What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Extra fuel tank?

Anyone installing extra fuel??? I have a 210 with long range tanks and love the fact that I can fill with my much cheaper fuel to go out and back trips most of the time. Not having to stop on long trips is great. What are the cons on extra tanks, other than weight??
Blue Skies
Jim Wade
Empenage almost finished
 
Jim, Check with Hotel/Whiskey. Look under "SafeAir1" under advertisers on this webpage. Hotel/Whiskey builds extended range tanks for most RVs. Their workmanship is outstanding and Jeff & Chuck are super to deal with.
Mel...DAR
 
RV-10 Extended range tanks

I haven't quite decided yet which direction I will go with the extended range tanks. I have however installed attachments to the outboard section of the tanks so that I can go the Hotel Whiskey route or build my own out of fiberglass.

See my Tank attachment fittings here:

The first customer built RV-10 to fly had a fuel capacity of 120 gallons by extending the tank to the entire outboard section. If I can get an extra 10 gallons per side I will be happy.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the great info. Can't seem to find and weight on the HW tanks. Anyone have that?? I think the 120gal is big time overkill!!! If this plane is as fast as they say and we can lean her down to say 13 gph (250hp) 70 to 80 gal will give great range.
Jim
 
HW ER Weight and Capacity

The tanks hold 7.5 gallons per side and also weigh 7.5 pounds each. I am seriously considering them. I am reviewing the effects of CG now. Especially single pilot with 75 gallons total.

Tommy
 
Does anyone know if SafeAir1 is still in business? I'm just beginning my RV-10 build and looking into the different options. Extended range tanks would be a huge bonus to accomplishing a goal of flying my family internationally.

When I tried looking at their website, all I was able to pull up was a single nearly blank page with a link to their privacy policy.
 
Sorry for the blurry pic. You don't have to settle for 13 GPH unless you just want to. :D
 

Attachments

  • 0CDFFBFB-7B41-4351-AEB8-390C5E33089C.jpg
    0CDFFBFB-7B41-4351-AEB8-390C5E33089C.jpg
    314.8 KB · Views: 373
Sorry for the blurry pic. You don't have to settle for 13 GPH unless you just want to. :D

Hehe. Nope, I don't plan to settle for 13 GPH. Ideally, I'd like to get down into the 8's or 7's. But, with a goal to fly my family to the Philippines in my RV-10 (presuming Russia, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines allow E-AB's in their airspace), having both extra fuel with great fuel efficiency would be the icing on the cake.
 
Do you really think you can survive more than 5 hours non-stop without having to take a leak?
 
Anyone installing extra fuel??? I have a 210 with long range tanks and love the fact that I can fill with my much cheaper fuel to go out and back trips most of the time. Not having to stop on long trips is great. What are the cons on extra tanks, other than weight??
Blue Skies
Jim Wade
Empenage almost finished

For long-range ops, I really like the "Tuckey Tanks" or the "Mike Stewart" tanks that were a derivative of the Tuckey Tanks. Mike just added a second set of tanks screwed on. Pat used the standard skins riveted on. These add very little weight and plenty of fuel.

Here are Mike's tanks.
http://mstewart.net/super8/ertanks/Index.htm
 
For long-range ops, I really like the "Tuckey Tanks" or the "Mike Stewart" tanks that were a derivative of the Tuckey Tanks. Mike just added a second set of tanks screwed on. Pat used the standard skins riveted on. These add very little weight and plenty of fuel.

Here are Mike's tanks.
http://mstewart.net/super8/ertanks/Index.htm

Thanks, Brian! I had thought about this method but wasn't sure it was possible. Now, I know. :)
 
How far with standard tanks?
 

Attachments

  • 420FE25D-4BCC-47A3-9342-A44C0E8484AE.jpg
    420FE25D-4BCC-47A3-9342-A44C0E8484AE.jpg
    656.9 KB · Views: 229
Do you really think you can survive more than 5 hours non-stop without having to take a leak?

I'm a long-haul professional driver. I do it all the time. However, my family is a completely different story. :D

And, yes... it is all about planning.
 
Hotel Whiskey tanks

N408ZW has the Hotel Whiskey tanks. I do a lot of cross country and they provide an extra hour of fuel.
 
I urge caution when adding fuel to the wings (like replace the outboard leading edge with another tank). An RV-10 recently had the main gear collapse when landing with full fuel.

The RV-10 does however provide option for adding a ferry tank. As most people will only need the extra fuel from time to time, for many this the best way to go.

My “around the world” Lancair IV neighbor had five ferry tanks (380 gal total) in his plane. Two where the big bladder tanks, three where custom made to fit the various stow spots. The custom ones were make of honeycomb carbon fiber. For us we can scale this down to a 30 gallon race tank, mount it on one side in the back, have a three people plane and still haul all the bags you want.

Plumbing is staight forward, and I suggest incorporating a simple Facet pump as the means to transfer fuel from the ferry tank to a wing tank. Don’t forget to plumb in a 1/4” vent line - perhaps exiting the cabin in the wing root area and then down into the airstream.

Carl
 
Plumbing is staight forward, and I suggest incorporating a simple Facet pump as the means to transfer fuel from the ferry tank to a wing tank. Don’t forget to plumb in a 1/4” vent line - perhaps exiting the cabin in the wing root area and then down into the airstream.

Carl

Carl, aren't most of the Van's valves really set up for 3 tanks and we block off the 3rd port? Why wouldn't you just feed from the aux tank, which wouldn't be much, if any, different than feeding from a wing tank?
 
Fuel

"...I urge caution when adding fuel to the wings (like replace the outboard leading edge with another tank). An RV-10 recently had the main gear collapse when landing with full fuel..."

The gear collapsed with stock full tanks or with the full span tanks?

I am more likely to believe landing technique may have been a dominant causal factor than just carrying the extra fuel.

My HW tanks add an additional hour but in reality, I top them off when I find fuel for almost $1 a gallon cheaper than home base...
 
Carl, aren't most of the Van's valves really set up for 3 tanks and we block off the 3rd port? Why wouldn't you just feed from the aux tank, which wouldn't be much, if any, different than feeding from a wing tank?
Sure - but for me I prefer a T fitting on a wing fuel line in the cabin that I can cap when the ferry tank is not in the plane. That and I only us the Andair fuel valve for my planes.

Add to that my tendency to be over controlling - as in wanting to see the wing tank fuel level increase during the fuel transfer.

Many options on how to set up a ferry tank.

Carl
 
". SNIP
The gear collapsed with stock full tanks or with the full span tanks?

Full span tanks - 120 gal total. I do not have first hand knowledge but I understand the plane was repairable (new weldments and new gear legs) and the wing skins were not get damaged.

Carl
 
Wow

That is a lot of gas, kind of makes the -10 into a two seater, assuming the builder did not increase the gross weight limit...

I would still have to believe that a hard landing was involved in order to have a gear failure, though...
 
Aux Fuel

I used the Vans fuel valve specifically because of the third port. Plumbed it to a quick disconnect inside the flap cover next to the rear seat pan. Vent installed next to it through the belly. I can install and remove the 40 gal tank by myself in about 15min. Simple gravity feed to the fuel valve and a float level sensor connected to the G3X input and the fuel quantity is reliably measured.
 
Last edited:
I urge caution when adding fuel to the wings (like replace the outboard leading edge with another tank). An RV-10 recently had the main gear collapse when landing with full fuel.

Isn't that why you're supposed to use the fuel in the aux tanks first? That's what I would do, at least.
 
Isn't that why you're supposed to use the fuel in the aux tanks first? That's what I would do, at least.

I wouldn't think where the fuel is would make the gear fail. The quantity (weight) of fuel and other stuff would, as would the quality of the landing.
 
That's 360# of extra fuel. Same as two average pax. Depending on other things, that aircraft could still have been well below factory-recommended gross weight.
 
Do you really think you can survive more than 5 hours non-stop without having to take a leak?

I'm with you. And to be completely honest, I get too stiff and my backside starts to hurt after sitting much longer than 3.5 hours, and worse yet, SWMBO will start poking me around 3 and I had best have a good reason for not landing by 3.5 and we had best be rolling out by 4 hours....that's a long leg for me these days.

When I started planning my -10 years ago, I very much wanted the extra range, but now, not so much. It's not the fuel tank that's the problem, it's the internal tanks.

But, I love reading about the innovation, so to each their own.
 
Waiting.......Waiting......

Dear all, may I first intruduce myself, I'm an italian pilot, former pwner of a Cessna 182 turbo, and sold it to build an RV 10 together wit an expert friend, I ordered the kit in August 2021 and will have to wait unjtil November 2022 :(
Anyway the expectations are high, meannwhile I fly a Tecnam P92 as an internim ultralight.
I'm very interested in expanding teh RV10 fuel capacity.Does someone have a link to suppliers?

Thank you
Cinghio
 
90 gallon tanks

This was built by Jesse Saint.
 

Attachments

  • B55DBE13-1E5F-4DB0-BA74-DCFB0ABB7C98.jpg
    B55DBE13-1E5F-4DB0-BA74-DCFB0ABB7C98.jpg
    171.6 KB · Views: 189
is it a separate tank? How are they connected? I'm planning to build something very close to this. I have ordered the extra tank parts and my wing goes into kitting mid March.
 
is it a separate tank? How are they connected? I'm planning to build something very close to this. I have ordered the extra tank parts and my wing goes into kitting mid March.

Do you have a parts list that you used for the additional tank?
 
This is what I ordered. Should be plenty of parts to build a larger tank. Haven't found anyone else doing this nor can I seem to get info. I went through plans and picked out these parts. I hope they will meet the need. Your results may vary.
 

Attachments

  • tank parts.JPG
    tank parts.JPG
    32.1 KB · Views: 92
is it a separate tank? How are they connected? I'm planning to build something very close to this. I have ordered the extra tank parts and my wing goes into kitting mid March.

I would reach out to Jesse Saint, I think he has delivered several of these.
 
I'm building the 10 and installing the dual fuel tanks. I'm looking for a flight manual or POH of RV10 with the additional tanks. Would someone be so kind as to share the document with me?
 
:) I appreciate your advice but it's too late for me to change the course. Besides, I do really need those 120 gallons
As the 14 is concerned, I build one as per plans and wouldn't change anything. That plane is perfect just the way it is

Anyone could share with me a POH of RV10 with dual tanks?
 
Back
Top