ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

As my feet do not fit under the plastic front tank, I have moved to a wing tank setup instead.  I asked the guy at TEAM to send a document on how they mount into the wing once I rip my fabric off, but so far, he seems rather busy and has not responded.

Does anyone else here have any documentation on how these aluminum tanks mount in 1100 wings?  The tanks themselves do not have any kind of brackets..  Are they strapped in like the plastic one was?

TEAM sells an aluminum tank?

Currently working on this section of my wing. was about to order a tank as well to start mocking it in. not really sure on the details but i get the gist of it from the plans of the plastic ones. but need the tank to fit and finish it. currently prepping to glue the anti drag and compressions in. including the diagonals that support the tank. probably take me a month to get that done so don't wait on me. and decided there was other things to finish before i need to fit the tank (i.e. spend money during this crazy year)

Cool!

Itman did you ever get any details for mounting?
I'd be curious to hear,or see a pic, of the fuel outlet. With the plastic tanks I think it had a 90 deg elbow pressed into a grommet? Very little room between tank floor and the bottom fabric of wing.  On the alum tanks I might guess there is a threaded welded bung/bushing that a threaded 90 deg elbow screws into? I would think that takes up too much room to fit?

My tank came with zero way to get fuel out of it, so I had to order my own bungs to weld in, which I'll do when I mount it.

I don't remember getting any kind of answer as to how to mount it either, so, I will figure it out on my own and post my findings  

Dude, thats crazy. Unless they are universal regards to left/right tank. Drill on the side needed? Dont think so, I see on the TEAM website they do have a threaded bung.

Yeah, I saw that in the picture but what I got was just a doubler plate welded on a corner but not yet made with a bung, unfortunately.

I do have a tig welder, thankfully.  Also the tanks are not universal, the doubler plate is mirrored from one tank to the other.

ITman, My aluminum tanks are the same as yours. There are no holes in the tank other than the filler necks. I wouldn't be surprised if they was not finished. I have had some quality control issues with TEAM MINIMAX. I had a landing gear leg that wasn't completely welded, windshield that didn't fit and a number of the RS stock was the wrong dimensions. Dave has resolved most of the issues. But they should not have happened in the first place.

That doesn't impress me, but it does not surprise me either.  However, I wanted to do a threaded bung instead of the press in thing that the poly tanks use, so it does not bother me that much.  I do wish it had some mounting flanges welded on, however..

I've never had any problems with the rubber bushings in the poly tanks. It's kind of crude, but it works. I am not sure how they will work with the aluminum tanks. I think that having threaded bungs welded in is a better option. You can also get sealed fuel cell fittings from Summit Racing. They are a little pricey though. I would mount the Aluminum tank the same way the poly tanks are mounted. I don't know if I would trust welded on tabs.

How do the poly tanks mount in the wings?

I've attached the relevant wing diagram showing the way the tank is fitted in an 1100R wing.

Here are some photos I copied from different build threads on here, showing the process of turning the plans of how to fit a wing tank into reality. It's something I'd like to do on my 'max, but I have the light wing, which has the drag strut mounted higher, so I won't be able to do it.

This is how I mounted my tanks, Nylon straps and some screws.  Not saying that it is the best way to do it. The plane is twenty plus years old with no issues. At least with the aluminum tanks you don't have to worry about the tanks expanding like the poly tanks.

Hmm, I did not consider that due to my 1030R having the lighter wing.. ish, there is still some confusion on that, that my tanks might not fit.  Hopefully I can move the first drag strut down if its in the way?  I do like the nylon straps!

Are these tanks mounted in such a way that they can be removed without the fabric being ruined?  I think I see in the plans that its being covered with a lexan plate?

bob.hood's post shows the changes that would be needed to the wing to accept the tank. In my post the lexan cover is in place. It's hard to see, but you can see the screws.

Thank you all so much for this info.  It definitely has changed a path I was going to take with my build.  I'm eager to get started again, I just bought my first home (with detached 30x70 workshop, woo!) and now I truly have room to work on the plane.  Until recently all I had was a single garage bay, and had to roll it outside to work on it.  No more!  Now I can finally do the thing I've always wanted, put the front and back of the plane on a big rotating.. stand, thing, so I can roll it sideways to be able to finally reach inside and work on it without a step ladder.