fuel sight gauge tubing

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mac
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Location: Grass Valley, CA.

fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by mac »

I've noticed my header tank sight gauge tubing is stretching. It also shows a light golden stain color. It's a polyurethane based material. Thinking it might be due to the alcohol (10%) in the fuel. No non-alcohol 91 octane fuel around here for my Rotax 914. Was wondering what others are using...........successfully? Anyone know what product the factory is currently supplying? Jak did mention the factory changes these lines annually, but I failed to ask him what is currently being shipped with the kits.

Any thoughts on this subject-matter would be much appreciated. I notice Spruce has a "Bing Alcohol Resistant Fuel LIne", but if you surf the internet, you can find negative comments about it. Of course, that's not uncommon with most anything! Ugh.

Thanks folks.
Mark M.
N49SS in Phase 2....for good!
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mac
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by mac »

I'll answer my own question. The factory buys sight gauge hose from Fast Flow Fuel Line via the email address of https://fuel-line.com. You might want to save that for future reference when time comes you want to replace the stuff. It's claimed to be resistance to "alcohol", but many varieties of alcohol exist. Ethanol is just one of them and unfortunately, it isn't going away anytime soon.

We'll see. Fuel leakage in your airplane is not for the faint at heart, especially with the Stewart's System covering products.
Mark M.
N49SS in Phase 2....for good!
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Tralika
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by Tralika »

I bought the clear 1/4" fuel line for my sight gauge from Perkins Powered Parachutes. It is marketed as resistant to ethanol but I never used fuel with ethanol in it. It started to develop a slight yellowing after a little over a year in use. It also stretched slightly and developed a bit of an S curve. I'm pretty sure your going to find the yellowing and stretching occurs with all the clear soft tubing when exposed to gas. It's pretty inexpensive and easy to replace so changing it out at each condition inspection makes sense. I also used the red Fuel Floatee from Perkins and it worked well, made it much easier to see the fuel level at a glance.

https://www.bearperkins.com/accessories.htm

I changed out my header tank to a new unit with internal fuel pumps and a fuel gauge sender unit. Having a header tank fuel gauge on the panel is a big improvement over the sight gauge. It's difficult to twist around in the pilot seat to see the sight gauge in flight. The sight gauge is also one more potential place for fuel leaks. My concern was cargo snagging the tube either when loading the plane or something loose shifting around in flight. If your using the large Just Aircraft header tank the bosses welding into the tank for the sight gauge are, in my opinion, in the wrong place. Assuming you mount the tank on the right side of the aircraft, the sight gauge is facing inboard making it more susceptible to contacting anything in the cargo area. Also, since it is more towards the center of the aircraft, you have to twist around more to see it from the pilot seat. I had mine mounted outboard so it was more protected and easier to see from the pilot seat. I've attached a photo of my factory header tank as installed. If you look closely you can see the bosses welded on the tank by the factory facing toward the center of the aircraft. The sight gauge I installed is protected by the vertical frame tubing and outboard side of the fuselage but still visible from the pilot seat, only less neck twisting required.
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John Nealon
Wasilla, Alaska
Highlander Extreme #191
mykitlog.com/jnealon
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danerazz
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by danerazz »

Please provide more info on the internal pump setup.
Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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mac
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by mac »

Thanks John for all the info. I agree with you entirely about the position of the sight gauge on the header tank. Less neck turning the better!! Mine is all powder coated and connected. If I'm going to make a change...........it will be at the first conditional inspection. I can do the "fuel floatee" thing. I like it. Will order in the am. Thanks.
Mark M.
N49SS in Phase 2....for good!
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Tralika
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by Tralika »

danerazz wrote:Please provide more info on the internal pump setup.
The header tank with internal fuel pumps and fuel gauge sender is sold by Viking Engines. The capacity is 2.5 gallons, the pumps run on about 1.5 amps each which was dramatic reduction over the pumps I had originally installed. Each pump has an internal fuel pressure regulator and they run consistently at 45psi. Most dual fuel pump systems share a common pressure regulator which is potential single failure point. The photo is from my installation.

https://www.shop.vikingaircraftengines. ... ps-502.htm
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John Nealon
Wasilla, Alaska
Highlander Extreme #191
mykitlog.com/jnealon
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danerazz
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by danerazz »

Thanks!

Pricey!
Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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AV8R Paul
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by AV8R Paul »

Pricey is right, but I really like 2.5 Gallons over about 1 Gallon.
AV8R Paul
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AV8R Paul
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by AV8R Paul »

Are you running a fuel injection system?
Tralika wrote:
danerazz wrote:Please provide more info on the internal pump setup.
The header tank with internal fuel pumps and fuel gauge sender is sold by Viking Engines. The capacity is 2.5 gallons, the pumps run on about 1.5 amps each which was dramatic reduction over the pumps I had originally installed. Each pump has an internal fuel pressure regulator and they run consistently at 45psi. Most dual fuel pump systems share a common pressure regulator which is potential single failure point. The photo is from my installation.

https://www.shop.vikingaircraftengines. ... ps-502.htm
AV8R Paul
Certified Light Sport Repairman LSRM-A
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Tralika
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by Tralika »

AV8R Paul wrote:Are you running a fuel injection system?
Tralika wrote:
danerazz wrote:Please provide more info on the internal pump setup.
The header tank with internal fuel pumps and fuel gauge sender is sold by Viking Engines. The capacity is 2.5 gallons, the pumps run on about 1.5 amps each which was dramatic reduction over the pumps I had originally installed. Each pump has an internal fuel pressure regulator and they run consistently at 45psi. Most dual fuel pump systems share a common pressure regulator which is potential single failure point. The photo is from my installation.

https://www.shop.vikingaircraftengines. ... ps-502.htm

Yes
John Nealon
Wasilla, Alaska
Highlander Extreme #191
mykitlog.com/jnealon
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danerazz
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by danerazz »

AV8R Paul wrote:Pricey is right, but I really like 2.5 Gallons over about 1 Gallon.
I had just aircraft build me a 3-gallon header. Nothing special, just a 6x18 (might be 6x24, not in front of me and I math bad right now) tube.
Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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AV8R Paul
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by AV8R Paul »

Dane, 6 inch X 24 inch Total Volume = 2.94 Gallons US so it would need to be 24 inches. Interesting how much did they charge to build a larger tank? I’m really don’t like the idea of a header tank that is only one gallon.
AV8R Paul
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Clark in AZ
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by Clark in AZ »

I just did two larger (914) factory tanks, 1.25 gallons each for 2.5 total.

Clark
Building SuperSTOL Kit 512
Cave Creek, AZ
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danerazz
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by danerazz »

AV8R Paul wrote:Dane, 6 inch X 24 inch Total Volume = 2.94 Gallons US so it would need to be 24 inches. Interesting how much did they charge to build a larger tank? I’m really don’t like the idea of a header tank that is only one gallon.

You are correct, it is 24”. In 2012 (Jesus I need to get this thing done) it was $230 according to my invoice.
Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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AV8R Paul
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Re: fuel sight gauge tubing

Post by AV8R Paul »

Time flies when your having fun.
danerazz wrote: You are correct, it is 24”. In 2012 (Jesus I need to get this thing done) it was $230 according to my invoice.
AV8R Paul
Certified Light Sport Repairman LSRM-A
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