So slightly out of order, but figured I would provide a quick update on my fuel tanks. I found myself with some spare time to work on the airplane due to my wife and daughters taking a trip to visit my mother in law. This is great except for one minor detail, I basically ran out of things I can work on by myself and need a second set of hands. Local buddies were are also unavailable so time to get creative.
Decided to bring the fuel tanks back from our storage locker and finally pressure test them. Going in I already knew I would need to cut a hole in my right tank to replace a rivet that somehow wasn’t fully set?!? Before I drilled it out I wanted to verify there were no other areas that needed attention (leaks).
With the fuel lines (supply and return) capped, and a balloon on the vent line, I used the fuel drain line to blow into the tank and slightly inflate it. (Just a few breaths to put a little pressure in the tank, not enough to inflate the balloon). Then its on to spraying soapy water all over the tank. On the first try, I got a leak around the fuel cap and the threads of the fuel supply and return. Tightened the caps on the fuel lines, and tightened the screw on the fuel cap. Re-spray and no leaks. Ok, so a tank in good shape. Now for the difficult part (emotionally that is).
Tape role makes a good template 
Rough cut the opening with a Dremel 
File all the rough edges. 
Line up the cover and match drill all the holes. 
Don’t forget to remove the primer where proseal needs to go. 
All Done!
With the hole cut in the tank and the edges deburred, I was able to get into the tank to remove the proseal from behind the “bad” rivet and drill it out. Note: removing the proseal from inside the tank SUCKS! Make sure all rivets are properly set to avoid this torture!
Once the area when the rivet needed to be installed was cleaned, and all the dust and debris was removed from inside the tank, I was barely able to install a replacement rivet. Honestly I almost gave up and was looking for an appropriate flush blind rivet, but in the end I was successfull in installing the new rivet (pending leak test).
With the rivet installed, I added a bunch of proseal to the area to prevent any leaks in this area, followed by installing the access hole cover. No way this patch will leak due to the large overlapping surface and overkill number of blind rivets. Now I’m just waiting for the proseal to cure before I attempt a pressure test. The other tank was perfect, so I already mounted it to the left wing with just a few bolts / screws. I’ll get more photos of the tanks mounted in a future update.
Next week, I’ll be in Chesapeake VA attending the RV Fiberglass class to practice making the windshield layup so don’t expect any real updates for a few weeks.