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That sinking feeling.....1/4 scale floats leak!!

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That sinking feeling.....1/4 scale floats leak!!

Old 06-15-2019, 09:06 PM
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outacontrol41
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Default That sinking feeling.....1/4 scale floats leak!!

I bought a pair of Hangar 9 floats just before they were discontinued, finally got around to attaching them to my 1/4 scale Hangar 9 J-3 Cub. Took it to my pond to do a float test and they failed! Both sides leak! After the first test I took the plane back to my shop and sealed the rudder to float attachment with J-B Weld and looked for and sealed any and all pin holes I found on the bottoms. Took back to the pond and failed again. There must be a hair line crack in a seam somewhere. Looking for suggestions.
No the floats were not dropped or struck by any object,,,fresh out of the box and onto the plane.
Old 06-16-2019, 04:46 AM
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rgburrill
 
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Put a coat of MinWax polyurethane on them.
Old 06-16-2019, 06:54 AM
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Propworn
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Had a set of floats that did the same thing and everything we tried to seal them eventually failed again as the seams/cracks opened up. What finally worked was to fill them with expanding foam. We found a two part mix used for floatation in boats. You have to be careful not to use to much as the expansion of the foam will distort the float. We cut a few one inch holes along the top of the float then mixed up small amounts of the two part foam and poured it inside. The expanding foam filled the float a bit at a time as we did it in stages. The foam as well as filling the floats also glued everything together. These floats are still in use several years later. I suppose one could use the spray in insulation foam if one was careful. I even bet the polyurethane glues like gorilla glue and a spritz of water would expand and stick the floats together likewise.

PS the foam has to be closed cell so it does not absorb any water.

Dennis
Old 06-16-2019, 08:46 AM
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outacontrol41
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Originally Posted by Propworn
Had a set of floats that did the same thing and everything we tried to seal them eventually failed again as the seams/cracks opened up. What finally worked was to fill them with expanding foam. We found a two part mix used for floatation in boats. You have to be careful not to use to much as the expansion of the foam will distort the float. We cut a few one inch holes along the top of the float then mixed up small amounts of the two part foam and poured it inside. The expanding foam filled the float a bit at a time as we did it in stages. The foam as well as filling the floats also glued everything together. These floats are still in use several years later. I suppose one could use the spray in insulation foam if one was careful. I even bet the polyurethane glues like gorilla glue and a spritz of water would expand and stick the floats together likewise.

PS the foam has to be closed cell so it does not absorb any water.

Dennis
Thanks Dennis. That's quite an effort just to stop a leak or two. Will take in consideration.

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