weeping on one tank

[ken bagwell]

first I know there has got to be discussion on this so forgive if I am repeating. first the plane is 64 c and one wing is weeping. first where do I go for bladders and what has been your experience. second how much. third. should I have both done if only one is bad. ken in tennessee

[rbridges]

You have no ideas the can of worms you opened. .  Anyway, bladders have to be done in sets. I had them installed and have been very pleased. Lost 28 lbs of useful load but great piece of mind. I know weep no more is the go to place on here for strips/reseals. Wetwingologists is another.  There's threads on here about patching leaks, too. 

Joey Cole installed my bladders, and he's in North Georgia, maybe close to you. 

Edited July 3, 2020 by rbridges

[Hank]

Our Cs have 52 gallon tanks [two at 26 gal each], they are the least expensive to reseal / convert to bladders. Based on a sample size of two Cs done at the same time [one went each path], bladders cost about 40% more when doing both tanks. I used Wet Wingologists at the same time that @rbridges did bladders. We are both happy with the results.

[Andy95W]

4 hours ago, ken bagwell said:

first I know there has got to be discussion on this so forgive if I am repeating. first the plane is 64 c and one wing is weeping. first where do I go for bladders and what has been your experience. second how much. third. should I have both done if only one is bad. ken in tennessee

First things first- how long ago were the tanks resealed?  If it was only 5 years ago, and it was done at a top-notch shop, then you should just have that one weep repaired.  If it was 20 years ago, that's when you'll need to decide between full strip and reseal and bladders.  (If it was very recent, it might still be under warranty).  In between 5 and 20 years?  Depends.  How lucky are you, generally?

Besides being more expensive and reducing useful load, bladders will likely add a some to your resale value.

A good, modern strip and reseal at a well known tank shop will probably last a solid 20 years.

Last time I checked prices, it was around $6-7,000 for reseal, closer to $10,000 for bladders.  But don't hold me to those numbers.

[carusoam]

Hmmmm...

Gotta think of something funny regarding Google not working in middle America....    

In the meantime... the MS search results for bladder install are in...

https://mooneyspace.com/search/?q=Bladder install&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=and

 

I searched for ‘other goofy questions’ and found...

LOP vs ROP...

Use of full flaps during landing...

How do  I get my pics  turned right side up...

 

Ken, there are no goofy questions...  there is plenty of detail regarding getting bladders installed properly and getting really good fuel quantity gauges installed too...

Enjoy the reading!

Best regards,

-a-

[LANCECASPER]

On 7/2/2020 at 7:46 PM, rbridges said:

Lost 28 lbs of useful load but great piece of mind.

Hopefully you ended up with great peace of mind and not just a little piece of mind.

[rbridges]

3 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

Hopefully you ended up with great peace of mind and not just a little piece of mind.

Wife told me it was piece. 

[S.C.]

I’ve scheduled to get my 65C resealed with Weep No More.  I called in April of 20, for an appointment in March 21.  They guarantee the work and it takes two weeks to get the total reseal.  If you feel it’s urgent you may want to consider going with another option.  I considered bladders or resealing and chose resealing for many of the reasons listed above and other parts of the forum.  I think the only wrong decision would be to do nothing.  

[woodz]

Looking for some advice here. I’ve owned my 66C for two years. The tanks had a complete strip and reseal in 2014 by Wet Wingologists East, so the warranty will be ending next year. The photo below shows the full extent of weeping on the left tank. It has been very slight for several months but seems to have worsened recently. The right tank has a leak in the same place, just not as much. I haven’t yet shown my A&P or contacted Wet Wingologists. What do you all recommend as my first step? Thanks in advance for all the knowledge. 

[carusoam]

7 minutes ago, woodz said:

Looking for some advice here. I’ve owned my 66C for two years. The tanks had a complete strip and reseal in 2014 by Wet Wingologists East, so the warranty will be ending next year. The photo below shows the full extent of weeping on the left tank. It has been very slight for several months but seems to have worsened recently. The right tank has a leak in the same place, just not as much. I haven’t yet shown my A&P or contacted Wet Wingologists. What do you all recommend as my first step? Thanks in advance for all the knowledge. 

Dude, that’s an easy one...  

That’s not a tank seep... or weep... or even a real problem...

The leaking device is called a sump drain...

You have a couple of choices... remove and clean...

Or simply replace....

Emptying the tanks makes this job easy... (fly until it is empty, go somewhere...)

Even if they are full, not much gets out if you are fast...

Knowing how the seal works is important...

You won’t win a strong man award for snapping the new one off... (voice of experience...)

It goes from just making contact, to snapping off, within a few degrees... or a quarter turn...

Buy the proper drain, so you don’t add to your challenges going forwards...

Of course, if you have done this already... what the drain is mounted in may need to be re-sealed... how far away is Wet wingologists?

PP Thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[woodz]

Thank you Anthony. Glad to know it’s probably not something serious. All these leaking threads had me paranoid. I’ll reach out to Wet Wingologists to see what they recommend—they’re about 2.5 hours from me

[carusoam]

Woodz,

Check in with Dan at Lasar... get a price and delivery on the right drain for your plane...

Hand the part to your mechanic... have him change it out... 

 

Logically, buy two... watch the mechanic install the one... put the second one in your tool kit for use at some unknown location off in the distance...

It fits nicely next to the spare spark plug...

Give the leaky device a good look.. see if there is a drip hanging from it.  Fuel has a tendency to be drawn and wicked away in strange ways...

Clean the area really good, just to prove there isn’t a leaky rivet nearby...

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[cliffy]

I have the EXACT same leak I have been fighting for some time. 

Tried a new drain first and that didn't solve the issue. Tried Titeseal on the drain plug oring (its a static leak not pressurized), that didn't work,  Issue still not solved completely but lessened. 

Its not TOO big of an issue  as Its an "ooze" and not even a seep.  Takes a couple days to show much evidence.

My next step is to clean the area thoroughly and spray on dye check  developer (white powder) and watch to see where the leak appears first- bottom of the drain or the rivets on either side.

Saw once, a long time ago, a shop used just a little epoxy on the outside (the tank was empty and dry), over one of the rivets that they found oozing, to fix the issue. 

On the correct drain valves the oring seal seems to be very small in thickness and needs a perfectly flat surface to seal against, the oring doesn't stick up too much above the surface of the drain for sealing purposes. Might be, even the thickness of chipped paint will prevent a good seal.  I may slide a larger thickness oring on the drain and tighten it just enough to feel the oring squeeze and let it sit for a day or so with 5 gallons in the tank to verify or eliminate the drain/wing surface interface as the leak source.  If that stops the seep then how to fix it will be the next issue. The oring in the drain itself can't be changed to a thicker oring. 

Might have to design a "spot facing tool" using 320 sand paper to "remachine" the surface that the drain seals  on to make it perfectly flat again. 

Be very cautious of how tight you turn the drain in, in trying to stop the leak. 

[Andy95W]

⬆️⬆️⬆️
 

Cliffy just described my fuel tank drain to a 'T’.

[mike_elliott]

Most often, when a new O ring or quick drain doesnt fix it,  the leak source is the rivets attaching the quick drain socket and caused by overtorque as Cliff eludes to. I fought this about 20 years ago, tried a thicker O ring, etc, and in my stupidity, made the problem worse with giving that wrench an extra "tug".  

At least it was a very nice flight up to Willmar to have Paul Beck take care of it properly, including rebucking the rivets. Granted this is the proper way to fix if it leaks there and not practical for some, just a data point of my experience and observations of others with the same issue.