carbon skinning motorbike fuel tank

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aidanh	a aidanh posted 5 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
a Group: Forum Members Posts: 2, Visits: 36	Fairly new to all this skinning business etc, all the parts ive done so far have been just skinning, I am taking on a project to do a motorbike fuel tank. would it be beneficial to vacuum bag this tank to ensure the fabric stick to all the edges and curves properly? if so, any tips for bagging would be greatly appreciated! I have a bagging kit and vacuum on its way from easy composites. thanks in advance!
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Sam Walker	Sam Walker posted 5 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 3, Visits: 7	+x Steve Broad - 4/24/2020 10:10:18 PM +x Sam Walker - 4/24/2020 10:00:26 PM As you can see, the tank will collapse under vacuum! 😆 And that was using a regulator at 10% too. My advise is to ensure the tank is sealed and add a vent tube to it. Sam If you add a vent tube the tank won't be sealed. ? Well, the thing is, as much as you attempt to seal the tank, it is very difficult to get it completely air tight and in turn stopping the air from being evacuated from the inside of the tank whilst pulling the vacuum. If you can ensure it is completely air tight then a vent tube isn't required as the only air being evacuated when pulling the vacuum is that which is within the vacuum bag. From my own personal experience, it doesn't take much vacuum for the tank to collapse, so even if there is a tiny pin hole in the tank, as you pull the vacuum it will be in turn removing the air from the tank. This is why my recommendation is to vent the tank, through the vacuum bag.
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Steve Broad	Steve Broad posted 5 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 408, Visits: 4.1K	+x Sam Walker - 4/24/2020 10:36:08 PM +x Steve Broad - 4/24/2020 10:10:18 PM +x Sam Walker - 4/24/2020 10:00:26 PM As you can see, the tank will collapse under vacuum! 😆 And that was using a regulator at 10% too. My advise is to ensure the tank is sealed and add a vent tube to it. Sam If you add a vent tube the tank won't be sealed. ? Well, the thing is, as much as you attempt to seal the tank, it is very difficult to get it completely air tight and in turn stopping the air from being evacuated from the inside of the tank whilst pulling the vacuum. If you can ensure it is completely air tight then a vent tube isn't required as the only air being evacuated when pulling the vacuum is that which is within the vacuum bag. From my own personal experience, it doesn't take much vacuum for the tank to collapse, so even if there is a tiny pin hole in the tank, as you pull the vacuum it will be in turn removing the air from the tank. This is why my recommendation is to vent the tank, through the vacuum bag. Not with you here. If you vent the tank, you are allowing air to escape from the tank, yes? In that case there will be no contained air inside the tank to resist the vacuum pressure and it will collapse the same way as if you simply left the cap off.
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