Cheers,
There have been a number of messages which seem not to take in the
substance of the mod.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but here is my take.....
The purpose of a water drain is to rid the fuel system of water
detrimental to fuel use. There are two places where water will accumulate.
The most obvious is condensation, where we fail to fill the tank and moist
air condenses out into the tank over time - large weather change/long
storage. This water should congregate at the bottom of the tank. depending
on shape, this is usual for a taildragger to be the BACK of the bottom.
For some the second may be water already in the fuel source -
cached in remote places, or long or badly stored source.
The third may be water accumulated during flight (Vent entry in
rain, perhaps).
In Canada, regulations require a 'gascolator' (don't ask me),
which I have been trained to empty on every walk-around. It traps water and
foreign materials which it dumps on inspection. It is required normally to
be in the lowest position in the aircraft during flight. That is, it traps
Inflight water.
Similarly, the water drain mod captures pre-flight water and so
must be in the lowest position in the fuel system on ground. Mine are three
feet aft of the tank. Of course the problem here is that long storage in
winter might mean water freezing in the drain lines, so care must be taken
to ensure freeflowing drains before testing for it. The same is true for the
gascolator.
The final thing I learned (the hard way) is that you don't stop
sampling till the fuel is waterfree.............. or in the words of the
sot, "one cup is not enough".
Ferg A064
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