Pete Gauthier wrote: > I have a KR with a Rand header tank. there is a reddish brown tar like > residue in the tank. It is thick in the sump, the valve was plugged and > it has run in random patterns around the inside of the tank. The tank was > empty when I got the plane and has been empty for the 2 1/2 years since. > During that time the plane has been turned over several times and spent a > considerable amount of time upside down. The tank is now out of the > plane. Any ideas what this stuff might be and suggestions on how to > clean it out? <
You nailed it with the subject, "fuel residue". That's what's left over after the volatiles have evaporated off. It's probably a dangerous swill of chemicals that is normally burned up and put into the atomosphere. I'll leave it to one of the more chemically minded list members as to what it'll take to clean it out, but it'll be a solvent of some kind. The trick will be to clean it up without dissolving the epoxy that the tanks are probably made of during the process. If it was made out of vinylester, that may not be a problem. I forget what RR tanks are made of exactly, but vinylester is a real possibility. Another option is to call the EPA and have your airplane designated as a SuperFund site.... Mark Langford N56ML "at" hiwaay.net website at http://www.N56ML.com --------------------------------------------------------
