Thoughts (input?) on custom fuel tanks...
Background: My plane has three fuel tanks totaling 5 gallons. For a number of reasons, I'd like to change to one single tank in a different location. I've searched all over, looking at plastic tanks, fiberglass tanks, aluminum dune buggy tanks, you name it, and for one reason or another nothing is suitable. Nothing quite fits. The only good option I've found is a plastic seat tank... but a friend has one on his gyrocopter and I've sat in it; it's not terribly comfortable compared to the seat I already have, nor is it inexpensive. Also if you fill it full and then sit on it, fuel squishes out through the vent.:shock:
So, my thoughts go to a custom tank, designed to exactly fill the space available. Some people have made fiberglass tanks over a foamboard or wood core, glassing the inside and outside. Welded aluminum is also a possibility, as is riveted aluminum and proseal. I'm not ruling any of these out, but I don't terribly enjoy working with fiberglass, I don't have the skills or equipment to weld aluminum, and I'm not crazy about the riveted and sealed construction.
One thought that occurs to me is a welded polyethylene tank. These are often used for industrial applications (I've designed and bought them in the course of my work, some years ago). They're constructed from polyethylene sheet, and welded with hot air and plastic welding rod. Typically, they're 3/8 to 1/2" wall thickness, though, which would make them rather heavy, but if they can be made (at least partially) out of thinner stock (I don't know if it's feasible) that could be a good option. I don't recall what the pricing looks like, though I've sent an inquiry to one outfit and will call the guys I worked with 15 years ago.
Any thoughts?
-Dana
If you don't grow up by age 35, you don't have to.
Background: My plane has three fuel tanks totaling 5 gallons. For a number of reasons, I'd like to change to one single tank in a different location. I've searched all over, looking at plastic tanks, fiberglass tanks, aluminum dune buggy tanks, you name it, and for one reason or another nothing is suitable. Nothing quite fits. The only good option I've found is a plastic seat tank... but a friend has one on his gyrocopter and I've sat in it; it's not terribly comfortable compared to the seat I already have, nor is it inexpensive. Also if you fill it full and then sit on it, fuel squishes out through the vent.:shock:
So, my thoughts go to a custom tank, designed to exactly fill the space available. Some people have made fiberglass tanks over a foamboard or wood core, glassing the inside and outside. Welded aluminum is also a possibility, as is riveted aluminum and proseal. I'm not ruling any of these out, but I don't terribly enjoy working with fiberglass, I don't have the skills or equipment to weld aluminum, and I'm not crazy about the riveted and sealed construction.
One thought that occurs to me is a welded polyethylene tank. These are often used for industrial applications (I've designed and bought them in the course of my work, some years ago). They're constructed from polyethylene sheet, and welded with hot air and plastic welding rod. Typically, they're 3/8 to 1/2" wall thickness, though, which would make them rather heavy, but if they can be made (at least partially) out of thinner stock (I don't know if it's feasible) that could be a good option. I don't recall what the pricing looks like, though I've sent an inquiry to one outfit and will call the guys I worked with 15 years ago.
Any thoughts?
-Dana
If you don't grow up by age 35, you don't have to.