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fuel vents


ct9000

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I have thought about redesigning those vents to reduce the amount of fuel they puke onto the tops of the wings,and maybe to look better.  Fuel sloshes in the tank and makes its way up around the nut and streaks back on the wings.  Also if the airplane sits cocked off-level for any period with near full tanks the down wing tank will fill to the brim and literally pour out around the nut...probably a half cup a minute. 

Recently I put "Seal-All" Fuel sealant around the tube threads and around the 10mm nut that secures it.  I have only done a couple of flights, but so far no fuel on the tops of the wings.  Seal-All is fuel-proof, clear, and non-structural, so you can unscrew everything and remove or reapply it later.  I'll let ya'll know if that makes for a good long term solution.  I wish FD had put an o-ring between the tube and the fuel cap to prevent this issue.

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Roger thanks for your input on this one. I have another aircraft type that uses the metal tube bent forward like you describe but it has once been blocked by a mud wasp and caused me some stress. I like the look of the SW vents and they seem to be immune from contamination from water or wasps etc. When I had an SW I never had fuel slosh out at all and in fact I quite liked the caps. I may have to contact FD on this one.

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8 hours ago, Roger Lee said:

Just go old school with bent 90 degree facing forward vent tube. All fuel spill and slosh goes away.

I considered that.  You'd still have to seal between the cap and the tube.  And I guess you'd have to get the length right.  An open 90° tube would probably provide more pressure in flight into the tank than the stock setup...I think that would be okay, but not sure 100% how that would affect the fuel system.

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I had those 90 degree vents for 1500 hours and flew in all types of weather. Never once was there an issue of any type. Plus the taller forward facing tube kept all fuel in the tank even when full. These came from old school ideas and worked on millions of planes for a century. It worked for me better than the stock ones.

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The only really big catch is try to make sure both tubes are exactly the same. If one is angled differently, you'll get asymmetric pressurization. Yeah the fuel tank balance tube will negate most of it, but that assumes it's functioning correctly (mine always gets fuel in it and becomes useless).

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21 minutes ago, Anticept said:

The only really big catch is try to make sure both tubes are exactly the same. If one is angled differently, you'll get asymmetric pressurization. Yeah the fuel tank balance tube will negate most of it, but that assumes it's functioning correctly (mine always gets fuel in it and becomes useless).

The balance tube is only for the LS, the SW doesn't have one.

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