Sealant for polyethylene fuel tank?

On Sun, 4 Mar 2007 21:19:37 -0500, "Morgans"
wrote:


"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" wrote

I watched two people burn to death in front of the airshow crowd at
Oshkosh 20 some years ago when this type of fuel cap popped off after a
T-18 hit the ground inverted. The occupants survived the impact and were
pleading for help on the radio. Unfortunatly, the aircraft was sitting in
a big puddle of burning fuel and no one could get to them. By the time the
fire trucks arrived, they were dead.

This style of fuel cap falls into my "not recommended" catagory.

Wow, rough way to go. I would have to agree with you.

I would think that a fitting threaded into less than 1/8" of plastic would
fall into the same type of danger category. They could blow out, or be
pushed out, with a minimum of effort, not to mention the current problem of
leakage.

An inspection and access hole could be made so easily, and a plate of
aluminum and gasket with a backing plate (or ring) to screw into could be
done so easily, I would think that would be the first choice. Then, a
fitting with a true nut and O-ring could be used on all of the fittings,
with security, and no problems with leaks.

How much effort could that be, for containing gas in the same area that you
are sitting? I would call that a no-brainer.


A no-brainer is a "dip tube" fuel outlet, where the fitting goes in
the TOP of the tank. Only caveat is you need a fuel pump.

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