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deisel · 07-12-2009, 07:28 PM

throw the fuel line that comes with the kit away. i crashed my pantera today because the line split and fell off the nipple inside of tank,i was about 100 feet high and 10 to 15 mile a hour gust down wind and slow,it could have been a lot worse if i had,t been practicing autos. killed tail boom,pitch slider,landing gear,wash out arm

Mr.HillBilly · 07-12-2009, 07:33 PM

Yep it is junk. Not to put salt into the wound, but I think it says in the manul to replace it right off the bat.

Glad to hear it was not a total loss.

deisel · 07-12-2009, 07:37 PM

i ques that's why we live and learn huh hillbilly

Eury · 07-14-2009, 07:57 PM

Take it as a lesson learned and throw away the line that comes with ANY kit.

billm · 07-14-2009, 09:10 PM

"Tanks" for the heads up. You jogged my brain on service.
I just pulled one of my five Pantera's tanks out after the warning.
The clunk tube is mush!
This tubing is a standard fuel line (not the stock tube from the tank kit) and is over a year old. The tube has sucked about 5 cases of fuel and I never thought of looking.
You saved me a ship, and now I need to check all the other ships.
Some of them have "fuel Magnets" and I'm sure that a total fuel tank service is due.
Sorry to hear about your crash, but you sure saved me!

Machinehead01 · 07-15-2009, 09:10 AM

When I first started to fly, one of the old time plankers suggested that I refuel and defuel the tank after I was done flying. He told me that the engine exhaust that goes into the tank will attack the fuel line in very short order. By fueling and then defueling the exhaust is purged from the tank and the fuel lines are cleansed. I have stayed with this practice and have never had a problem. If you are running a fuel magnet you must do this to protect the foam around the clunk anyways,so it's a good practice to get into.

Thomas

jbeech · 07-15-2009, 11:37 AM

The fuel line supplied in the kit is of superb quality, but by its design, it's thin and designed to be very flexible. Consequently, it's a high maintenance item (as with all model helicopters, the fuel tank has to be removed and disassembled to clean it properly and replace the line) and thus, due to my knowing modelers like I do, I advise folks (in the manual no less) to use a thicker tubing.

Moreover, as has been noted, this doesn't preclude regular maintenance because it too can fail - it's just that the interval for replacement can be extended - however, you can't neglect it forever just because it's thicker. Meanwhile, I am very sorry you crashed due to the fuel tubing, but it's not like you weren't warned in Step 4 to keep a close eye on it, e.g. Inspect and replace regularly . . . we even used bold both here and in the manual for this text because it's important.

Fortunately, your practicing autos meant you skillfully brought it in and the damage was relatively light, which I know is small consolation, but this is how we all learn. I suspect you'll be more watchful for this in the future, and hopefully somebody reading this will remember to inspect theirs and thus, prevent a crash of their own! Thanks for posting your experience.

billm · 07-15-2009, 08:02 PM

The fuel magnet has to sit in fuel all the time. If you offload the fuel from the tank the magnet will get dry and start to fall appart.
This is what I have done for over a year. Am I wrong? If so, let me know.

Pinecone · 07-16-2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billm

The fuel magnet has to sit in fuel all the time. If you offload the fuel from the tank the magnet will get dry and start to fall appart.
This is what I have done for over a year. Am I wrong? If so, let me know.

Not true. What destroys the foam is teh exhaust gasses left in the tank after flying with a muffler pressure system.

Purge the tank after flying and you won't have problems. Remove the line off teh muffler, and fill, then drain the tank. This pushes the gasses out and with teh line disconnected, you get fresh air back in the tank.

There is a sticky on this in the Engines section.

JJ101 · 07-16-2009, 11:50 AM

They really should make electric helicopters -

Then we wouldn't have to waste any of our valuable free time dealing with this kinda stuff -

Sorry about your bird deisel -

JJ

moore429 · 07-17-2009, 05:18 AM

I have used Hayes Black Neoprene Tubing 3/32 ID with great success. It is recommended to pre-soak it in fuel because it will stretch about 5% and fuel discolors the first couple tanks. The discoloration doesn't harm anything although it does look strange. This stuff has decent flexibility and last a long time.

billm · 07-17-2009, 10:13 PM

Thanks Pinecone.
That is what I needed to know.

07-12-2009, 07:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
deisel Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Jan 2008	warning throw the fuel line that comes with the kit away. i crashed my pantera today because the line split and fell off the nipple inside of tank,i was about 100 feet high and 10 to 15 mile a hour gust down wind and slow,it could have been a lot worse if i had,t been practicing autos. killed tail boom,pitch slider,landing gear,wash out arm

07-14-2009, 09:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
billm Registered Users Join Date: Nov 2007	"Tanks" for the heads up. You jogged my brain on service. I just pulled one of my five Pantera's tanks out after the warning. The clunk tube is mush! This tubing is a standard fuel line (not the stock tube from the tank kit) and is over a year old. The tube has sucked about 5 cases of fuel and I never thought of looking. You saved me a ship, and now I need to check all the other ships. Some of them have "fuel Magnets" and I'm sure that a total fuel tank service is due. Sorry to hear about your crash, but you sure saved me! __________________ My name is Billm. Cough, and I'm a heli holic Audacity Flight Rep

07-15-2009, 09:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
Machinehead01 Registered Users Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: U.S.A.	After flight maintence. When I first started to fly, one of the old time plankers suggested that I refuel and defuel the tank after I was done flying. He told me that the engine exhaust that goes into the tank will attack the fuel line in very short order. By fueling and then defueling the exhaust is purged from the tank and the fuel lines are cleansed. I have stayed with this practice and have never had a problem. If you are running a fuel magnet you must do this to protect the foam around the clunk anyways,so it's a good practice to get into. Thomas

07-15-2009, 11:37 AM	#7 (permalink)
jbeech Registered Users Join Date: Jul 2005	The fuel line supplied in the kit is of superb quality, but by its design, it's thin and designed to be very flexible. Consequently, it's a high maintenance item (as with all model helicopters, the fuel tank has to be removed and disassembled to clean it properly and replace the line) and thus, due to my knowing modelers like I do, I advise folks (in the manual no less) to use a thicker tubing. Moreover, as has been noted, this doesn't preclude regular maintenance because it too can fail - it's just that the interval for replacement can be extended - however, you can't neglect it forever just because it's thicker. Meanwhile, I am very sorry you crashed due to the fuel tubing, but it's not like you weren't warned in Step 4 to keep a close eye on it, e.g. Inspect and replace regularly . . . we even used bold both here and in the manual for this text because it's important. Fortunately, your practicing autos meant you skillfully brought it in and the damage was relatively light, which I know is small consolation, but this is how we all learn. I suspect you'll be more watchful for this in the future, and hopefully somebody reading this will remember to inspect theirs and thus, prevent a crash of their own! Thanks for posting your experience. __________________ John Beech - GM (and janitor) www.promodeler.com 407-302-3361 AMA # 47381, IRCHA #745

07-15-2009, 08:02 PM	#8 (permalink)
billm Registered Users Join Date: Nov 2007	The fuel magnet has to sit in fuel all the time. If you offload the fuel from the tank the magnet will get dry and start to fall appart. This is what I have done for over a year. Am I wrong? If so, let me know. __________________ My name is Billm. Cough, and I'm a heli holic Audacity Flight Rep

07-12-2009, 07:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mr.HillBilly Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Feb 2008	Yep it is junk. Not to put salt into the wound, but I think it says in the manul to replace it right off the bat. Glad to hear it was not a total loss.

07-12-2009, 07:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
deisel Registered Users Thread Starter My HF Map location Join Date: Jan 2008	i ques that's why we live and learn huh hillbilly

07-14-2009, 07:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
Eury Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Dover NH USA	Take it as a lesson learned and throw away the line that comes with ANY kit.

07-16-2009, 11:50 AM	#10 (permalink)
JJ101 Join Date: May 2009	They really should make electric helicopters - Then we wouldn't have to waste any of our valuable free time dealing with this kinda stuff - Sorry about your bird deisel - JJ

07-17-2009, 05:18 AM	#11 (permalink)
moore429 Registered Users Join Date: Jun 2008	I have used Hayes Black Neoprene Tubing 3/32 ID with great success. It is recommended to pre-soak it in fuel because it will stretch about 5% and fuel discolors the first couple tanks. The discoloration doesn't harm anything although it does look strange. This stuff has decent flexibility and last a long time.

07-17-2009, 10:13 PM	#12 (permalink)
billm Registered Users Join Date: Nov 2007	Thanks Pinecone. That is what I needed to know. __________________ My name is Billm. Cough, and I'm a heli holic Audacity Flight Rep

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