Bladders vs. Reseal

[M016576]

Quote: M016576

I spoke to an a&p that did a reseal on a m20c a little while back.  Rather than do a full strip& reseal, he said that he let the tanks dry out for a few days, applied some sealant to the inside of the tanks, plugged up the fuel lines and vents, then applied 5psi of pressure to the tank.  The sealant sought out the leaks.  He let the sealant dry, then refueled the aircraft... No leaks.

 

That was 5 years ago and apparently the wet wing is still holding up without weeps.  He also said that he has had bad luck with Cessna bladders.

Anyone tried this method for patchIng the wet wing?  Applying a little pressure?  The a&p said it was much much cheaper than a strip&reseal (to the tune of $800 bucks total...

[pjsny78]

Please guys don’t take this personally as I have been told that this subject is a sensitive one.  So far we have not gotten any solid pros for bladders.  We started to get 1 pro with bladders lasting 20yrs but we have owners with over 30yrs of the original sealant, I also understand that the bladders have not been out as long.  At the same time the people with the bladders seem to be happy with them. So that’s good.

[jetdriven]

Now lest hear about the people who spent 5K having their tanks patched 3 times in a few years.  I have read them here.

[pjsny78]

Quote: jetdriven

Now lest hear about the people who spent 5K having their tanks patched 3 times in a few years.  I have read them here.

[jetdriven]

Fuel tanks in Mooneys work great until they leak. It seems to depend on the specific airplane, maybe it goes down to who was on the shift that day.  Ours, leaked in the left wing and was repaired 4 times until the owner gave up.  Brett's 201 seems to be holding fine.  The person asking about fuel tank options is the person who has leaks. I wouldn't touch a wet tank until it needed it.

[paulbeck]

Hi guys, just saw a post about my warranty. I DO have a five year warranty, not a three. Even better, i will come to you to repair any problem in that time! Just wanted to clarify.    Paul Beck   Weep No More

[mooney2201]

i have had bladders for 11 years no problems at all,,,READ THIS... THERE ARE COMPANYS OUT THERE THAT ARE STRIPPING TANKS, WITH WIRE WHEELS ON DRILLS....THE WIRE WHEEL WILL SET UP FOR DISSIMILAR METAL CORROSION,KISS YOUR INVESTIMENT GOOD BUY///////// BE SAFE MAKE SURE THAT THEY DONT USE THIS PROCESS, YOU WILL PAY DEARLY, IT COULD BE MONEY OR YOUR LIFE,IF THE SPAR IS COMPROMISED.......

[pjsny78]

Quote: mooney2201

i have had bladders for 11 years no problems at all,,,READ THIS... THERE ARE COMPANYS OUT THERE THAT ARE STRIPPING TANKS, WITH WIRE WHEELS ON DRILLS....THE WIRE WHEEL WILL SET UP FOR DISSIMILAR METAL CORROSION,KISS YOUR INVESTIMENT GOOD BUY///////// BE SAFE MAKE SURE THAT THEY DONT USE THIS PROCESS, YOU WILL PAY DEARLY, IT COULD BE MONEY OR YOUR LIFE,IF THE SPAR IS COMPROMISED.......

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: pjsny78

Okay,

I am a fairly new Mooney owner and it seems that there is a big debate about bladders vs. a reseal.

I don’t get it,  and maybe some of you can share your experiences and pros and cons.

I admit after meeting Paul Beck at weep no more and getting to know how the process works I may be a bit biased.

This is how I see it:

Bladders Cons:  Extra Weight, Decays over time, once installed almost impossible to go back to original state, $2K Replacement Fuel Cap, Lots of new hardware.

Pros: Fuel Caps Look Amazing

 

Reseal: Original Design (This may be both a pro or con) Decays over time but lasts longer than Bladders.

 

 

 

 

 

[rbridges]

Quote: paulbeck

Hi guys, just saw a post about my warranty. I DO have a five year warranty, not a three. Even better, i will come to you to repair any problem in that time! Just wanted to clarify.    Paul Beck   Weep No More

[bnicolette]

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that when my sealant finally gives out, my airplane will be going to Paul.  I have recently been contemplating having my airplane painted this summer but I was fearful since my tanks have never been resealed that with my luck, they would start leaking right after paint.  On the other hand, I have a hard time fixing something that is not broke.  It's hard for me to spend the money to have the tanks resealed when their not leaking and the plane has never had an issue with leaking.

Maybe I would be throwing money away if I were to have them sealed right now?  Who's to say how long they will remain leak free?  30 years without a leak.  Borrowed time?  Or is it just the way the plane was cared for and is still being cared for.  Can they go 40 years?  Doubtful I guess, but who really knows?  The previous owner (since the plane had 200 hrs on it) had always kept the plane hangared, full fuel, and changed the gear pucks.  I am doing the same thing.  When I am done flying I call the fuel truck on my way to the hangar and top it off everytime.

I have a friend in CA with a "J"  that used Paul and like EVERYBODY else that has went that route with him was just over the top impressed with the process and results.  Imagine how nice it would be if Paul could travel and do the reseal in your climate controlled hangar!!!!  I bet that having to travel to MN stops a lot of people from having that process done.

[paulbeck]

Hi again guys!

I just wanted to add for anyone concerned over flying to Minnesota, that i have a very high time and very experienced Mooney pilot here in Willmar that has shuttled quite a few Mooney's to Weep No More for the process and then back home! Some of you on here have used this service. Eric has picked them up in Arizona, to New York. If you would like to know more, please feel free to email or call me! Eric meets all insurance requirements for all Mooney models.

Its really a great service for those who dont have time to get away, or dont care to go on a cross country!

Thanks!!

[Seth]

My former 1967 M20F had bladders put in during the 1990s and I never had a leak issue and never had water in the tanks.  I was happy to never have to worry about the leaking wing issues we have with our Mooneys.

My Missile has the extended range tanks, 98 gallons and thus must be a wet wing.  I know a reseal will occur at some point, and I know there was one patch job a few years ago up by "Weep No More" before they took the new name, but I do admit how often I look down under the wing to check for streaking, seeing if I smell gas in the cabin, etc . . .

When I had the bladders, though they took can leak, the thought rarely crossed my mind.  Now it is on the watch out list.

Both have their bennefits.  You can't go wrong either way.  Most Mooney aircrat will need a reseal at some point and the bladders tend to fix the issue for a longer period of time.  Someone may want to create a chart or take data points (a poll?) for us to fill in our experiences with leak issue with reseals vs bladders and time.

Take care,

-Seth

[Cruiser]

I have an idea .......

For those of you on the fence, you could put bladders in one side and have the other sealed!

then the biggest decision to make would be which side gets what.

 

  Group hug? 

[lamont337]

My planes previous owner wrote the check for the reseal in '05, so I didn't vote but their holding up just fine. Since my '62C has the 48 gallon tanks, I'd be interested in the larger capacity of the bladders, 6 or 8 bag.

[Seth]

My F Model only had the 54 gallon bladders (installed by the previous owner) which did limit my range somewhat, but then I never had to try to push it - longest flight was about 4.5 hours. 

In the Missile, I have 98 gallons and in the most efficient settings, I could go just over 1200 NM - with wind to my back, probably 1500 miles.  However I'd need a wide mouth gatorade bottle.

-Seth

[Comatose]

I have bladders in my 66 C, and I love them. 64 gallons is a better capacity than 48 for our planes. Mine were put in in 06, so it'll be a long, long, long time before I have to worry about leaks. With the bladders my useful load is still 976lb.

And yes, my fuel caps are dead sexy.

[fantom]

Like about every contentious Mooney issue thread I've read here and elsewhere, this has cleared up nothing :-)

Sorry for those looking for absolute answers, but the more you fly the more you'll realize the answer is..........."it all depends".

[sreid]

Jim,

I did see that, right after i posted my reply!! Sorry about that!!

Thanks for the welcome. Its very nice to be in such great company!

Paul Beck

Weep No More

[rbridges]

Looks like the forum glitch got Paul.

[Guitarmaster]

I am going to revive a dead thread here....

 

i have a seep from the inspection panel on the bottom of the left wing.  Has anybody had experience sealing just the inspection panel?

[bonal]

Why not just start a new thread ? Although I did enjoy revisiting the debate. 

[kmyfm20s]

Well since this old thread was resurrected, I'll add that I had a couple 182's with bladders which where not considered as desirable as the wet wing. In both of my 182's I had to replace the bladders and it was expensive. I am now on my 2nd Mooney my 1st was 82 J had no leaks and original sealant. My current 99 S had been resealed by Weep no More about 7 years ago with no problems. There was a SB for the long bodies for enlarged rivet holes which my serial number was included. Both methods will fail over time, I prefer the wet wing. 

[carusoam]

I prefer the wet wing too.  I also prefer the Mooneys with bladders...

resealing an inspection panel is as easy as it gets.  Some of the top side inspection panels needed it when I first got my O, 6 years ago.  It was taken care of at Don's during the PPI.

The challenging part of a leak is usually finding the source.  Then cleaning out old materials, the sealing it up properly.  

A leaky inspection panel is really good news.

Best regards,

-a-

[DrBill]

I got bladders in 2011 and I've never heard of a bladder failure or a re-do job.  Many have lasted well over 20 years.

Bill