Bladder Weight

[teethdoc]

I'm getting some fuel leak in my J.  It's not a lot.  If I fly weekly, I never notice, but if I fill it up and let it sti a month, half the tank is gone and blue stains under the wing.  

 

How much weight does Bladders add?  I often take off at pretty close to full load, so I don't want to give up much on weight.

[N601RX]

I have the 54 gallons ones. I believe it is 29 lbs. look on o&n's website

[teethdoc]

Do you lose any weight by taking out the components of the wet wing tanks, or does most of that stay put?  I'm going to gain a few extra lbs of useful load when I clean up the panel.

[jetdriven]

All of it stays put.  The bladders go inside the wet wing fuel cavities.

 

Mooneys dont have fuel tanks per se. They simply brush sealer along the inside where the skin meets the ribs, etc.  Probably why they are so prone ot leaks.

[NotarPilot]

More importantly, what is the current cost of said bladders for a J?

[rbridges]

My 64 gallon system was $8900 installed by O&N five years ago, including taxes. Now it looks like it would be a little bit north of 10K.

Jim

 

I paid nearly 10k at Cole aviation about 2 years ago-52 or 54 gallons.  I know it would be a little less to go to O&N, but Cole was way too convenient.  My C model is a 2 seater in my mind, so the 29 lbs didn't bother me.  Since having the bladders installed, fuel leaks don't even cross my mind anymore.

[kerry]

I don't know how much weight bladders add but that sure is a nice looking J!

[tomn]

One note about the bladders: I have them in my E that have been there a while. During the annual recently, we found a small fuel leak around the fuel sending units inside the cabin area. We tightened the screws and the leak stopped completely. It is probably a good idea to check these screws every once in a while to make sure they are tight - I'm sure the bladders relax over time under pressure.

Tom

[N601RX]

There are 2 cork gaskets around each fuel sender and a large cork casket around the inspection panel in the top of each bladder. These can get old and hard over time. Over tightening them can also squeeze them out. They have a torque spec. I had to replace them on my plane about 2 years ago due to them being hard and overtightened by someone in the past. They had been installed for 20 years. The good news is that the complete gasket set only cost $100 and the bladders themselves still looked good.

After seeing the trash that had collected in the bottom of the inboard bladder I believe it would be a good idea to open them up every 10 years or so and clean them out. I'm sure the same goes for regular tanks as well.

[Steve Dawson]

I know that a few other manufacturers have bladders in their plane from the factory but for the $10,000 cost of bladders you could reseal  the fuel tanks to their original condition from reputable re-sealing companies. In most cases they've lasted 30 plus years and with the newer sealers and methods they should last longer now and you don't have a weight increase or a decrease in fuel capacity in some cases.

[jetdriven]

A friend of mine just had his M20E done at Wet Wingologists, and the bill was 13 grand. So bladders are still a viable alternative, but both arent cheap.  On the plus side, for the short body airplanes you can actually get a bump in fuel capacity to 64 gallons.

 

<--- 23 year old bladders here. No leaks, no maintenance.

[marks]

A year and a half ago I had my tanks sealed in my J at Weep No More in MN.  The cost was $7,800.  There was no weight penalty and the results are flawless.  Since bladders cost more and weigh more I can only assume that bladder lovers must assume they are so much more durable than a great seal job that they wish Mooney built their planes that way.  Personally, I don't think bladders are worth the weight penalty and the price, but it's your money.

[Hank]

A friend of mine just had his M20E done at Wet Wingologists, and the bill was 13 grand. So bladders are still a viable alternative, but both arent cheap. On the plus side, for the short body airplanes you can actually get a bump in fuel capacity to 64 gallons.

Wow! Edison did mine two years ago for less than half that! Standard 52 gallon tanks, no upgrade/capacity increase.

Clarification: Edison is at Wet Wingologists East in Fort Lauderdale.

[mike_elliott]

Paul Beck, owner of Weep no More, plans to attend the Mooney Summit. While Paul certainly wont bad mouth competitors nor belittle a bladder installation, after hearing his reasons of why using his process it made complete economic sense to me to go that direction in 2004. The alodine on the aluminum of my tanks hasn't been mechanically damaged, the sealant is much better material than the original factory stuff that lasted 34 years. I suspect Ill get 40 years or more out of his work. The price for 64 gal with sight gauges was less than 7K back then. Bladders were about the same, only they were going to cut my fuel to 52 gal and add 40#. The monroy long range tanks are still an option if I want to really extend the legs of my plane like Jonathan Paul did on his E (Nonstop from San Diego, Ca to Savanna, Ga. world record)

Paul also is going to have a nice discount for those that attend the Mooney Summit to announce! Full disclosure here, Paul has made a nice donation to the Mooney Summit for the benefit of a lot of us attending. Jim, Hank, Robert, make sure you talk with him, I think you will be duly impressed with his integrity, honesty and expertise. All around good guy.

[jetdriven]

54 gallon bladders add 30 lbs. the 64 gallon kit adds 37-40. A friend of mine just took his E model to wet wingologists and the final bill was 13k and change.

[Marauder]

54 gallon bladders add 30 lbs. the 64 gallon kit adds 37-40. A friend of mine just took his E model to wet wingologists and the final bill was 13k and change.

I never understood the fixation with the bladder weight. I lost 70 pounds two years ago dieting which more than made up for the bladders. With my avionics upgrade last year, I saved another 20.

[DrBill]

I had my 54 gal E bladders installed by O&N about 2 years ago. I think it was like $6500... I'll check the receipt and correct this post if different. CORRECTION.. The total bill for the bladders was 8090. I put a 2K deposit so my final cash out was a bit over 6K. That did not include 44 gal of gas or $600 to re-route some wires in the wing. I flew the plan there on a Saturday and they gave me a ride to Scranton Airport where I got a commercial flight back to CLT. The following Saturday a friend and I flew commercially to Scranton where they picked us up, I paid the bill, pre-flight and flew home.

From what I read here about the cost of a proper reseal, I think that bladders was the right call for me since I don't need the weight and 54 gal is enought for all my flying.

BILL