Just bought an old Acme U-1 fuel tank at an LHS, and I was wondering about the capacity.  I was recently gifted with a Top Flite (B)arf Flite Streak, and have heard that the included tank is not worth having.  Looking at the fuse, it is apparent that it might not be too cool to instal one of my Veco, K&B, or even Fox or McCoy .35s.  Based on what I've read, I will probably go with with a Fox Schnuerle .25, even though I've also read that that might be too much engine, and that I should get an OS .25 LA.  I was thinking that for the Fox, about a 2 ounce tank should be about right, since I get 14 to 18 minute flights with the Fox in RC on 4 ounces.  Any suggestions?  The tank looks close to 2 ounces.  Even came with a metal strap to secure the tank to a profile fuse.

         I was always under the impression the number following the U indicated the ounces. I've used several of their tanks and I'm pretty sure the U models are just that shaped like a U. Others refer to them as boiler tanks. They do work well at least for most of my Mccoy engines and Fox's. Now for the bad news, they corrode horribly and leak equally as well. The brass is very thin and when I would start the profiles I had them mounted on,  I would wrap my hand around the front of the fuse and squeeze the tank as well. This caused the tank to rupture about 3 times before I knew what was doing it. The seam on the backside would split until I took the end caps off and gave it a thorough cleaning and soldered it. The insides were horrifying. Corrosion takes place in there even if the tank is brand new. I have redone about 3 of these tanks and it requires a lot of handwork to get all the corrosion out and the brass cleaned up so it can be used again. At least for me it took about 2.5 hours to do the job thoroughly. Another problem that I discovered was the pickup tube is not soldered adequately and this causes aggravation beyond belief in the runs of the engine. If it is soldered correctly the tube work hardens from vibration and generally splits right up the length of it. This is where copper is important as it seems to be more durable in that application.I still like the tanks they just need a little bit of work initially. You can easily pop the caps off over a range top to check inside and easily replace the plumbing. As for the size I think for a .25 size plane depending on what or how you want to fly it a 2 oz. tank seems to be a bit light on capacity. I know a Flite Streak has a short nose so finding an adequate size there is somewhat a pain. Chicken Hopper tanks from Eric Rule at RSM can be very helpful for those short nose jobs. I don't think your engine choices are out of line for that plane. I just think a OS LA.25 makes a very good choice for it though. It also doesn't pump tons of castor oil all over the plane which could cause covering failures with the stuff they use on the arf's. I've had a lot more success with the modern engines due to the lesser amounts of residual oil they leave. The Streak though is known for its nose sometimes being problematic and I've seen some of them come off in flight. I'm knocking on wood due to mine being in good shape after owning it for 3 years now. I use a LA .25 on mine and I love it. I've seen them fly well with several Fox engines on them and some of them using tanks on the inboard side. Ken

   I wouldn't use an Acme tank of a model i intended to run the engine on and fly. They are brass and today's fuel will turn it butt ugly pretty quickly. A greenish type goo grows in them, at least the ones I have had cross my path have. Polish them up nicely for a display model, that's a different thing altogether. Why use a good tank for that purpose? SIG had these listed in their catalog for years but I really don't think they sold very many. I think Acme had been out of business long ago and SIG was either selling of their own stock or maybe bout out the existing stock to sell. They had them listed pretty cheap but after using one of=r two that wasn't enough to make me want to buy more. I have several used ones if any one wants them!!
 
  Type at you later,

   Dan McEntee

Brass is copper and zinc and methanol attacks zinc...Nice conversation piece along with a three legged dog.  For show and tell at meetings..