Tank Bracket Install

[Juan Valentin]

Hello
              I made a tank for my Ringmaster and when it came the time to install mounting brackets I wished for a third hand. I came up with this idea and want to share it. I made the angle brackets and tinned them then I screwed them to a piece of wood with a hex head screw. I also tinned the area of the tank I wanted to solder the bracket to and applied a little bit of flux. Then all I had to do was hold the tank against the bracket and apply heat with the soldering gun. this idea made it a piece of cake.here are some pics.
Juan

[Bootlegger]

  Good idea Juan, thanks for posting..

[FLOYD CARTER]

You can save a bit of extra work by using steel "landing gear straps" from the LHS.  You know, the ones used to secure the L.G. wire into the grooved blocks.  You clamp one in a vise and give it a 90 deg. bend.  They are plated for easy soldering.

Floyd

[Juan Valentin]

Hello Floyd
                    Thanks for the advice but I needed to have a slot for tank adjustment and the straps I have seen are kind of thin. The ones I made give me .250 inch adjustment.

                                                                                                                      Juan

[ray copeland]

Juan, nice tip!!!  Thanks

[Tim Wescott]

I do pretty much the same thing.  It works well.

Nice tank!

[Garf]

I never use brackets soldered to a metal tank. It transfers too much vibration to the tank and tends to break. I use hooks and rubber bands with a foam pad under the tank. The rubber bands do tend to melt after a short time.

[55chevr]

you can use metal brackets and still use foam .... I use neoprene washers under the tank bolts and foam under the tank.   The often mention armorall additive reduces foaming as well.


Joe

[Bob Reeves]

I've had issues with brackets breaking and hate rubber bands. Now I drill holes through the fuselage and use wire ties. If you place the holes properly you can still adjust the tank with balsa spacers between the top or bottom of the tank and wire ties. Using this method means you only have to do it once, no more broken brackets or gooey rubber bands.

[Paul Smith]

I never use brackets soldered to a metal tank. It transfers too much vibration to the tank and tends to break. I use hooks and rubber bands with a foam pad under the tank. The rubber bands do tend to melt after a short time.

Do the above and also use silicone bathtub sealer underneath.  It won't matter that the rubber bands melt.

[Bill Adair]

I also prefer Tie-Wraps for profile tank mounting.

The low profile version makes for a cleaner installation. The low profile routes the tag ends (pointed end) of the ties parallel to the main tie strap. The most popular wraps run the tag end through a perpendicular slot, and it sticks straight out into the air stream. That sharp edge of those clipped tag ends is also hard on skin when snagged.

Thomas & Betts handles the low profile, but I've not found them in other brands. Took me a while to locate a source, so you may have to search for them.

Of course, you all know that black wraps are better, as white, or natural colored ones get brittle in sun light.

Bill