Strip & Seal Fuel Tanks

[Mooneycrazy]

Reading a thread back in July mentioned 3 options for strip m seal of fuel tanks,,,,,Weep no more-MN....Wingologist,,,Florida and Houston Tanks....They all 3 sound like good choices....I contact the on in MN and they are extremely busy and it would be next summer before he could get to it....the others are a long distance from me ....Midwest ( Neb) I read a few people saying their mechanics (A&P) did theirs and it turned out well...Looking for any other places,Mechanics or idea's....thanks....

[DonMuncy]

I have not had a reseal, but have kept up with who does them and how it is done. For a patch on a leak, I think an individual A & P could do it. For a complete strip and reseal, I don't think there is any way someone without a system for semi-automatic stripping could come close to matching what the "pros" do, unless they are working at unbelievably low hourly rates. If someone told me they could do it for the same price as the big guys, I would sure want to check their references from 10 years back.   

[LANCECASPER]

Weep No More and Wet Wingologists have the years of establishing a good track record. The folks in Houston are good Mooney supporters but haven't established the track record yet. If it was me I'd be headed to Minnesota or Florida, in that order.

[RobertGary1]

Just curious what made you decide to go with a full reseal vs just the routine patch.

 

-Robert

[Hank]

My tanks needed resealing when I lived in far western WV. The options I evaluated were Wet Wingologists in S. FL, Paul Beck in MN, Don Maxwell in E. Texas (using Weep No More's process) and Midwest Mooney in S. IL (they had a different process, polyurethane; very pricey and now discontinued).

Check discounts at each, along with scheduled availability, delivery date (how long does it take to complete?), your transportation options and costs to get home while the work is done and get back to fetch the plane home again. MN, FL and TX were all about the same distance, so I shopped schedules, discounts and airline prices.

The flight down and back was just extra bonding time for me and my Mooney. If I was doing it again, I'd make sure the flight home checked all the boxes for the Commercial Long XC . . . Fortunately I have another day's flying that will count should I decide again to go that way and find a willing CFI the next time.

[HRM]

I would add that if I was having a reseal I'd insist that the tanks be done one at a time, with a check for corrosion after each strip. There's horror story elsewhere here where wing corrosion was discovered after the stripping and because both tanks were done, the bird was trapped at the stripping facility.

[ilovecornfields]

Advanced Aircraft in Troutdale, OR has a good track record fixing tank leaks. They fixed mine the same day (even though one of the other shops previously mentioned in this thread missed it at Annual two weeks prior).

[rbridges]

How bad is your leak?  Some are just annoying and don't affect airworthiness. Stick with one of the established folk. Paul Beck is a huge supporter of the mooney forum and summit, so I'd be inclined to wait for a slot to open with him. There's a reason he is so busy. 

[highlowfastslow]

You should check out Van Allen Airmotive in Allentown PA. Dave Van Allen opened up shop there a year or two ago and and does the full strip and re-seal professionally. When i was in there having a cylinder replaced another MS member (orionflt) was having a strip and seal done - said he did a great job. Not a short flight from NE, but you've got commercial flights right out of Allentown or it's a quick drive to Baltimore for cheap Southwest flights. 

[steingar]

I've found that there aren't really so many long distances when you're in a Mooney.  I suppose I shouldn't mention the hated word bladders...

[mike_elliott]

12 hours ago, HRM said:

I would add that if I was having a reseal I'd insist that the tanks be done one at a time, with a check for corrosion after each strip. There's horror story elsewhere here where wing corrosion was discovered after the stripping and because both tanks were done, the bird was trapped at the stripping facility.

Another reason I favor Weep no More. They can deal with this kind of issue on site, and as reasonably as anyone. I doubt if your tank condition could surprise Paul or Eric. Paul once told me of one he got that the owner was patching himself regularly. Layer after layer of sealant hiding the entrapped corrosion. Did he take the opportunity to gouge the guy?  Nope, he Was able to mitigate the corrosion and get it all repaired, sealed properly for his standard quoted price. Yea, he does make it up in volume...

Im scheduled to take the Bravo there late april, as it has developed a weep in the pilot's side wing. 1999 was not a great year for tank sealing at Mooney, I hear.

[Mark89114]

Or 2000 for leaks....

All three of the "big" guys mentioned have remarkably similar pricing, give or take a few hundred bucks.

About $6000/tank for the 45 gallon ovation tanks.

 

[kpaul]

1 hour ago, Mark89114 said:

Or 2000 for leaks....

All three of the "big" guys mentioned have remarkably similar pricing, give or take a few hundred bucks.

About $6000/tank for the 45 gallon ovation tanks.

 

I found a $700 difference between the companies as I have been getting quotes.  Not much in the scheme of things, less than 10% difference.  Mine will  go up north, having had the opportunity to meet and talk to Paul was the difference maker.

[kris_adams]

5 hours ago, rbridges said:

How bad is your leak?  Some are just annoying and don't affect airworthiness. Stick with one of the established folk. Paul Beck is a huge supporter of the mooney forum and summit, so I'd be inclined to wait for a slot to open with him. There's a reason he is so busy. 

I was thinking the same thing MooneyCrazy...how bad is the leak?  I haven't heard of any "emergency" patches (not saying they don't exist...just that I haven't heard of any).  For most of us leaks started slowly and we patched and patched with someone local until we got tired of the the time and $$ we had "wasted" doing repairs-then we get a full strip or go with bladders (not trying to start the war lol). 

Where are you located?

[RobertGary1]

37 minutes ago, Kris_Adams said:

I was thinking the same thing MooneyCrazy...how bad is the leak?  I haven't heard of any "emergency" patches (not saying they don't exist...just that I haven't heard of any).  For most of us leaks started slowly and we patched and patched with someone local until we got tired of the the time and $$ we had "wasted" doing repairs-then we get a full strip or go with bladders (not trying to start the war lol). 

Where are you located?

Patch and patch? You should get at least 5-8 years on each patch.

-Robert

[mike_elliott]

5 minutes ago, RobertGary1 said:

Patch and patch? You should get at least 5-8 years on each patch.

-Robert

If done right, you should get 20+ years. Unfortunately, patching bad sealant will only leak elsewhere soon, so you get to spend your time patching and patching and patching. Once it starts, it keeps on going, right Robert? how many times have you patched yours, more than once Ill bet. If I were buying a Mooney, seeing a strip and reseal from Weep no More would make the tanks a non factor for the future. Seeing a log entry of a patch would just tell me to get ready to spend 8-12 K to get it stripped and resealed. Seeing nothing the same.

 

[RobertGary1]

1 hour ago, mike_elliott said:

If done right, you should get 20+ years. Unfortunately, patching bad sealant will only leak elsewhere soon, so you get to spend your time patching and patching and patching. Once it starts, it keeps on going, right Robert? how many times have you patched yours, more than once Ill bet. If I were buying a Mooney, seeing a strip and reseal from Weep no More would make the tanks a non factor for the future. Seeing a log entry of a patch would just tell me to get ready to spend 8-12 K to get it stripped and resealed. Seeing nothing the same.

 

I patch mine every 5 years or so. I'm on the original sealant. A reseal is a bit of a nuclear option. Patching costs about $150 in materials and your A&P can easily teach you how to do the dirty work. Of the Mooney owners I personally know (all mid 70's planes) I don't know any that have opted for a full reseal.

-Robert

[kortopates]

14 hours ago, ilovecornfields said:

even though one of the other shops previously mentioned in this thread missed it at Annual two weeks prior

Was it actually leaking or seeping during the annual or had stains marks? That's the only way anyone would know.

[ilovecornfields]

2 hours ago, kortopates said:

Was it actually leaking or seeping during the annual or had stains marks? That's the only way anyone would know.

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ilovecornfields said:

 

That would be hard to miss during an Annual Inspection.

Clarence

[ilovecornfields]

25 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

That would be hard to miss during an Annual Inspection.

Clarence

That’s what I thought. Or the speedbrakes being “intermittent.” (Failed terminally on my second day of transition training). Or the prop RPM being too low by 50 and the fuel flow being too low causing high CHTs (310 HP STC was done as part of the annual).  Brake disk was worn too low as well but I let that one go. Spent about $10k within the first month after I bought the plane after a $13k prebuy/annual from a shop that is touted on this site as being beyond reproach. I’ve mentioned it before, but when I called the same shop to give him a chance to make it right, he hung up on me. The one smart choice I did make was using the savvy mx service so at least I have everything well documented including pictures, receipts and JPI data.

[Skates97]

3 hours ago, M20Doc said:

That would be hard to miss during an Annual Inspection.

Clarence

Not picking on anyone, but that would be hard to miss on a pre-flight. Those look like they've been around for a while. I would have made sure it was on the list of squawks that I wanted the shop to take a look at, long before I even got to my annual. 

[StevenL757]

15 hours ago, rbridges said:

Stick with one of the established folk. Paul Beck is a huge supporter of the mooney forum and summit, so I'd be inclined to wait for a slot to open with him. There's a reason he is so busy. 

Couldn’t agree more.  Paul has done some small work for me and I’d wait as long as necessary for a slot to have a total strip and reseal done.  Simply the best.

Steve

[Bob_Belville]

Dreaded bladders? Dreaded bladders? I just received the kit from Griggs to extend my O&N bladders (installed 1997) to 64 gallons. (@kpaul Each 5 gallon bladder is labeled 2.5 pounds.) We'll be doing the install as well as the CiES level sensors right after Thanksgiving. I expect it to take a week. In my hangar while JPI is updating the EDM for the CiES.

My point: the bladders will likely outlast the pilot and the airframe. Bladders can be installed by many shops, near home, in less time that reseal, and all in, including travel, price competitive.  

[Jim Peace]

Pick a good shop and a day with good weather and take a road trip.  Nothing is far in a Mooney especially if you are in the midwest......