Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

[halmc]

Got me a shiny, new-to-me '57 Fleetwin replete with a shellacked(?) cork float in the carbie.

It'll soon be getting its first dose of heavily subsidized, midwestern methanol spiked, unleaded gasoline.

Should I worry about my cork?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

seems like there is a replacement float that will work, but cannot find #.

 

[JB]

Re: Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

That is ethanol, not methanol.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

Got me a shiny, new-to-me '57 Fleetwin replete with a shellacked(?) cork float in the carbie.

It'll soon be getting its first dose of heavily subsidized, midwestern methanol spiked, unleaded gasoline.

Should I worry about my cork?

I still have one motor with a cork float in it. It is still in good shape, but I'm keeping an eye on it as an experiment. Not a good experiment, i"m afraid, since I pull the fuel line and let it run out of gas at the end of a trip.

Maybe someone with a known good cork float lying around on a bench will perform an experiment and let the float soak in a sealed glass jar with ethanol pre-mix in it to see what happens. Note how high the float floats at the beginning of the experiment, and see if it gets gas-logged later.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

I can tell you for fact that I have had to replace all of the cork floats in my old OMC steel gas tanks.

The solvent for shellac is alcohol; that has not changed.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

Alcohol dissolves shellac. Remove the cork float. If it's in good physical condition, let it dry completely, then coat it with cyanoacrylate super glue and let it dry completely. Alcohol doesn't affect that stuff.

 

[F_R]

Re: Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

The guaranteed, fool-proof, and simplest way to fix the problem is to put a new float in it. The new one is part number 396514 and is made of an alcohol-proof material. The problem will be solved.

 

[halmc]

Re: Aging float cork on alcohol -- Mythology?

That is ethanol, not methanol.

Thanks, that's very helpful.

The guaranteed, fool-proof, and simplest way to fix the problem is to put a new float in it. The new one is part number 396514 and is made of an alcohol-proof material. The problem will be solved.

Thanks. Googled and ordered!

Alcohol dissolves shellac. Remove the cork float. If it's in good physical condition, let it dry completely, then coat it with cyanoacrylate super glue and let it dry completely. Alcohol doesn't affect that stuff.

Thanks, that's a clever trick, I'll follow it with the float in the gas tank.