Fuel pipe material

[mlincsmit]

reading the forum it appears some members are moving their fuel pipes with gay abandon, do I take it they are of the flexible type - some years ago when refitting fuel line I was told to only use solid pipe, very difficult to route in tight situations. In the marine trade it appears quite acceptable to make use of fuel grade pipe, what our members opinion on this please -

[stevejgreen]

Re: Fuel pipe material

A couple of things here.
Obviously the location of the fuel line is important. On a recent post a rubber donut universal joint was failing and managed to tear through a line. It could have been a catastrophic incident!.
Remember that when routing any pipes, be aware of their location and potential movement of mechanical parts whether transmission or suspension and dont inadvertantly drill into them for other fixings.
Any pipes whether fuel or brake should be protected from potential road debris. IMHO I would prefer braided hose as it is more resilient, some have routed hoses through the cockpit rather than inside the transmision tunnel, I prefer any pipes under the car.
Getting suitable fixings down the tunnel would be almost impossible without removing the gearbox. I wish I had taken the opportunity to do mine when I changed my clutch and box.
If you are planning to fit fuel injection, the feed and return fuel lines should be capable of taking higher pressures required whether solid or braided.

I hope this helps!

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Fuel pipe material

most production cars use nylon pipes dont they? Would this be suitable for our cars?

[h_m_cumming]

Re: Fuel pipe material

I use braided reinforced PVC in the top of the tunnel when I built the car nearly 20 yrs. ago and it's still there. It does tend to harden up slightly but can still be bent without showing any sign of cracking. Some types of plastic pipe don't take kindly to the additives in unleaded and go very brittle. Where it runs from the bulkhead to the carbs. I've used normal rubber fuel hose for extra flexability but find I have to renew it about every five yrs.

[Mike]

Re: Fuel pipe material

Mike

I am having to build my Marlin to the new IVA regulations. These state you have to prove the fuel lines used are suitable for fuel. For the rubber this means it has to be printed on the rubber pipe.I believe any solid pipes would have to have the manufacturers satement that they are suitable as fuel lines.
My experience of the braided pvc (above) is that it will go very brittle, and may well fail.
Mike

[mlincsmit]

Re: Fuel pipe material

many thanks for all your contributions, my boat is also required to use fuel grade flexible pipe with the appropriate BS number printed on it. The reason I was interested in what material to use is the ease of installation and route of flexable pipe. I found solid pipe to be very difficult to bend. I will not use plastic hose as this does become very hard and will sllit in time. Again thanks for your responce - Mike

[lil_red_roadster]

Re: Fuel pipe material

A bit late, but...I recently added a new feed line down the tunnel using microbore central heating pipe...obviously this might not be IVA-spec but it works fine and can easily be shaped to fit. My high-pressure circuit is short and uses only OE barbed injection fittings and injection-rated rubber hose...the fore-aft pipes through the tunnel are low pressure only with fuel-grade rubber either end to provide compliance.