Rant......Pre assembled fuel tanks.

[flycanic]

I just assembled a 20cc Aero-plus edge 540 v3 from Mile High RC and was very impressed with the quality of the ARF and the assembled AERO-PLUS tank with the metal cap and heavier duty fitting=s and the thinker material. All the hinges are the gray ROBART hinge point hinges, the ball links are of better Quality and come with double composite horns for every surface so the ball link is in the center of the horns. Servo's bays in the Wing halves have the covering removed and have a half moon slot between the servo mounting screws for the servo wire to drop through, and the Light ply used is of top quality. The bottom four fuse formers are reinforced with carbon rods inlaid in the runners, all up flying weight came out at 7.4 lbs with a new DLE 20

 

[flycanic]

Wow! That brings back memories of my family's livestock transportation business. Glider kits, yes. Early kenworth chassis were assembled in our shop with old Cummins 200's. Then transitioned to freightliners with Detriot 318's. Then to 8v92's then to Cat 10L and 12L. Quite a transition from 1940 to 2000 when the business closed. Sorry for the tangent. Just cool stuff!

Memories for sure. The last three we assembled were the Double cab H model Pete's, Tall large volume radiator's with 3408 Cat engines and three axle set ups for Heavy haul Operations, great times, Kinda got off the topic. The twin cabs were great so I could carry planes with me in my travels

 

[Bhughes]

Really I thought they were better then the 4 titude tanks. I always feel like I'm gonna crush them lol

 

[camss69]

I had a Fortitude tank, lasted about 20 flights and cracked between the fueling fitting and the breather fitting. I emailed fortitude several times and no reply. Soo in the trash it went and replaced by a PSP cap and Fiji bottle. So far no leaks (knock on wood) and that will be the way I go from now on. To not return an email is just bad business. I only asked if there was any kind of warranty figuring maybe mine was a freak failure but now I know I'm not the only one. My clunk line was too short also, I kept gas in it like the instructions said and the clunk line was stiff after less than a year. The Fiji/PSP gets Viton which is what should be in the fortitude tank. The Fortitude is J U N K and the guy that sells it knows it because he won't return emails.

 

[flycanic]

As I stated in an Earlier post. Tanks are a personal preference. No need to Trash the manufacturer over an inexpensive Item. If you do not like the product don't use it

 

[camss69]

As I stated in an Earlier post. Tanks are a personal preference. No need to Trash the manufacturer over an inexpensive Item. If you do not like the product don't use it

If it fails, and it fails in a way that can bring the plane down and the manufacturer won't return emails then he's fair game in my book. He could have taken care of the issue and my post would have been to his favor or a warning but when you handle your business the way he is then I'm going to speak up.

The directions indicate that if I leave fuel in the tank that the clunk line won't get stuff.. It did. I installed it the way the directions indicate and it cracked. I attempted to contact the manufacturer to resolve my issue he won't return my email. The clunk line was a good solid inch from the back of the tank.. So if I go into a hover there's a good possibility I could run out of gas with gas still left in the tank.

These are very expensive planes I don't think I need to tell that to anyone here. The tank failures could cost a fellow modeler their plane. Why would I not share my experience with my fellow modelers? Saying they are junk is valid IMO, nobody likes hearing what they are using is junk. I understand that.. So I will say this instead.. I would recommend using one of the other options available when it comes to fuel tanks for giant scale planes.

 

[Bunky.F.Knuckle]

Its not bashing, if its the truth. Also, we are just stating opinions as well.

If someone has good luck with a product that is sketchy, I will wish them good luck. But to be cautious of possible problems.

 

[Bhughes]

Lol that last rant is kinda funny. A felt clunks just needs fuel to splash it. Have you looked at a fuel tank that's half or 1/4 full while the motor is running. The fuel is flying all over the place. It's been proven that a felt clunk will suck every last drop out of a tank before the motor runs out. There's vids and I've seen it first hand lol. Just my opinion each to his own I guess.

 

[Terryscustom]

I will agree, the clunk about an inch from the back is not an issue, I've seen many of them run dry and there is not even a drop of fuel in the tank left. I build mine with about 3/4" left from the back.
The lines getting hard though does suck because the caps are glued on, Viton lines would last for many years instead of one or so. I've switched to Viton recently inside tanks, but have a couple of tanks that I built with actual tygon (DuBro tygon) that are three years old and still fine. Non-labeled knock off "Tygon" is never good for very long.

Sorry my intent was not to bash any particular brand or companies product. Just a rant for being pissed with two new airplanes with gas in them.

 

[Bhughes]

+1 on the real Tygon it does last longer. Good thing you only need viton inside the tank man is that stuff expensive lol