Coupers
My fuselage fuel tank leaks and is in bad condition. I took it out
and
found it had been previously repaired many times. It had: solder, epoxy
putty, RTV and fiberglass all over it. After spending about 10 or 12 hours
cleaning it down to what appears to be ternplate and solder. Ternplate is
what the first Coupes had for fuel tanks,
My coupe is a mod-D and is Serial Number 745. I called Univair and
they
said tanks for the early ser. nos, are no longer available.
If I could find a safe way to solder the tank I would do it
myself. One of
the manuals says to wash the tank with soap and water then to put some
Carbon tetrachloride in the tank (it was once used in fire extinguishers
and was called Pyrene). The problem is, I think Carbon-Tet is now illegal
and no longer available. I would be very hesitant to go near the tank with
a propane torch without it and don't know if using a large soldering iron
(if available) would be safe either. If I fill the tank with water it will
keep the solder from melting and flowing.
Anybody out there have a suggestion?Jack G.(U42, Utah) Nio3JF, SN:745
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