I don't know that it was Safe-T-Poxy that was the problem, but most of the epoxy resins have issues with alcohol. My tanks are Safe-T-Poxy (although I built them) with a sloshed finish and have been in service for nearly 20 years now with no ill effects. At the time that I built them, what was known about vinylester vs epoxy was significantly less than what is known today. If I was building them today, I would use Vinylester.
A few years ago I rebuilt a set of tip tanks from a Cherokee 235 that were made of polyester. The owner claimed to have been testing his fuel for alcohol, but the tanks had softened to the point of them visibly deforming from the air pressure in flight. I rebuilt them by cutting out the end bulkhead, and grinding the insides out of the tank, then building a new tank inside the tank by building it up and lining it with glass and West Epoxy. The rebuilt tanks have been in service for close to 10 years now with no ill effects, but I warned the owner to only use Avgas in the tip tanks as his alcohol testing process seemed to be somewhat deficient. ? Iowa is big on alcohol fuel as the alcohol production helps drive the price of corn, which means profits for the Iowa Farmers and local economies. Can't blame them for that. In Iowa, 85% alcohol pumps for flex fuel vehicles are pretty common at the gas stations. I'm all for having 85% pumps at the gas stations for flex fuel vehicles. But most of those gas stations also carry alcohol free premium as well. Thanks Steve, I don't know how many of the tanks like mine were produced or delivered but they will not stand up to the alcohol content of todays auto fuel. Glad to hear you have made the change from the Saf-t-poxy. .The tanks with the saf-T-poxy do not have any issue with fuels other wise, I just am of the belief that a fuel tank should be safe for everything. Caution political content: I recently heard a interview in the Iowa voting that the guy was going to vote for whom ever supported more ethanol content in fuel....???? Joe Horton ----- Original Message -----
