Fuel Tanks

[Jack Ryder]

The 2 Wing Tanks on our BC12D-4-85 were not used by the previous owner, for about 5 years !

Should I take any special precautions before putting them into service ?

Thanks for your inputs !

Jack

[Robert Lees]

Hello Jack and welcome to the Taylorcraft Forum.

Are they steel (terneplate) or aluminium tanks? (a quick check with a small magnet through the fabric will determine). Check both!

The result of that quick test will help answer your question!

Rob

[astjp2]

Flush with clean gas, check your gascolator and flush until its clean.

[Woody]

Better take a relief bottle. 24 gallons of fuel will last a lot longer than you care to sit in a Tcraft! I removed the wing tanks from my 65 Bc12 D on rebuild. Only used them one time in 30 previous years.

[astjp2]

I used mine almost every time I flew in Alaska and in the Southwest, its not the one way that gets you its the having to find somewhere that has fuel...after you get to your destination.

[Robert Lees]

Better take a relief bottle. 24 gallons of fuel will last a lot longer than you care to sit in a Tcraft! I removed the wing tanks from my 65 Bc12 D on rebuild. Only used them one time in 30 previous years.

What did you do with them Woody?

Edit: the wing tanks, not the relief bottle!

[Woody]

I gave one to Capt Jon and still have the other one as well as a couple from the clip wing project. One is good and the others are "repairable" :-)

[Jack Ryder]

Thanks for the response Guys !

Rob, the wing tanks are both aluminum.

I filled both of them but the left one leaked. So I flushed the right one and the gascolater, so we now have about 18 gallons on board.

As somebody mentioned, that will long outlast my bladder !

Jack

[astjp2]

Where does it leak? Fuel drain or a fitting?

[Jack Ryder]

It's leaking from the tank inside the wing, so we can't tell if it's the tank itself or the connecting hose/tubing !

[Robert Lees]

...Rob, the wing tanks are both aluminum....
Jack

Jack, since they are aluminium, it's more likely to be a fitting, or a crack where a fitting has been previously over-tightened in an attempt to cure a previous leak, and has cracked a weld where the fittings are welded in.

There are three welded-in fittings in the wing tanks:

The filler neck
The water drain
The outlet into the fuselage.

You should be able to detect which is leaking if you slowly fill up the wing tank from empty, and from evidence of existing fuel stains if using 100LL.
I did write a blog about what I did on my aluminium fuel tanks when I was rebuilding my 1946 BC12D here

(As an aside, the old terneplate tanks, which were tin-plated steel, suffered from long-term corrosion (they were not designed to last this long!)
I have one that I removed from a November 1945 BC12D that I used to own; I have a short blog on how I replaced it with an aluminium one here

Neither of those may help you right now, but maybe someone else now or you in the future.



Best wishes,
Rob

[Jack Ryder]

Rob
Thanks for this great info !
For now, both wing tanks are leaking, so I'll settle for 12 Gal until we get into it further !

Can we run the main tank down to about 1/4 full without any problems ?

Thanks, Jack

[3Dreaming]

Rob
Thanks for this great info !
For now, both wing tanks are leaking, so I'll settle for 12 Gal until we get into it further !

Can we run the main tank down to about 1/4 full without any problems ?

Thanks, Jack

It will run just fine down that low, but I wouldn't try and take off like that. Use caution if you have to make a go around from a balked landing. With the 85 the acceleration and pitch could possibly move the fuel away from the tank outlet.

[Edwin Otha]

Does anyone have a source for the aux. fuel valve knob with the imprinted operation information.

EO

[astjp2]

I have 2 NOS wing valves, but I would not use them in anything that files because they ALL leak