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Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com <http://edburkhead.com> ed -at- edburkheadQQQ.com (change -at- and remove QQQ) -----Original Message----- From: William R. Bayne [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 6:39 PM To: Ed Burkhead Subject: WRB Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Nose Tank RLYTECH (WRB via Ed Burkhead's computer-I can't post directly) Please send responses directly to the list or to me, Bill Bayne @ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi Steve, More likely your cork is saturated (indicating less fuel than is present) or the inlet of your fuselage tank back to the wing tank(s) is too low (unlikely, but things can and do break). Crud can build up if your ADs are not being done (new filter, etc. every year, supposedly), or if some wizard has put your restrictor fitting on the inlet side of the pump (wrong). In that location the orifice can be reduced by debris in the fuel that otherwise would be trapped by the filter in the pump. It is possible for a fuel pump to produce insufficient pressure to keep the nose tank full, but most probably get replaced because of oil (really messy) or fuel leaks (really dangerous) before original pumping capacity deteriorates to that point. I suggest you get containers that will hold a total of six gallons, take a lap "around the patch" (to get the level to "normal" in flight and replace any lost since you last flew), and measure how much fuel was in your fuselage tank by draining it from the gascolator inlet line. If you get near five or six gallons (the two sizes possible), you know with reasonable certainty that the problem is your cork. Most coupes' fuselage tank gauge (even when new) will visually appear "empty" with around two gallons remaining. I calibrated my gauge accurately and monitored both progress along my course and nose tank consumption very closely, so my flight planning routinely included using several gallons of nose tank fuel on VFR cross-country legs. New corks are readily available for installation on your present gauge. I recommend a high grade two-part epoxy (resistant to both auto fuel and the paint thinner presently marketed as 100LL) coating be applied and allowed to thoroughly dry before installation. The original shellac was intended to prevent fuel from saturating the cork, and did so just fine until 80/87 went away, victim of efforts to reduce lead in the environment. I recently read that those of us fifty and over already have sufficient excess lead in our bones to significantly increase our risk of many of the most dreaded diseases of old age. It's ironic that coupes burning 100LL today are discharging four times the lead into the air per mile as they did when they burned 80/87. Regards, William R. Bayne <____|-(o)-|____> (Copyright 2004) -- On Mar 6, 2005, at 6:58 PM, Steve Schlager wrote: > My nose tank seems to be running at half full. > This keeps me from making any trips very far away from home base. > I thought it was supposed to always be full. Could something be wrong > with my fuel pump? > Steve Schlager > N93556 ========================================================================== ==== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
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