View Full Version : Saddle Tanks for the Turbine
lperagallo
04-07-2008, 10:01 PM
Chris told me last year about some fuel bottles being sold at Walmart that were 25 OZ and came in cool colors. I couldn't find them for the life of me. So I painted up some MRS fuel bottles and I have been using them. Yesterday, I was at my local CVS and I happened upon some fuel bottles that are 750ML and came in cool silver, burgundy and blue. They were 3 for $10.00 and they are listed as water bottles. They are stainless steel. I also liked the caps as they were easier to work with and looked much stronger the the MRS bottles. They carry the subzero brand. I bought three and now my Bergen has flashy new saddle tanks in burgundy.:thumbup:
Not only do they look better, they are cheaper and hold 3 OZ more them the Coleman and MRS tanks. If you want a set look in the seasonal section and get them while they're hot:banana
Lou,
We know you have a camera.
I guess here is a good excuse to use this emoticon...
:Pics
rkeith2
04-08-2008, 09:34 AM
Lou likes to tease -
mdelzer
04-11-2008, 10:48 PM
Sigg has some 33 oz bottles.
mark
lperagallo
04-12-2008, 12:28 PM
Mdelzer,
33oz may be a bit to heavy for the saddle tanks. I don't think I want that much weight hanging off the sides. Especially in a roll:lol: I get 12 minute flight times with about a minute extra so I'm happy flying that long. Gets a bit stressful with all the cash in the air that long:)
JC,
I'll post some pictures later today! After all the weather is so great I think I may make it all the way to the garage........That's if I can find my winter coat to work in again:mad:
Lou
JC,
I'll post some pictures later today! After all the weather is so great I think I may make it all the way to the garage........That's if I can find my winter coat to work in again:mad:
Lou:) I drove past the church today. It was windy, raining, and cold. I was kinda surprised I didn't see you out there. :P
Looking forward to the photos!
lperagallo
04-12-2008, 04:51 PM
JC,
OK so here are the pictures. I've spent most of the day repairing the Beater 50 after my inverted dumb thumbs. It's like building a new heli when you need to change out the frames. I also found out I killed the remote RX. That's the third one I've killed in crashes:mad: I might as well send everything back and get the mod done also.
I'll need tomorrow to finish the Raptor up because my back is killing me again. Good thing you didn't take the $100.00 snow bet:tongue Saw it myself this morning. Just wait until Sunday:shock:
Ron,
I took a close up of the new Duralite LI-MN battery. See how long it is:wow2:
The last picture is the Gasser and newest toy a few us decided to get into. Won't be long now before I get my chance to crash that. We're going to the AMA headquarters in Muncie to do it up right:happyd
Looks good Lou. Once you get that new canopy painted up along with those new tanks... :thumbup:
Good thing you didn't take the $100.00 snow bet:tongue Saw it myself this morning. Just wait until Sunday:shock:Unless you have video...
It didn't snow here so it didn't happen. :tongue
Perhaps finding a better location for that remote RX on the "Beater" would be in order.
lperagallo
04-16-2008, 07:21 PM
I wanted to post a warning about the fuel bottles I referenced in this thread. I have one that has a slight leak in it:mad: It looks like it is at the seam on the bottom of the tank. I can't pinpoint it but it deserves watching. These tanks are a double wall stainless steel and I'm not sure if I could have damaged the tank by drilling the vent hole in the end or not. It leaks maybe two drops a day so it isn't much, but I haven't put any time on these to see if it will leak more after flying a while and under the stress it gets put under. For all I know, I just got a bad tank, but I don't want to be responsible for a problem now that I know one tank leaks. There is about 1/4 tank of kero in teh tank. My other tank is fine, no leaks. See the picture and you can see the seam and where I drilled the vent hole.
Lou
http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=44994&d=1208032949
rkeith2
04-16-2008, 07:33 PM
Lou,
Did you drill right at the seam? I can't see from the photo.
I want to tap in that area that looks to be the bottom cup of about 1/2 or so
lperagallo
04-16-2008, 08:38 PM
Ron,
I didn't drill in the seam, I drilled about 1/2 way between the bottom and the seam. On the new tanks I just bought I drilled about a 1/2 of an inch in front of the seam to stay away from it all together. I looked inside the tank and I think I can see a weld so I decided to just stay away from it. I could have broken a weld when drilling the hole for all I know. I've got the fitting in there now with epoxy so once it's dry, I'll throw it on and see if it leaks. :) The other tank is fine, so maybe I got a bad one or I just screwed it up.:dontknow Maybe my spring loaded drill punch hurt it. The sides are easy to bend.
Did you get the tanks yet?
Lou
rkeith2
04-16-2008, 09:33 PM
Tanks a no show today - regular USPS to my place takes a while for some reason.
Got a note from Sara this morning and my other engine is on the way back - whoooo hoo
lperagallo
04-16-2008, 09:41 PM
Boy, I wish I could say "my other engine":banana I am waiting patiently for that 44 Magnum:Bang I'd love to be the test pilot on that bird. I keep asking Chris to be number one:cheers
cbergen
04-16-2008, 10:07 PM
You're always #1 in my book Lou, but you'll have to be number 2 for a 44 Magnum!! :)
Hey Lou,
Maybe you could take one of the unusable tanks and hack it in 1/2 so you can see how it's constructed.
I've seen tanks like that where the inner tank is rounded on the bottom for strength, and the outer cap is bonded to it so it will stand on end. Cutting it open will tell you exactly what your dealing with.
rbort
04-17-2008, 02:13 PM
Can I be #2?
-=>Raja.
lperagallo
04-17-2008, 02:47 PM
I think JC nailed the problem. :banana I think he is right and when I drilled the vent tap hole I was really drilling the bottom cap and the tank. When I put the vent fitting in, I probably only ended up sealing the outer layer, leaving the inner layer to leak. As the inner layer leaks it accumulates in the outer layer then leaks out at the seam:arggg:. The seam around the bottom isn't sealed.
So the morale to the story, drill the vent ahead of the seam in the single layer stainless.:thumbup:
I've already done that on another tank and hopefully will get a chance to try it out later today.
Lou
rkeith2
04-17-2008, 10:00 PM
Look what I got from Lou today
http://www.circlecityflyers.com/images/cans
cbergen
04-17-2008, 10:24 PM
Pretty BLUE!! I like 'em!!
rkeith2
04-17-2008, 10:42 PM
Now I have to get my blue can o pea
lperagallo
04-18-2008, 07:56 AM
Ron,
SWEET.......:thumbup: They look the same as mine now. Same locations for teh vents also.
Chris,
If you need some I can source them for you at Walgreens. They come in Red, Blue and Silver.
Lou
I like that blue too. :smokin:
I think silver would better match all different canopies but if you had any blue in your canopy (like Lou's gasser canopy) that would look sweet.