[shaggy]

How often should you change the fuel tubing in the fuel tank? It is quite the pain in the butt to pull the fuel tank out to change the tubing on the clunks but I'm not sure how quick the tube would deteriorate....

[Nick Milligan]

On glow fuel tanks, I have never changed the lines. 10 years or more and they are still perfect.

Nick

[williame3590]

After 10yrs I would start thinkin about it. Usually the rubber stopper will go first and leak fuel inside the airframe.
The big thing is how and where they are stored. Tempreture and humidity changes will speed things up.

Bill

[canadianf1pilot]

if you are pulling the tank anyway it would be a good idea to at least check it. nothing more frustrating than a glow engine that runs fine with a full tank and quits after take off, after lots of head scratching you discover the fuel line in the tank is cracked.

Every spring I give my planes an "C of A" and go over those things, and even mid summer if they get lots of time on them.

fuel lines are one of the things I check, along with hinges, linkages, all electrical connections (the switch usually gets replaced) even pull wiring out of wings and fuse's to inspect.
Motor mounts and Firewalls also need attention from time to time.

sorry for hijacking your thread...


Bill

[michel gravelle]

Originally Posted by canadianf1pilot

if you are pulling the tank anyway it would be a good idea to at least check it. nothing more frustrating than a glow engine that runs fine with a full tank and quits after take off, after lots of head scratching you discover the fuel line in the tank is cracked.

Every spring I give my planes an "C of A" and go over those things, and even mid summer if they get lots of time on them.

fuel lines are one of the things I check, along with hinges, linkages, all electrical connections (the switch usually gets replaced) even pull wiring out of wings and fuse's to inspect.
Motor mounts and Firewalls also need attention from time to time.

sorry for hijacking your thread...


Bill

Hi
Bill,s recommendation is good , he,s spot-on . I do my fleet once a year . I hate doing check,s at the field . ( except the range check of course )

And if I may I,d like to ask a question . How much does a piece of fuel tubeing cost ? Well two questions ,................. how much does youre plane cost ?

Michel

[michel gravelle]

Hi
Here,s a trick I use .
When installing the tank , add two pieces of duct tape , ( after you clean it with a dry chemical ) to either side of the tank , and put the two to-gether at the rear of the tank . This takes away some of the pain when removeing the tank . And don,t forget to use some nyrods ( or simular ) the tank to guide the fuel lines


I just thought this might be the reason you hesitate to go into the fuse .

If this is , " NOT " the problem , forget , " all " of the above

Michel

[JohnM]

Shaggy: From my experience, I would change my fuel tubing inside my tank everytime that for some reason or another I had to pull the tank out of my model. In fact, if I even though the stopper might be wearing out I would change the whole tank stopper and all. Tanks and fuel tubing are very inexpensive but can prove to be real pain when things go wrong. . . my two cents - Cheers - John M. p.s. is anyone else having problems with their curser when writing these replies or is it just me?

[williame3590]

Just you John, is your computer still on vacation?

Bill

[JKovats]

I am just finishing going thru my fleet maintenance. I pull the tanks about every three years to check everything. Usually I'll snip an inch off the ends and just put them back on or completely replace. Put the fuel line into the pressure line position and then do a new fuel line, that kind of thing.

I found a couple questionable stoppers so I replaced them and found one tank where the clunk had actually separated from the tube that the pick up line attached to (factory joint on the clunk) so I replaced it.

Also rebuilt a half dozen Dubro Kwik fill valves. The rebuild kits are $4.95 so I bought one and then went to my local industrial o ring supplier and bought a pile of matching o rings at about 7 cents a piece, there are two in each valve. I found a couple were sticky and a couple were leaking a bit. Takes less than 5 minutes to rebuild one with new o rings and clean it with a Q tip and fresh fuel.

I hate fussing around with a plane at the field so I do a major maintenance look evry 2-3 years and a minor look over every year.

Fuel line is pretty cheap and leaking fuel lines can make a real mess and sucking air makes it hard to get an engine to run right.

While you are at it, cycle batteries and check over and set the tappets on your 4 strokes. Replace the questionable battery backs.

[pschulte]

I agree with John. Cycle the batteries also. You could do tank at same time. I have culled many batteries that failed and I couldn't get to perform with many cycles.