Hey Alan,
My first tank came from the factory with a flaw in it. The tanks, as I was
told, are rotomolded. What look like seams on the tank are actually molding
lines. Mine had a molding flaw, likely caused by not enough material being put
into the mold at the time the tank was cast, and that caused a hole in it
that was about the size of the end of your little finger. The hole was hard to
see because it was covered over with a paper thin layer of plastic. I would
have never noticed it except for the fact that I pressure tested the tank with
air after I drilled out the boss's in a combined effort to clean out the
plastic swarf and put a little pressure on the tank to see what would happen.
The
slight pressure I put on the tank must have blown out the thin latyer and I
got a little puff of air from a direction I wasn't expecting, then I noticed
the hole.
Europa promptly replaced the tank at no charge, but had I not noticed it
prior to bonding in the cockpit module I think I'd have been one unhappy camper!
At the time, circa 2003 or so, Andy told me there had been 2 others prior to
mine found with similar holes.
Anyway, hope you find your problem and it's something simple to fix.
Regards,
John Lawton
Dunlap,TN (TN89)
Jabiropa N245E - Flying - 95.6 hours
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