Fuel Tank Reseal - Expensive...

[Mark89114]

Started investigating this and the estimates from the Big 3-4 players are about 11.5 to 12 (do I need the zeros on there??  ) for an Ovation.  Anyway it just seems like a lot of money when the topic has been covered on here before on guys doing it themselves.  Never once has anybody said it is a hard job, just laborious and a PITA.  I haven't done a project lately that makes me question my sanity, maybe it is time to do this myself?  Talk me out of it, talk me into it, I am willing to listen.  

Anyway need to get back to work.

Mark

 

[RLCarter]

There is a member on here that has a shop in PA that is reasonable on the older 52gal tanks, a buddy out of the DC area took his C to him and seems pleased with the work. Will try and find his info and post it for you, phone calls are cheap 

[RLCarter]

Call Dave at 484-224-0105, he's in Allentown PA (KXLL)

[orionflt]

Dave just resealed my tanks, did a great job.

Brian

[DonMuncy]

I like doing things on my plane, but the thought of working with a scraper through an inspection cover hole really doesn't do it for me. The guys who do it professionally, have the equipment perfected and quantities of stripper, so their labor is cut to a minimum. This is one place I would bite the bullet and pay them to do it. 

If you choose to do it yourself, I'm all for you. You have my respect.

[FoxMike]

Many years ago I stripped a tank on an E model I owned.  The lesson I learned was to never do that again.  It can be done but it is a lot of work and requires a lot of care although you might not think so.

[RLCarter]

Once you start removing the sealant your are committed to finishing the job or find someone that will finish it for you cause the aircraft isn’t moving

[ArtVandelay]

Once you start removing the sealant your are committed to finishing the job or find someone that will finish it for you cause the aircraft isn’t moving

I would do 1 tank at a time, so you could move it if needed.

[steingar]

If its that bad why not pony up for the bladders?

[gsxrpilot]

28 minutes ago, steingar said:

If its that bad why not pony up for the bladders?

Useful load.

[KSMooniac]

Not sure bladders ever got approved for the long bodies, either.

I'm with Don. I'm a petty dedicated DIY-er, but happily wrote the check in Willmar many years ago to fix my J tanks. I figured the expert would know the tricks for those naggy little details to get it done correctly the first time, where I might need several tries to get it done.

Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

[INA201]

This may seem dumb but why can't you just sand down the old crusty sealant a bit and just slather new sealant on? 

[Bob_Belville]

2 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Useful load.

29.7 pounds, I'd rather tell Nancy to leave her purse behind than give up my 20 year old O&N bladders. In fact, after winning some new CiES fuel level sensors at Summit, I'm seriously considering adding the extra 10 gallons now available from Griggs.

[Bob_Belville]

20 minutes ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

Do it, Bob. I’m from NC, too, and have flown R/T KOSH from there in our C probably 15 times. We were never able to do it non stop until adding the extra 10 gallons to the bladders. That trip alone was worth the cost of the upgrade. 

Well, you're a little further from WI and my E is probably a little more efficient than a C. We did KOSH the last 2 years and flew KMRN to KMSN (to meet up for Mooney Caravan) against headwinds using under 40 gallons gallons. We flew LOP @ 8.2 GPH. A year ago we flew to MAPA Safety Foundation PPP @ KMHT non stop on 39 gallons. 

(Years ago, without our sophisticated EDMs I regularly flew from MRN to KPBI or even KTMB many time and I don't remember even stopping for fuel.)

The extra 10 gallons would allow me to go faster compared to running LOP at ~60%.

[gsxrpilot]

53 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

29.7 pounds, I'd rather tell Nancy to leave her purse behind than give up my 20 year old O&N bladders. In fact, after winning some new CiES fuel level sensors at Summit, I'm seriously considering adding the extra 10 gallons now available from Griggs.

Your normally aspirated short bodies are not nearly as UL challenged as the K's. I've been struggling to increase the UL from 795 lbs and would love to be able to fill the 39 gal tanks I've already got.  I know, put down the carbs and the beer... I'm working on that UL as well.

Bottom line, I wouldn't do anything to my K that is UL negative.

[Bob_Belville]

2 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Your normally aspirated short bodies are not nearly as UL challenged as the K's. I've been struggling to increase the UL from 795 lbs and would love to be able to fill the 39 gal tanks I've already got.  I know, put down the carbs and the beer... I'm working on that UL as well.

Bottom line, I wouldn't do anything to my K that is UL negative.

Paul, in the old days the conventional wisdom was that our Mooneys would happily fly with what ever you could stuff in them. You might need a little extra runway to get started.

Maybe you need to move to Alaska. I understand that the MGW can be rounded up by 25% or more there. I know a guy...

[gsxrpilot]

2 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Paul, in the old days the conventional wisdom was that our Mooneys would happily fly with what ever you could stuff in them. You might need a little extra runway to get started.

Maybe you need to move to Alaska. I understand that the MGW can be rounded up by 25% or more there. I know a guy...

I'm not going into details on a public forum, but my 252 will fly with just about anything you can shove through the door. But then like most stuff, runways here in Texas are larger than usual.

Nevertheless the 252 and the Pilot are working to loose weight. 

[Bartman]

I know a guy who did his own under direction of our local IA.  He is young and physically fit and although it was a PITA he did a very good job.  Much like Towanda from Fried Green Tomatos who was older and had better insurance, I'm older and have a better job.  More power to him, but I'm not that motivated, and my bones ache at night sometimes even without all that torture. 

[nels]

Have your tanks been patched before and if so, how many times? Personally I think you should just repair them yourself if they are fairly virgin. 

[HRM]

4 hours ago, INA201 said:

This may seem dumb but why can't you just sand down the old crusty sealant a bit and just slather new sealant on? 

That's my question! With all the new sealant and adhesive chemistry, why can't they just make a spray that seals something like this.

[Hank]

Scraping / stripping / cleaning is only half the job . . . Now you have to reach back in those little access holes and apply even coats of sealer along all of the seams. If I recall correctly, it's two base coats and a top coat, and the working time of the seakants are pretty short after you mix them up.

Oh, and be sure not to plug the drain holes in the ribs! That can not only prevent you from using all of your fuel, but can trap significant amounts of water to be bounced out during maneuvering or turbulence, right when you do not want a slug of water in the engine.

Call Edison at Wet Wingologists, he did mine back in 2010 or 2011. On time, on budget, no problems. What more can you ask for?

[Piloto]

These Dremel wheel brushes will help on removing the sealant instead of scraping it. But wear a breathing mask and goggles to keep the dust out.

https://www.amazon.com/Hanperal-Wheels-Brushes-Accessories-Dremel/dp/B01KO98PIK?SubscriptionId=AKIAIKOHFALUJCKC3KXQ&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01KO98PIK&linkCode=xm2&tag=bdyahoo-desk-20&m=A3VAFVNCSBAHIR

José

[Bartman]

I second Hank's recommendation, call Edison the wetwingologist at KFXE. He did mine around 2008 and was on budget, on time, as advertised. 

I was both low time pilot and had not owned her very long at that time so on the way home I bounced her down the runway at KCRG about 5 or 6 times and put the sealant to test, but got lucky with no damage. On arrival to home base I spent time with a local CFI and Mooney owner who corrected my landing technique, and he made damn sure how to correct a bounced landing by setting me up with a bounce and have me recover with both go-around and land after correcting. We also put new gear landing gear shock discs.  Now with new discs, good landing technique, kept in a hangar I expect optimum sealant life and should last the rest of my flying days. 

[mike_elliott]

9 hours ago, Hank said:

Scraping / stripping / cleaning is only half the job . . . Now you have to reach back in those little access holes and apply even coats of sealer along all of the seams. If I recall correctly, it's two base coats and a top coat, and the working time of the seakants are pretty short after you mix them up.

Oh, and be sure not to plug the drain holes in the ribs! That can not only prevent you from using all of your fuel, but can trap significant amounts of water to be bounced out during maneuvering or turbulence, right when you do not want a slug of water in the engine.

Call Edison at Wet Wingologists, he did mine back in 2010 or 2011. On time, on budget, no problems. What more can you ask for?

While Edison may be good, I have to plug Paul Beck and Weep no more. You wont find a more knowledgeable and honest guy on this subject. He will patch if thats all you need. He is also a founding sponsor of the Mooney Summit... he puts back into the Mooney Community unlike Edison. Hank, you and 120 others had a few and enjoyed catering because of Paul a couple of weeks ago. And his quality and reputation shows. The Bravo I fly shows a weep we just discovered this week. Its going to Paul in April, as that is how far out he is booked. Oh, and I only live about 1 mooney hr from FXE. Pauls name in your logbook is like having Dmax's. 

[markejackson02]

I've built two sets of tanks for RV's.  Just putting the sealant on properly with unassembled tanks is a PITA.  Would heartily recommend letting professionals handle it.