Coke Bottle Fuel Tank

Tue Jul 26 05:25:28 AKDT 2005

Wayne-o

Are you crazy-mon? First, the bottles are Polyethyl tera phthalate....and 
are NOT chemical resistant.  Let me provide and example that I know  you 
can understand....BEER.

Whether you realize it or not, beer has alcohol in it. Alcohol is deemed 
in some parts of my industry as a "solvent". Other view it as "essential", 
but thats another story. Until very recently, did you ever notice that 
beer NEVER came in plastic bottles? Even now only beer without any real 
taste (its raining beer!) comes in plastic, so they can sell the stuff up 
north where the football fans like to throw things at the Dallas Cowboys. 
Shrinkage comes from one of two things, first you swam in the cold water 
way too long, or second you leached out what is reffered to as a 
"plasticizer". A plasticizer is an additive that allows the grocery store 
idiot to drop that bottle of coke without explosion. It also is the stuff 
that you just ran thru your engine. When it croaks, or when your glow plug 
croaks you will now have an obvious reason.
Beer uses ethyl alcohol, we use Methyl, which is much more aggressive as a 
solvent. Our real fuel tanks are made from polypropylene, which is VERY 
chemical resistant in is un-plasticized form. As a matter of fact, if you 
buy Methyl alcohol, it comes in polypropylene drum, because it will 
corrode steel. As a matter of fact most fuel comes in polypropylene 
containers.....ones with steel cans have an epoxy coating in them.

And now to debunk another myth........the above plastics are 
"thermoplastic" epoxy is "thermoset". Epoxy  (thermosets) does not get 
brittle with age, unless you the user add some crap to it.  5 minute stuff 
WILL as it is accidently plasticized by all the stuff used to jack up the 
reaction.

And one last thing.......... Beer + Plastic = bad taste, and as my 
Chemistry 101 professor so diligently demonstrated in mathimatical terms, 
you should never drink light beer.....Instead, drink a real beer, followed 
by 10.52 ounces of water, then a real beer and another 10.52 ounces of 
water. Your caloric intake will be the same as 4 light beers, but at least 
you got to drink 2 real beers. 

Gray Fowler
Principal Chemical Engineer
Composites Engineering

"wgalligan" <wgalligan at cnbcom.net> 
Sent by: discussion-request at nsrca.org
07/25/2005 09:54 PM
Please respond to
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Subject
Re: Coke Bottle Fuel Tank

I am using Cool Power 15% and my bottle is still the same size as when I
installed.  Must be the componants of the fuel your using.   Interesting 
non
the less.

Wayne

----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Ramsey" <don.ramsey at cox.net>
To: <discussion at nsrca.org>
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 9:27 PM
Subject: Re: Coke Bottle Fuel Tank

> Wayne,
>
> The one I got from you has shrunk as much as mine did.  Quess it's the 
Mag
> 2.  I'll get it back to you in Lubbock.
>
> Don
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Wayne Galligan" <wgalligan at goodsonacura.com>
> To: <discussion at nsrca.org>
> Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 6:09 PM
> Subject: Coke Bottle Fuel Tank
>
>
> > Well I have to say I had a grand time at my first NATS.   Something I
> > dreamed about going to since reading about it when it was in Lake
Charles
> > LA
> > back in the 70's I believe.  I got initiated with the proverbial
> > mechanical
> > issues that never seem to be a problem at local contests and then I 
was
> > nearly DQ'd for not being ready at the line(read the lineup wrong) but
> > made
> > it with 10 sec's to spare.
> >
> > The Coke bottle fuel tank got a lot of talk and Don Ramsey ended up
> > getting
> > my spare.  This was Todd Blose and B.W. Ponders idea from last years
NATS
> > to
> > save making weight.  I expanded on this by using the rubber stopper 
and
> > back
> > from my Du-Bro tank and just screwing it to the regular cap  Seems he
used
> > one of the water bottle variety and it is obviously made of a 
different
> > plastic then the Coke bottle.  Don's bottle was actually shrinking.
After
> > a
> > dead stick on his final maneuver and just barely making it back to the
> > runway he discovered he was out of fuel.  On further review he noticed
his
> > tank had shrunk quite a bit.   The one I have in my plane is almost 4
> > weeks
> > old and is holding its shape OK.  Good news is its just a matter of
> > polishing off another Coke and rinsing out the bottle to replace it.
> >
> > Nice to put faces with all the posts.
> >
> > Smooth Flying...
> >
> > Wayne Galligan
> > NSRCA 3582  D6 ADV.
> >
> >
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