tail ballast antifreeze

I have seen gliders with frozen tail tanks.

I always used to use plain old automotive anti-freeze in the tail tank
as it wont attack GRP or rubber and 1-2 gallons at 10-20% mix released
as an aerosol at 10,000ft is not going to harm anything!!

Also be aware that the wings with their foam cores are like thermos
flasks, just be sure to not have any dripping valves or dump water
above the freezing layer.
Tail tanks however are usually single skinned and can be frozen
relatively easily.

Regards

Al


wrote:
I've read the past posts on using ~20% methanol to prevent tail ballast
from freezing. I have these questions three:

1) Is methanol in any way corrosive to rubber parts/seals?

2) Is there a reason not to use ethanol if methanol can't be found?

3) Does a glider flying in the Great Basin area in July, between 15k
and 18k for 7+ hours, really need tail ballast anti-freeze?

~ted/2NO

At 23:48 28 June 2006, Denis wrote:

you're right, but I suspect that thermal inertia is
even more important
than radiation.

Technically there's no such thing as thermal inertia.
You probably mean thermal capacitence.

If thermal inertia existed the ground would keep getting
hotter even after the sun goes down - great for longer
soaring days!

9B

"Andy Blackburn" wrote in message
...
At 23:48 28 June 2006, Denis wrote:

you're right, but I suspect that thermal inertia is
even more important
than radiation.

Technically there's no such thing as thermal inertia.
You probably mean thermal capacitence.

If thermal inertia existed the ground would keep getting
hotter even after the sun goes down - great for longer
soaring days!

9B

Interesting discussion on Dr. Jack's site re a related topic to this.....why
do clouds keep developing after sunset? Best answer I saw there (from Dr.
Jack) was that the sun no longer is heating the upper areas of the cloud so
it cools rapidly providing a continuing temperature gradient inspite of the
lower air not heating any further.

Casey Lenox
KC
Phoenix

Andy Blackburn a écrit :
At 23:48 28 June 2006, Denis wrote:


Technically there's no such thing as thermal inertia.
You probably mean thermal capacitence.

right - so much for me ;-)

BTW I did not try it but I read calcium chloride is a good anti-freeze
for wings and tail ballasts, not too bad for pipes or environment. Down
to - 40°C depending mixing ratio. It is what is used in common
anti-moisture products. Be aware that mixing with water release a lot of
heat and has to be made outside the wings...

--
Denis

R. Parce que ça rompt le cours normal de la conversation !!!
Q. Pourquoi ne faut-il pas répondre au-dessus de la question ?

On 27 Jun 2006 15:32:21 -0700, wrote:

I've read the past posts on using ~20% methanol to prevent tail ballast
from freezing.

How about RV antifreeze? It's propylene glycol, they use it for
winterproofing water systems in RV's. Non-poisonous, relatively
cheap, "mostly harmless".

--Don
Glider pilot wannabe....gotta sell more stuff on ebay first!
Don Byrer
Radar Tech & Smilin' Commercial Pilot Guy
Amateur Radio KJ5KB
kj5kb-at-hotmail.com

"I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
"Watch out for those doves...smack-smack-smack-smack..."

Just in case you are still wondering ...

On Thu, 29 Jun 2006 at 02:04 -0000, Gary Emerson wrote:

Francisco De Almeida wrote:
The German manufacturers would rather have their customers release
the = tail ballast at +2=BAC. I suspect solar radiation is the
reason why = people can keep their water at lower air temperatures
without = immediately being awarded a split tailplane. So if you
have both outside temperatures below 2=BAC and no sunlight ... =
beware!

What's +2=BAC and 2=BAC for the clueless?

=BA is the degree symbol, IE the superscript circle. So Francisco was
saying "+2 degrees C" and "2 degrees C"


--

Rob Brown b r o w n a t g m c l d o t c o m
G. Michaels Consulting Ltd. (780)438-9343 (voice)
Edmonton (780)437-3367 (FAX)
http://gmcl.com/