Has anyone ever seen this put inside a fuel tank?

It is like a filler neck collar inside the full tank under the fuel cap. It is from a 73 182P.

The fuel cap chain was attached to it....and the large ring became detached and was just hanging by the fuel cap chain. I have looked in the parts manual and no such luck finding it.

Does anyone know what this would be used for and why?

It was just attached with adhesive only.

Thanks


Macdon221

I have no idea, but a guess - maybe to help stop fuel from splashing back out the filler hole?

That was a thought that I had as well, but the caps should not leak if they are adjusted and closed properly.

I also tought maybe put there to prevent damage to the bladders from fuel nozzles.....but that would be a long shot guess.

Still confused on its purpose or why someone would add it.


Macdon221

Looks like what you see on home generators, tractors, etc- where there is a removable screen filter that sits under the gas cap??

Or a device that only lets you insert the correctly-sized fuel nozzle, like a diesel-sized opening vs a gasoline-sized opening on an automobile??

There was no screen attached.

Also the ring is about twice the diameter size of the opening for the fuel cap.


Macdon221

macdon221 wrote:

Has anyone ever seen this put inside a fuel tank?

It is like a filler neck collar inside the full tank under the fuel cap. It is from a 73 182P.

The fuel cap chain was attached to it....and the large ring became detached and was just hanging by the fuel cap chain. I have looked in the parts manual and no such luck finding it.

Does anyone know what this would be used for and why?

It was just attached with adhesive only.

Thanks


Macdon221

When you fill a tank to the top it gives a little indication before fuel comes splashing out (small splash before big splash). There is a little hole that lets the fuel equalize a little slower than just a plain hole on the top of the wing.
Just a guess but it probably came loose from letting the fuel nozzle hang in the hole???

We had them on our 182's. I'm not sure if it was their only purpose but the maintainers used them as a partial fuel reference during refuel to make sure we always had the right planning fuel on board.

CamTom12 wrote:We had them on our 182's. I'm not sure if it was their only purpose but the maintainers used them as a partial fuel reference during refuel to make sure we always had the right planning fuel on board.

Bingo! That collar is a partial fuel quantity indicator. Fill the tank to the bottom of the collar, and you have X amount of gas.

Common on all the Cessnas with big tanks.

MTV

Our rental Piper Cherokee had a tab that indicated 18 gal left in the tank.

So are these fuel indicators collars just a field add on or is an acutal STC product?


Macdon221

The, to use your term, "collar" is a component part of the fuel filler assembly and was installed at the factory as part of the filler. These were original on both the original fillers and the Cessna small raised cap fillers starting I believe in the early 1960's if not before. I agree that they are commonly used partial fuel load quantity indicators. But I don't think that was the purpose since I reviewed several 180/185 Owners Manuals and none of them indicated a fuel quantity to the bottom of the collar. Cessna does say that with long range tanks filling at the inboard caps results in 5 less gallons of useable fuel per side.

Tim

mtv wrote:

CamTom12 wrote:We had them on our 182's. I'm not sure if it was their only purpose but the maintainers used them as a partial fuel reference during refuel to make sure we always had the right planning fuel on board.

Bingo! That collar is a partial fuel quantity indicator. Fill the tank to the bottom of the collar, and you have X amount of gas.

Common on all the Cessnas with big tanks.

MTV

Although they could certainly be used for that, wouldn't you think if that was the intended use, Cessna would mention that in a manual somewhere?

I haven't seen any references?

Thanks for all the insight.

But these were just adhered with adhesive. No rivets, welds, tabs or anything.

Seems odd that that's the way something would be joined inside the tank...two metal pieces.


Macdon221

From an engineering point of view, I guess there are several possible reasons for them being glued on.

Example, on the Bearhawk the filler necks are welded onto the tank. If someone gets into the lazy habit of leaning the fuel dispenser against the neck, the neck transfers that force to the tank - which then cracks at the weld. That's bad.

The only downside of it being glued on is it might be knocked off and drop into the tank. This is annoying, but not immediately dangerous.

I've seen them on a 182B.
Have seen references to the "tabs" as a quantity indicator, but I can't find anything in the original manual either. Does that mean full fuel is all the way flush to the cap?

SteveCanyon59 wrote:I've seen them on a 182B.
Have seen references to the "tabs" as a quantity indicator, but I can't find anything in the original manual either. Does that mean full fuel is all the way flush to the cap?

It seems like Bonanza's have that but not for sure.

So... These are not in the parts or maintenance manual; not in the POH.... But they seem to be quite prevalent on the 182.

So what gives here? Does not make sense to me.


Macdon221

macdon221 wrote:So... These are not in the parts or maintenance manual; not in the POH.... But they seem to be quite prevalent on the 182.

So what gives here? Does not make sense to me.


Macdon221

It is a factory part. All of the single engine tanks with bladders use them. it comes as a complete unit all glued together.

Perhaps Cessna was using the time-honored method used in the military at that time: Anything to confuse the troops.

Cary