Caught my first water from sump.

just a little bit there.. sump a bit more and make sure to get the gascolator, then go fly
 
luvflyin said:
Find out why
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That's like how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop...the world may never know.

If it recurs, there's something to figure out...but a one-off not so much.
 
Only time I ever had water in the sump was the morning of my PPL checkride. During preflight the DPE said I didn't need to worry about sumping fuel and I told him nope, I had water that morning and wanted to make sure there wasn't any more. He praised me for making a good decision.
 
I found water lots of times in the 150 I did most of my pre-solo training in. Hard to believe I was stupid enough to trust that plane back then.

I have not found water since, and today would consider it good reason to investigate to find out why it happened, if I did.
 
Found about 6 drops of water in the Cherokee over 4 years. Found absolutely nothing in the Comanche over 9 years - even when left out in torrential downpours.
 
Instructing a guy who bought a '71 C172 to learn to fly in. Every time we fly he gets water from the wing tank sumps. So yesterday I decided to show a new student what water actually looked like in the sump check thingy, walked over to the 172 and sumped it. No wa-wa!
 
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Water in Cessna tanks is often due to the little red rubber silicone check valve in the cap getting old and sagging. Heavy rain or snowmelt pushes water up against the crosswise vent holes in the top flange of the cap (that thing you grab to twist the cap) and it trickles into the tank. New caps stop it. Or buy the Monarch STC and stop it forever.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Water in Cessna tanks is often due to the little red rubber silicone check valve in the cap getting old and sagging. Heavy rain or snowmelt pushes water up against the crosswise vent holes in the top flange of the cap (that thing you grab to twist the cap) and it trickles into the tank. New caps stop it. Or buy the Monarch STC and stop it forever.
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Yep guy with the '71 above says $150 for each new cap. What's the Monarch STC Dan, he might be interested in that. He just had a mag replaced so he's finding out about ownership fast.
 
iflyvfr said:
Tell him to shop around, http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/cessnaparts8.php?clickkey=9569 Also, Real Gaskets makes new fuel cap gaskets for Cessna & some others.
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Yes, sometimes the gaskets are cracked, or the nylon washer under the gasket is split, or the whole affair has lost its tension on the filler flange. But the only way I've found to fix that sagging check valve is to buy a new cap. There IS a part number for the check valve but it's not available. I wish someone would make it.
 
mscard88 said:
Instructing a guy who bought a '71 C172 to learn to fly in. Every time we fly he gets water from the wing tank sumps. So yesterday I decided to show a new student what water actually looked like in the sump check thingy, walked over to the 172 and sumped it. No wa-wa!
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Tell him to buy new caps. Sheesh. :)

Besides the aforementioned cap vent (and he does have to check if both sides on his are vented or not and buy the right ones - know a Cessna owner who assumed, and they changed over the years), the rubber ring around the base of the flat caps cracks and water can get in that way also.

If he has the recessed caps he should literally just pitch them in the trash and go Monarch STC. That stupid Monarch cap is just an 80’s GM cap, and when an 80’s GM part of any kind does a better job than anything on the planet, you know the original really really sucked. Ha.
 
There was one plane that I used to rent from an individual that got a LOT of water in the tanks while it sat in the Oregon rain. I don't remember if it took half an hour or an hour to get it all out. It was obvious that there were leaks somewhere!
 
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