More Fuel Header Tank Examples
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- To complement the healthy response from our previous header tank video Tip, we have added more examples of builder's projects that highlight the installation of a header tank in their homebuilt aircraft. Also, a supplier of a ready to install header tank kits also provides a video clip of their product.
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Nice to see simple rubber hose instead of the unnecessary complexity and expense of AN fittings and hard lines. Nothing beats a rubber hose for reliability and simplicity. And fewer junctions/potential leaks.
One thing I noticed is the absence of valves to shut the flow before the filters and the fuel pumps in case you want to change or service them.
A lot of people/builders opt to not install valves, as it has happened more than once that "service valves" are turned off inadvertently, as you as the pilot don't check as you have not turned them off yourself and walla fuel starvation as you rotate and the expenses start...
I have a similar tank on my bird and I was wondering if rubber or some sort of material is placed under the steel straps which hold the tank in place between the steel straps and the aluminum tank to avoid galvanic corrosion and or chaffing?
My only concern is mounting electrical devices, fuel pumps, below a tank containing flammable liquid. Not the best design in case of a leak.
2:03 - What is the purpose of the yellow hose?
That is used by the pilot as a sight gauge - you can see the level of fluid in the tank also appear in the hose.!
@@HomebuiltHELP Thanks for the fast reply. I thought it was that but it didn't look transparent enough to me. Clearly I was wrong ;)
I actually thought the Skytek guy was a voice synthesizer at first.
I am still trying to understand the need for vents to the header tank. As long as each wing tank is properly vented, fuel will flow into the header tank without issue. I suppose there is a chance of getting an air lock if you run the airplane completely empty of fuel and then fill both wing tanks simultaneously, however, who fills both tanks simultaneously? As you fill one wing tank, the header tank is vented by the fuel line from the empty tank. What am I missing?
Well... I might ask - how often do you fill one tank while the other one is completely empty? It might vent OK in that situation! You are creating odd scenarios where a header tank might not need a vent. This is an airplane and we want a definite vent to work always. A trapped pocket/bubble in the header tank is deadly for an airplane.
@@HomebuiltHELP It will vent even better if neither tank tank ever gets empty enough to allow air into the header tank as each tank supply line serves as the vent. You can’t lower the pressure in the header tank if either of the wing tank feed lines is unobstructed. The only purpose of a vent line is to prevent a loss of pressure in a tank such that the liquid in the tank can’t drain out. In the case of the header tank, the wing tank supply lines serve that purpose.
No, no, no! Read your last 2 sentences. It is when the 2 wing tank lines become obstructed (at the same time - blockage, crimp, when fuel tank vent goes negative - lots of reasons, etc) that you NEED a header vent to allow fuel to leave header tank. Without its own vent in this scenario, fuel could not leave and then engine will stop. With a vent, you have a calculated time to look for a landing field as you watch the header fuel gauge creep to zero. I see this all the time - builders that dont "see" a reason for that extra vent get into real trouble later. Worse is telling others that you dont need one. You dont often see comments on my channel of dangerous advice because I remove them. These are airplanes - not boats or cars... so engine stopping is serious business.
@@HomebuiltHELP I agree. And how many times are both fuel lines from the wing tanks to the header tank blocked? It is more likely that the fuel line from the header tank to the engine would get blocked than both fuel tank lines would get blocked at the same time. What scenario(s) have you seen where both fuel lines to the header tank from the wing tank were obstructed simultaneously?
@@HomebuiltHELP Also, I never told anyone else what they do or don’t need on their airplane. I asked a question and am exploring a topic. I’ve read lots of claims about a gravity fed header tank needing a separate vent, but I’ve never seen a rationale provided for this. And I have searched the NTSB accident database and have never seen an accident caused by an unvented gravity fed header tank. Obviously, header tanks that are pump fed to transfer fuel from a wing tank that may be lower than the header tank is an entirely different animal with different considerations. I’d love to see a rationale for this that makes sense or an accident report where this was identified as the cause of the accident.
Narrator has an annoying monotone voice!
Worst still annoying comments about irrelevant aspects of the video