Fourtitude Tank Question

[Grizak]

In our experience, the pre-assembled fuel tanks can be a bit of a mixed bag - we have tested most on the market - and some seem to develop leaks.

As Trevor indicated above, we have witnessed several leak mishaps in planes. The concern with this is fire - gasoline hitting an electrical source or heat source (exhaust pipe, canister, header, engine, etc) - not good.

We have found that you can minimize the leaking by:

Thoroughly testing each tank before you mount in your plane (leak test and pressure test it) - but this can result in disassembling the tank and re-assembling (some are easier than others to do this), so it kind of defeats the time saving aspect or ease of installation aspect of buying a "ready to use" tank - maybe they should market them as "Almost Ready to Use" - or "ARU" tanks instead?

Avoid Ethanol in your fuel (not always easy in some areas of the country) - we believe (based on our pseudo-scientific testing) that some of the leaking problems are a result of cap/fitting gasket/sealing material that doesn't handle ethanol well. The gasket/sealing material either breaks down, shrinks, or swells and ends up leaking. What makes this frustrating is that you can't always tell if the gasket/sealing material has shrunk or swelled unless you have another new tank of the same brand/size to compare it to.

With the PSP Fuel caps (both the FIJI and Large Juice Cap) - not only is the gasket/o-ring material the right material (we have had planes with the same fuel cap/gasket for over 4 seasons without issue) it is sized perfectly for the cap and the bottles that the caps fit.

Secraft has introduced a new line of Tanks - so far these have been very good. These are more of a kit than a Ready to Use tank - they require assembly and you have to add your own clunk and in tank fuel line. They are also more expensive - so they may not be for everyone. They have a aluminum cap with fittings and an o-ring that fits into the tank perfectly, this cap is secured via a special plastic ring. So far the tanks have held up well to our tests. The O-ring material seems very resistant to Ethanol. What makes these tanks unique is the new tank mounting system - they feature a special rigid foam mount that is super light weight.

Grizak

[Bhughes]

http://www.usplastic.com/mobile/item.aspx?itemid=85324
This is a link to what I found for the stuff Ron was talking about I think.
For how cheap the fortitude tanks are I replace them every so often if I see a problem. I have one now for three seasons with the eme 60. And has been through two crashes lol

[Grizak]

Ron - I'm not exactly sure what the stuff is in the Fourtitude tank is - other than it's yellow and it definitely expands. I'll defer to Brodie and assume that it is Tygon.

If the Yellow Tubing doesn't have "Tygon" written on it - it isn't Tygon. The problem with Tygon is that it can't handle having gasoline surrounding it inside and out for extended periods (I.e. inside of a Fuel Tank). It works very well outside of a Fuel Tank where gasoline only runs through it - you can easily get 3 - 4 seasons out of Tygon when used as a fill line or carb line. Tygon generally doesn't swell - it hardens, so as a clunk line, it will cause problems. Ethanol quickens the hardening process.

For gas engine clunk lines inside Fuel Tanks - Viton is the best. It is the closest thing to the material used in cars. It holds up extremely well to gasoline, oil and Ethanol. We have tanks with Viton that are going on 7 seasons and they don't need to be changed. The problem with Viton is the cost, and the fact that it isn't translucent - you can't see through it.

Ethanol is the X-factor - many fuel lines work great with gasoline, but Ethanol will create problems. Also, Asian fuel blends can be different - so some of their fuel line doesn't hold up well to our fuel.

Grizak

[Bhughes]

Like Jeff (grizak) says do your research and find a source of fuel that has no ethonal most shell stations high grade has none. We don't have a shell in Camrose but dale hunter did some digging and our safe way buys from shell so we use that. Unless we pass a shell then we grab some lol

[reo]

Sometimes asking question in these forums is like tossing a piece of meat into a tank of piranha. Toss it in and watch the water boil!

lol...that's funny!....I'll send you a PM...Ron

(we have to keep an eye on Brodie here and just set him straight once in awhile.)

[reo]

If the Yellow Tubing doesn't have "Tygon" written on it - it isn't Tygon. The problem with Tygon is that it can't handle having gasoline surrounding it inside and out for extended periods (I.e. inside of a Fuel Tank). It works very well outside of a Fuel Tank where gasoline only runs through it - you can easily get 3 - 4 seasons out of Tygon when used as a fill line or carb line. Tygon generally doesn't swell - it hardens, so as a clunk line, it will cause problems. Ethanol quickens the hardening process.

For gas engine clunk lines inside Fuel Tanks - Viton is the best. It is the closest thing to the material used in cars. It holds up extremely well to gasoline, oil and Ethanol. We have tanks with Viton that are going on 7 seasons and they don't need to be changed. The problem with Viton is the cost, and the fact that it isn't translucent - you can't see through it.

Ethanol is the X-factor - many fuel lines work great with gasoline, but Ethanol will create problems. Also, Asian fuel blends can be different - so some of their fuel line doesn't hold up well to our fuel.

Grizak

Jeff, do you have any thoughts on how Viton will stand up to turbine oil?...(it's terrible stuff in a lot of ways)....I know some of guys have gone away from turbine oil for a lot of reasons but I still use it in some of my engines.....Ron

[-Snuts-]

lol...that's funny!....I'll send you a PM...Ron

(we have to keep an eye on Brodie here and just set him straight once in awhile.)

If we threw Brodie in a pool of Parana's. Who would be doing the teaching, and who would be doing the learning?
(just thinking out loud)

As for this Exelon. I got 20' once locally. Easily obtainable. (it was not from Pro R/C)
-Snuts-

[reo]

Like Jeff (grizak) says do your research and find a source of fuel that has no ethonal most shell stations high grade has none. We don't have a shell in Camrose but dale hunter did some digging and our safe way buys from shell so we use that. Unless we pass a shell then we grab some lol

Avgas is ethanol free, our local small engine/chainsaw dealer guy says that Shell Premium is not guranteed ethanol free and there is no sticker on the pump either.

[Bhughes]

What can I say I'm bored when I'm parenting

[tbrum]

Avgas is ethanol free, our local small engine/chainsaw dealer guy says that Shell Premium is not guranteed ethanol free and there is no sticker on the pump either.

And Av Gas smells really good

Just beware.. if you switch to Av Gas, you'll need to tweak the needles.!!

I have been on Av Gas for 2015.