Hey everyone,

I'm looking for anyone that has some experience with the recessed Cessna caps on early models. My new 205 has them and I'm looking at options to deal with them.

Obviously the best, and most costly option is to put Monarchs on. Since the plane will be hangered all year except for when out on camping trips, the number of times external water will be an issue is fairly low. So, if I can find a good alternative, that would let me take the money to put towards other projects and move this one down the list a little.

Second thought was to buy the caps made by Stay Sealed. Unfortunately it looks like they have stopped making them and I can't find any for the recessed caps anywhere.

Third, I thought maybe I could redneck a good alternative. My friend recommended a couple of toilet plungers suctioned over the caps.

The last option would be to do the Cessna kit. Not sure on the cost of it, but if it was much at all, I'd just put the money towards the Monarchs.

So, anyone out there have a creative solution?

Thanks,

GSP

Don't know what the Monarch caps cost but I know they work.

Had the killer covers on one of the 180's. The reputation is well earned if you operate in rain country. If you're in a hangar in UT and are consistent with sumping your tanks if you've been outside in the rain, I doubt they will bother you much.

Yeah, my biggest concern is during the summer being at places JC with all the dew on the wings or getting rained on while out camping. Most of the year, it shouldn't be an issue. Thus why I'd like to find a good solution for now, put the cash towards some other mods, then come back to replacing them in the not so distant future.

I've had two airplanes converted from killer caps to the Cessna kit. The Cessna kits have worked great for me, even with the airplanes tied down outside in the rain, and they're a fraction of the cost of the other kits. I've never had a drop of water in the tanks with the Cessna kit. Kind of hard to believe that there are still killer caps out there flying. I got 5 fuel samplers full of water out of one tank before I had them replaced on a 182 I'd just gotten. Scary stuff.

CAVU

Wing covers (water proof) that are only about 1-2 feet wide and long enough to wrap around the leading edge and trailing edge and buckle under the wing with straps to cover the caps? Better looking than two "Redneck toilet suction caps"

The 180H and A185F had, plus the 180H I have now all had/have the Cessna umbrella caps, SK 182-85 raised caps installed. There are lots of then available on the used market, either at salvage yards or ebay. There have been a few post on the Cessna Pilots Association site plus elsewhere regarding sealing problems with the Monarch caps. Each to there own, but my choice would be the Cessna kit. For a short term solution, check the condition of the O rings and replace if required. The tension on the latch is also adjustable. And as a last step, 30 years ago I flew an Aerostar for a charter company. It had the killer style cap, we had to leave the caps unlatched when parked outside with the fuel tanks full do to the design of the vent system and pressure building up when the fuel expanded as the day warmed up causing wet wing rivet leaks. In the case of the Aerostar the caps were out near the wing tip, we had a canvas bag for each wing we slipped over the end to cover the cap, worked well, maybe you could make a cover to go over that part of the wing or use a cabin cover which extended out over the fuel caps.

Tim

Just buy a set of Monarch caps. They work. And, I parked airplanes outside for many years.

MTV

bat443 wrote:The 180H and A185F had, plus the 180H I have now all had/have the Cessna umbrella caps, SK 182-85 raised caps installed. There are lots of then available on the used market, either at salvage yards or ebay. There have been a few post on the Cessna Pilots Association site plus elsewhere regarding sealing problems with the Monarch caps. Each to there own, but my choice would be the Cessna kit. For a short term solution, check the condition of the O rings and replace if required. The tension on the latch is also adjustable. And as a last step, 30 years ago I flew an Aerostar for a charter company. It had the killer style cap, we had to leave the caps unlatched when parked outside with the fuel tanks full do to the design of the vent system and pressure building up when the fuel expanded as the day warmed up causing wet wing rivet leaks. In the case of the Aerostar the caps were out near the wing tip, we had a canvas bag for each wing we slipped over the end to cover the cap, worked well, maybe you could make a cover to go over that part of the wing or use a cabin cover which extended out over the fuel caps.

Tim

Someone correct me if I'm off here, but the Cessna kit looks to be the same as the caps on just about any Cessna. The flying club keeps our planes outside year round and I've never had any water in the tanks. So, if they are the same, I'd have a hard time justifying spending more. Any idea what a Cessna kit runs? Monarch want $700. I've got a line on a set from a salvage place, but Monarch still wants nearly $200 for transferring the STC.

The Cessna caps referred to as "killer caps" have a toggle lever that latches them. You put the cap, which has if I remember correctly 3 tabs, in the filler opening, turn clockwise a little ways to the stop to engage the tabs and fold the toggle lever down flush with the cap to latch/seal. The last set I actually had were on the tip and aux tanks of a Cessna 310Q, you can look at the tip tanks of any later model 310 to see what they look like. The Cessna service caps are the same as on any 150/152/172. The filler neck in the adapter part of the service kit is raised slightly above the wing surface, about 1/8 inch, allowing the water to run away. If the caps you have on your 205 do not have the toggle and don't lay flush with the top surface of the wing, then you don't have the "killer caps". I hope this helps.

Tim

58Skylane wrote:Wing covers (water proof) that are only about 1-2 feet wide and long enough to wrap around the leading edge and trailing edge and buckle under the wing with straps to cover the caps? Better looking than two "Redneck toilet suction caps"

Yup!

Emory Bored wrote:

58Skylane wrote:Wing covers (water proof) that are only about 1-2 feet wide and long enough to wrap around the leading edge and trailing edge and buckle under the wing with straps to cover the caps? Better looking than two "Redneck toilet suction caps"

Yup!

And try to keep those on in a wind....

MTV

I installed the Cessna Raised caps on the inboard locations and Monarch caps on the outboard (long range tanks) on all 3 206s. I had a set of the Cessna SK raised caps leak at the spot welded assy. In the desert, new tanks and SK caps, major annual, wash the plane and water in the fuel. WTF. Tracked down the problem, drilled apart the caps at the spot welds and found gaps in the PRC. Sealed them, riveted them back together, leak checked and put back into service. Had a new set of Monarchs siphon fuel and put me in a bad situation one night. There is a vent hole in the "Tab" in the tank cover that looks like it was drilled to high and into the cap seal. If I put the seal upside down on the cap it worked. Special flapper on the Monarchs supposed to prevent that but just gets hung up on the nozzle, cant see into the tank during refulling. One filler lost its tab, bonded on, cant remember which manufacture. The turbine has a set of locking, flush, wide opening, caps from the exp world with 2 O ring seals. I didnt have them tight enough and the bladders pulled down. We are still testing them. Long ago I tried to keep repairing the old wide caps. I guess what ever you decide, test them, stay close to home until you trust them.

went thru the same process as you,i went with monarks.seem to be best option.(for me anyway)

X3 Spend the money the first time once and for all. MONARCHS. The issues with leaking are all past history and have been taken care of a long time ago. Clean install and no screwing around with covers and other bandaid fixes. I never find any water in my sumps, even after sitting outside with melting snow and rain. Bite your lip and write the check.....

This past summer, I flew with a friend to a remote cabin way up north in canada in the middle of no where. During the flight, he was telling me the story while on two occasions, fuel had somehow siphoned out of one of his tanks through his monarch cap as evidenced by heavy fuel staining after the cap. When he investigated, He noticed that the rubber o ring under the cap was compressed on one side and that appeared to be the source of the leak. He visited monarch at Oshkosh, and the guy pulled out a bag of about 500 O rings and gave him a few. ( do you kinda wonder why he was carrying so many orings??)
Anyway, next day we went to fuel up with our Jerry cans and noticed fuel stains all over the right wing We estimated we lost about 15 gallons of fuel while in the air. We made it to a fueling station with 4 gallons to spare.

Since then, I've spoken to another person that have had the exact same problem. The fix, if your in a pinch somewhere, is to flip the oring. Good luck if this happens on a cross country flight with little refueling options and your not paying close attention to your crappy fuel gauge.

I refer them now as "monarch death caps". Although many are happy with them, the people I spoke with are not and are considering removing them after their experience. According to them, monarch is doing nothing about the issue. There is a local aircraft engineer that is familiar with the issue and considering filing a report with transport Canada ( Canadian equivalent of FAA) I would assume the issue is rare, but wouldn't take the chance myself. Really dangerous. Just my 2 cents.

I posted on this last year on a different website and just looked at my post. Noticed that 4-5 guys reported they had the same problem. Uncontrolled and unknown fuel siphoning in flight is not a comforting thought.

Garth

Thanks for that info, Garth! I have the Monarchs and I'll keep an eye on those O-Rings.

Good info. Thanks guys!

Just my 2 cents worth but my 1960 180 has the Cessna fush caps and the plane must live out on the open so I change the o rings every year and have never found water in the fuel!! kust make sure the closing pressure is set right. We get Snow ,rain and lots of dew. Good luck

Thanks. I was unaware that they were adjustable. I'll look into it and check mine. Where do you buy the o-rings for them?