Today I put the access hole cover on my right tank (RV7a slow build) and could not resist trying a leak test (Van's leak test kit). Oh boy does this tank leak.
The inboard upper corner were baffle, skin, and ribs meet leaks audibly. My balloon deflates in seconds.
Looking to see if there is more bad news, I sprayed soapy water on the baffle to skin joint and the outboard ribs.
The baffle leaks in about 6 (or so) places (large bubbles) along the lower joint. The upper joint has large bubbles near the outboard end. Many rivets in the upper joint show small bubbles. Spraying the Z-Brackets, I found one place with tiny bubbles.
These joints were sealed and riveted one week ago and it has been cool (probably 50 to 65 in my garage) here in CA. All baffle rivets were squeezed to exactly the right shop head size but it appears that there is a good .01" gap between the skin and the baffle (from which soapy water comes squishing now).
Admittedly I used ProSeal quite sparingly when riveting the stiffeners and ribs (and I have not checked them for leaks yet), but when it came to the baffle, I put a solid 1/8" bead just ahead of the rivet hole line (onto the skin) and placed gobs of glue in every corner. When inspected from the inside (as far as I could see), there was a nice bead squishing out of the corner everywhere.
To be frank, I feel dismayed about this problem. What options do I have? What did I do wrong (I am in the process of building the second tank)?
I just googled "sloshing sealant" and found that they exist and a bunch of safety advice about how they have brought down planes. There seems no mention of these on this forum. Is there experience with these (or opinions)?
Should I first of all pull the acess hole cover back off (it is easy to clean now)? Should I try to squeeze the baffle rivets harder?
There seems to be no point trying to address the leaks one by one? There seem to be too many and they seem too big.
Shall I put the tank in a corner for two or three weeks to give the sealant more time to cure? Or did I ruin that chance with this leak test ...
The inboard upper corner were baffle, skin, and ribs meet leaks audibly. My balloon deflates in seconds.
Looking to see if there is more bad news, I sprayed soapy water on the baffle to skin joint and the outboard ribs.
The baffle leaks in about 6 (or so) places (large bubbles) along the lower joint. The upper joint has large bubbles near the outboard end. Many rivets in the upper joint show small bubbles. Spraying the Z-Brackets, I found one place with tiny bubbles.
These joints were sealed and riveted one week ago and it has been cool (probably 50 to 65 in my garage) here in CA. All baffle rivets were squeezed to exactly the right shop head size but it appears that there is a good .01" gap between the skin and the baffle (from which soapy water comes squishing now).
Admittedly I used ProSeal quite sparingly when riveting the stiffeners and ribs (and I have not checked them for leaks yet), but when it came to the baffle, I put a solid 1/8" bead just ahead of the rivet hole line (onto the skin) and placed gobs of glue in every corner. When inspected from the inside (as far as I could see), there was a nice bead squishing out of the corner everywhere.
To be frank, I feel dismayed about this problem. What options do I have? What did I do wrong (I am in the process of building the second tank)?
I just googled "sloshing sealant" and found that they exist and a bunch of safety advice about how they have brought down planes. There seems no mention of these on this forum. Is there experience with these (or opinions)?
Should I first of all pull the acess hole cover back off (it is easy to clean now)? Should I try to squeeze the baffle rivets harder?
There seems to be no point trying to address the leaks one by one? There seem to be too many and they seem too big.
Shall I put the tank in a corner for two or three weeks to give the sealant more time to cure? Or did I ruin that chance with this leak test ...