Vasaline like goo in my fuel filter

[Flybyjim]

If their structural how are the mounted in the wing assembly

[TahoeTim]

+1

How can they be considered structural when they simply lay between the spars with a bead of caulk to keep them from flopping around?

[kitfoxnick]

+1

How can they be considered structural when they simply lay between the spars with a bead of caulk to keep them from flopping around?

If you have ever removed them you will agree that their is a structural component to them. It takes quite a lot of effort to remove them from the spars.

If you eliminate them from the wing assembly you have to install drag tubes.

[Slyfox]

when I changed my tanks out I put auto fuel with alki in it to clean out the tanks, yes I got some ukee stuff, but it was used to get the top layer off the inside. now my tanks work real good and I use alki fuel all the time. at first I checked the tanks like John said to, you put your fingers inside the tank and check for softness, stickiness, or anything unusual. there was nothing, after a few months I quit doing that. might be that your tanks needed to be rinsed inside. anyway that's my story.

[Slyfox]

one more thing. how do you know there is no alki in your gas. did you know if you take a sample of fuel and put a couple drops of food coloring in the sample you can test for it. if it mixes in the fuel it has alki. if it stays drops in the fuel it's not got alki.

[Av8r3400]

Great point, Sly. Often time you have no idea if you are getting ethanol contaminated fuel or not.

The food coloring test method is by far the easiest and surest way to test.

[jdmcbean]

Av8r3400 and TahoeTim are correct..
The rinsing instructions have changed and is labeled on any of the new tanks delivered. The Service Bulletin is still correct and should have been complied with by now.. Regardless we suspect there is a "blushing" that was causing the issue. We have taken steps to eliminate this issue at production but it is still important to rinse the tanks completely.
We found that with the additives in AutoGas allows for good cleaning.. Avgas does not have the additives and therefore is not a good cleaning agent for rinsing.. simply not as aggressive.
One caution: During rinsing be cautious of excess air build up. The Acetone during the first rinse will build pressure very quickly and can over-pressurize the tank if you're not careful.
Side note: many of the fuel sealants we have found from the 9AR to the Dow 730 products do not have great resistance to Ethanol.. Also, if too much is used it pushes inside the tank and into the fuel system.. This might be what Wheels is seeing in the filters.

[Kurt.A]

For checking ethanol quantity you take a measured cylinder with 10 equal divisions and put 1 division of water with the rest your fuel of choice. The water and ethanol mix causing a cloudy mixture in the bottom of the cylinder. Good way to estimate the true volume of ethanol in your fuel.

[SkyPirate]

I carry a small mayonnaise jar with a filed line on the side..fill it to the line with water then add suspect fuel.shake it up , let it set a few seconds.if there is any ethonanol it clings to the water molecules and it will show more water content above the filed mark