I too bought some of this solder and ordered their video tape. Alumaweld is the brand I bought and I think it was $45 for a half pound plus $10 for the video. I even sent Langford some to try. This stuff has it's place but NOT on a tank for sealing purposes. Way too much work to get perfect seal. I have used the Alumaweld for a lot of other different applications and had great success. For example, I miss drilled a hole on my alternator bracket so I filled the hole with Alumaweld and redrilled it. If done correctly, It will be solid as a rock and have a bond stronger than the surrounding aluminum. Note: it is not good in a flex application as it will crack. I also tried to seal my starter bracket to the top of the milled off oil housing adapter on my engine...NOT. Never could get a leak proof oil seal with it. Your results may vary but I vote no when it comes to using aluminum solder on a fuel tank. You guys are trying to re-invent a proven system. Do you want to fly or putz around building for ever? Use proven techniques and you will fly sooner and safer. Dana has provided us with invaluable information. Take it and run with it!!!
Mark Jones (N886MJ) Wales, WI USA E-mail me at flyk...@wi.rr.com Visit my KR-2S CorvAIRCRAFT web site at http://mywebpage.netscape.com/n886mj/homepage.html ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dana Overall" <bo12...@hotmail.com> To: <kr...@mylist.net> Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 9:46 PM Subject: Re: KR>Aluminum tanks > >From: "Ron Eason" <r...@jrl-engineering.com> > >If I may offer a alternate for sealing aluminum tanks it would be to solder > >the seams with aluminum solder using a propane torch. There is a vender at > >Oshkosh that offers a kit for about $85. Rivets and solder seam like a > >alternate > > I originally signed back on in an attempt to find any builders in > Switzerland that I could drop in on, on my trip there shortly, so I really > don't want to start anything but I tried this alternate method. > > In this picture I used the aluminum solder from the guy at SNF that I bought > several years ago. The guy solders alum coke cans with it, > but..............I made up this test piece using the same methods I used for > Mark's tanks. > > http://rvflying.tripod.com/leak1.jpg > > This second picture shows the corner with a heavy aluminum solder buildup > and the sides with a nice bead along the floor and side wall. I really > tried to make a nice leak proof bond as I scuffed up both surfaces prior to > soldering and dropped a bead on the rivet heads. > > http://rvflying.tripod.com/leak2.jpg > > This is about 20 minutes later > > http://rvflying.tripod.com/leak3.jpg > > I could go back in and try and find the leak but the original beading took > me at least 20 minutes. In that time I could have used Proseal and totally > riveting in a real leak proof tank bottom. I know it's builders mentality > to try and come up with different ways to do things but for goodness sakes > try it before you throw it out there for someone to use. In this > application, one would have to individually solder each and every rivet head > and along with seam lines. I'll take a flux brush and smear around a rivet > while someone else solders and lets see how many leak free ones I do > compared to the alternate method. I'll bet is over 10-1. Remember, I > totally Prosealed and riveted together Mark's second tank in 3.5 hours. > > It's experimental, for goodness sakes do what you want to your own airplane. > It's just my opinion that before one offers something as an alternative, > you should have at least researched it properly or have tried it on a scale > deemed appropriate to it's full scale application. This method may work for > someone else, but it didn't for me......heck, I'm probably so far off base > it ridiculous though........ > > Happy builder gang. > > > Dana Overall > 1999 & 2000 National KR Gathering host > Richmond, KY > RV-7 slider/fuselage > http://rvflying.tripod.com > do not archive > > _________________________________________________________________ > Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > > > _______________________________________________ > see KRnet list details at http://www.krnet.org/instructions.html
