 is 2 hours.

A&P, IA, PPSEL
too many years GA and Warbird Maint
Check out the Ercoupe Discussion group on facebook

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02 May 2021 15:12 #6 by John Farrell
Replied by John Farrell on topic Header tank issue
Looked at logs again and found the the sealant applied in 2011 was Kemseal PRC. So, I can just remove that and reapply new??

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