Water Ballast Upgrade

[P.Corbett]

Happy holidays all:

A project for me this Winter is to upgrade my ballast system on my
PIK-20. I have two questions and would appreciate any assistance.

(1) One of my bags has a single pinhole leak and I wonder if this can be
repaired in a reliable manner. The material seems to be a thick rubber
impregnated synthetic fabric and if it matters, is orange in color and
is the original factory PIK bag. If it is rubber, would a tire patch
material be reliable? If a repair would be deemed unsafe, who sells new
bags these days.

(2) Who do I contact to purchase the Nixon type dump valve.

Regards and many thanks,

Paul

[[email protected]]

1)Tire patch kit material usually works with these bags.
2 Contact John Murray at Eastern Sailplane phone 513-897-5667
UH

[Bob Korves]

"P.Corbett " > wrote in
ink.net:

> Happy holidays all:
>
> A project for me this Winter is to upgrade my ballast system on my
> PIK-20. I have two questions and would appreciate any assistance.
>
> (1) One of my bags has a single pinhole leak and I wonder if this can be
> repaired in a reliable manner. The material seems to be a thick rubber
> impregnated synthetic fabric and if it matters, is orange in color and
> is the original factory PIK bag. If it is rubber, would a tire patch
> material be reliable? If a repair would be deemed unsafe, who sells new
> bags these days.
>
> (2) Who do I contact to purchase the Nixon type dump valve.
>
> Regards and many thanks,
>
> Paul
>

The original orange PIK ballast tanks are made of a multi layer fabric.
The water gets between the layers and cannot really be patched
successfully. At least I was not able to do it. I would patch the obvious
hole and then it would leak somewhere else. Patch that and it would leak
somewhere else yet! You may have better luck than I had...

The best answer is a set of Smiley bags. They can be purchased new ($400US
20 years ago. I have no idea what they cost today) or you can get a used
set out of an ASW-20 like I did. Many of the installations are quite
similar regardless of glider manufacturer. Smiley bags are really tough --
a great product.

The other issue with the PIK factory bags, at least in the PIK-20d that I
had, is that they hold WAY too much water. Mine held 50 gallons, and the
glider was 50 pounds under max. gross weight without the pilot and chute!
I don't recommend partially filling the tanks in a PIK. Wing dropping will
be a serious problem, in my experience. Other gliders with partial ballast
are no problem, but not so a PIK! Get bags that, when full, put you at the
wing loading that you desire.
-Bob Korves

[Bob Korves]

> The material seems to be a thick rubber
>> impregnated synthetic fabric and if it matters, is orange in color and
>> is the original factory PIK bag. If it is rubber, would a tire patch
>> material be reliable? If a repair would be deemed unsafe, who sells new
>> bags these days.
>

I think it is vinyl impregnated...
-Bob Korves

[P.Corbett]

P.Corbett wrote:
> Happy holidays all:
>
> A project for me this Winter is to upgrade my ballast system on my
> PIK-20. I have two questions and would appreciate any assistance.
>
> (1) One of my bags has a single pinhole leak and I wonder if this can be
> repaired in a reliable manner. The material seems to be a thick rubber
> impregnated synthetic fabric and if it matters, is orange in color and
> is the original factory PIK bag. If it is rubber, would a tire patch
> material be reliable? If a repair would be deemed unsafe, who sells new
> bags these days.
>
> (2) Who do I contact to purchase the Nixon type dump valve.
>
> Regards and many thanks,
>
> Paul

Thanks to Uniform Hotel and Bob Korves. The info is much appreciated.

Paul
ZZ

[Maule Driver]

Bob Korves wrote:
> The original orange PIK ballast tanks are made of a multi layer
fabric.
> The water gets between the layers and cannot really be patched
> successfully. At least I was not able to do it. I would patch the obvious
> hole and then it would leak somewhere else. Patch that and it would leak
> somewhere else yet! You may have better luck than I had...
>
I'd second that assessment. You can get various types of internal leaks
that cause the water to sit between layers and into that extra bladder
that seems to be built into the root end. Seems to be aimed at keeping
partial loads from shifting around too much. YOu end up with
un-dumpable water and uneven loads. But they look so nice and are so
nicely engineered, I just threw mine out a month ago - from UH's old PIK
circa early 80s. Thanks Hank.