Always have a fuel drain spare or plug

[OR75]

Yves ... you can buy a new fuel drain for $20

don't take the risk of using the wrong o-ring, it is not worth it.

[yvesg]

Yves ... you can buy a new fuel drain for $20

don't take the risk of using the wrong o-ring, it is not worth it.

Fully agree... the investigation was interesting though.

 

Price in Canada is probably near double that... I'll check... thanks.

 

Happy flight all!

 

Yves

[bumper]

When we replaced one of my drains, we put an oil drain pan on the ground and my mechanic told me to wrap a rag around each wrist to keep the fuel from running down my arm, into my shirt, etc. This proved to be the best tip he gave me for this job!

 

Having had 100LL run down into my arm pit, which feels similar to having a lit charcoal briquette tucked in there, I heartily second your mechanic's suggestion.

 

Buna-N or Viton would be the O-rings compatible with fuel. What's on there originally is doubtless Buna-N.

[yvesg]

Found what I need here:

 

http://www.mcfarlane-aviation.com/Products/?PartNumber=SA72-K

 

Checked the whole drain-valve price and only $21.50 from Spruce in Canada. I will order a new one when I need something else from there. Price for the whole drain-valve is so low that Spruce don't seem to carry that kit.

 

Yves

[OR75]

Always annoying when shipping is a huge chunk of what you need

[carusoam]

So that's what it looks like in there...

Yves, thanks for taking the effort to post those pics and the finance specifics!

Best regards,

-a-

[Jeff_S]

I had this happen to me in the extreme a few weeks ago. When I tested the fuel, the whole spring mechanism broke and fuel was just free-flowing out the hole. I sat there literally with my finger in the dike, wondering what to do. Luckily someone from a neighboring hangar heard my pleas for help and came over with a few buckets. And also luckily (since this was a Saturday) my A/P was around and could come over and help out. But I lost about 11 gallons that day, not to mention the cost of the parts and the time for my A/P to do the work.

[carusoam]

Jeff,

That's the first time I have heard that type of failure.

Thanks for sharing.

Best regards,

-a-

[jetdriven]

This happened to me on a Beech C23 Sundowner as we were preparing it for its first flight since it was crashed and rebuilt. That fuel drain smooth jammed full "in" and it is a different fuel drain than a Mooney, it drains out in a 3/8" stream at 3 or 4 gallons per minute.  I tried a few times to free it with a screwdriver each time blasting a gallon of avgas all over me and on the floor of the hangar.  I held my finger over the drain while we rounded up 5 gas cans to drain it, and then commenced to do just that. After we drained 20 gallons, it freed up and popped out. A 1" long drill shaving was laying on the floor.

[Rwsavory]

I've had this happen a few times. I was always able to clear the crud out of the valve by pushing it all the way open and then closing it repeadly until it seals again. It sometimes took ten or twenty actuations.

This just happened with our plane.  About 10 actuations did the trick.

[LANCECASPER]

Just an update to this. The part number for a new fuel quick drain is F-391-53S

And here's the link to Spruce: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php?s=05-00037&x=20&y=12

[Mooneymite]

I carry both a spare quick drain, and a bolt I bought from Lowes aviation department.  I think it was a 5/16 fine thread, but that's just a guess.  Don't forget you'll need something to cut the safety wire to get the dysfunctional drain out.

[flyboy0681]

This happened to me at a remote airport a few years ago. After checking the gas I noticed fuel was dripping out at a pretty good clip although it wasn't a steady stream. The first thing I did was find a nearby bucket to place under the drain and then found a small piece of metal to shove into the valve. It was clear to me at the time that the ball was misplaced and after ten minutes of fiddling around with it I was able to finally stop the flow. The next day I had it replaced.

 

 

[Hector]

Happened to me at Oshkosh 2016. First time I had experienced this. Kept sticking my fuel tester in there hoping to dislodge whatever got stuck. Someone came over with a bucket but thank goodness after about 30 actuation it stopped. Replaced both when I got home.


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[Bennett]

I've had a similar problem on both my DOVA LSA, and my J. For the DOVA I drained the fuel tank (messy job) before replacing the drain. I played with the J drain for a while, and finally the leak stopped. I flew up to LASAR as I really didn't want to drain the much larger Mooney tank. I was amazed how easy it was for them to replace the drain. They removed the filler cap, and used a vacuum cleaner hose and seal to allow them to remove and replace the drain without spilling fuel from either the drain hole or the filler cap hole. I'd be afraid to try that myself.


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[carusoam]

I've not seen a piece of safety wire on the fuel drain before.  The nearest thing on my plane to tie it to is a few feet away, I believe?

Best regards,

-a-

[Raptor05121]

43 minutes ago, carusoam said:

I've not seen a piece of safety wire on the fuel drain before.  The nearest thing on my plane to tie it to is a few feet away, I believe?

Best regards,

-a-

 

Ditto. One of the few things that don't need safety wire, IMHO. We replaced one of mine at annual and it was very hard to get off. Needed a socket and quite a few turns. Took me 5 minutes to get it off.

 

[Bob_Belville]

9 hours ago, Bennett said:

I've had a similar problem on both my DOVA LSA, and my J. For the DOVA I drained the fuel tank (messy job) before replacing the drain. I played with the J drain for a while, and finally the leak stopped. I flew up to LASAR as I really didn't want to drain the much larger Mooney tank. I was amazed how easy it was for them to replace the drain. They removed the filler cap, and used a vacuum cleaner hose and seal to allow them to remove and replace the drain without spilling fuel from either the drain hole or the filler cap hole. I'd be afraid to try that myself.


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They plugged the overflow and pulled a (partial) vacuum on the tank using a vacuum cleaner? Sounds dangerous to suck gasoline fumes through a device with electric motor. But what do I know. Could be a useful trick if one knew that it was perfectly safe.

[Hank]

1 hour ago, Bob_Belville said:

They plugged the overflow and pulled a (partial) vacuum on the tank using a vacuum cleaner? Sounds dangerous to suck gasoline fumes through a device with electric motor. But what do I know. Could be a useful trick if one knew that it was perfectly safe.

Better use an explosion proof vacuum! "Do not try this yourself!!"

[Bob_Belville]

9 minutes ago, Hank said:

Better use an explosion proof vacuum! "Do not try this yourself!!"

Yeah. Maybe we're missing key details. I cringe when I see a gut or gal pumping gas with a cigarette in hand. Obviously it very rarely ends tragically. Familiarity breeds carelessness. 

[flyboy0681]

29 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Yeah. Maybe we're missing key details. I cringe when I see a gut or gal pumping gas with a cigarette in hand. Obviously it very rarely ends tragically. Familiarity breeds carelessness. 

My interpretation was that they placed a vacuum cleaner hose over the plug from the inside the tank (without turning it on), to act as a barrier to prevent gas from leaking out as someone else removed the drain and replaced it. 

[201er]

34 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Yeah. Maybe we're missing key details. I cringe when I see a gut or gal pumping gas with a cigarette in hand. Obviously it very rarely ends tragically. Familiarity breeds carelessness. 

Heck I get nervous with people waving phones and other electronics near my fuel tanks!

[Mooneymite]

1 hour ago, 201er said:

Heck I get nervous with people waving phones and other electronics near my fuel tanks!

I don't doubt the volatility of avgas, but I don't think I've ever heard of an avgas fueling accident.  My homeowners insurance doesn't seem to have a problem with me storing cars inside my attached garage (with full fuel), but wants to charge me higher premiums for covering my detached hangar "because there's fuel in those planes".

Really?

[flyboy0681]

3 minutes ago, Mooneymite said:

I don't doubt the volatility of avgas, but I don't think I've ever heard of an avgas fueling accident.  My homeowners insurance doesn't seem to have a problem with me storing cars inside my attached garage (with full fuel), but wants to charge me higher premiums for covering my detached hangar "because there's fuel in those planes".

Really?

Yet, it is due to the potential of fueling accidents that our on-field FBO will not allow the fuel truck to top off the tanks while the plane is in the hangar. We must pull it completely out for them to start.

[Mooneymite]

4 minutes ago, flyboy0681 said:

Yet, it is due to the potential of fueling accidents that our on-field FBO will not allow the fuel truck to top off the tanks while the plane is in the hangar. We must pull it completely out for them to start.

And I wonder why we are so anal about grounding our planes, fuel trucks, everything while we never ground our cars to anything....is there that much difference in volatility, or is it just a case of risk/reward?  Jet fuel is not particularly volatile, but same thing:  everything gets grounded.  I guess the non-existence of accidents proves how important grounding is!

I remember as a little kid asking about why the big fuel trucks always had chains dragging on the road as they went down the highway and being told that it was to "ground them so they won't blow up".  Well, fuel trucks don't drag grounding chains any more, but they aren't blowing up very often.....makes me wonder.

Edited December 28, 2016 by Mooneymite