Routing fuel lines - which order for solenoid, filter, pump + which filter?

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by Rob Oxford, Sep 24, 2021.

  1. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    My recent fuel filter purchase was the metal bodied FIN-FF30616 from Inline Filters. It has 6mm spigots so is a lot easier to fit to 5.5mm fuel line than the usual 8mm filter spigots.

    Arrived in 2 days. Three cost a bit over £25 including VAT and delivery.
     
  2. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    Hopefully the rotary pump doesnt allow fuel flow through, as you are using Weber carbs with wonky needle valves so expect a crankcase full of petrol if you dont have a shutoff. The one leak you havent accounted for that will kill your engine..
     
  3. 77 Westy

    77 Westy Supporter

    10+ years so far – but I do make sure the float valves work.;)
     
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  4. Excellent! Thank you. .. looks like I have a couple of options for metal body filter
    Excellent! Thank you. .. looks like I have a couple of options for metal body filters.

    Regarding"Every unnesessary joint is a potential leak" .. its the classic problem .. increased safety is often bought at the cost of increased failure rate :(. But on balance I am going to put the shutoff valve in. For one thing - will ease maintenance by allowing complete fuel shut off close to the tank with power off and if I ever do have a prang I really don't want fuel constantly pumping from the tank (although I to conceed that this deals with a what seems like a fairly unlikely safety event .. igntition on + fuel-line severed)
     
  5. 77 Westy

    77 Westy Supporter

    Wire the pump through a coil triggered relay, or at least an inertia switch, to reduce the risk of the pump running with the engine stopped.

    When I change the filter I clamp the hose but I do have a cut-off valve and one day I might get around to fitting it – I can replace the 6mm to 8mm adapter with the valve and not add any more hose joints.
     
  6. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    Looking at the pictures the cheaper filter and the more expensive ones I bought look extremely similar.
     
  7. Your wish is my command...

    a fuel lines 6s.jpg
     
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  8. Well "excellent" indeed (my bus underside has not been that clean since it left the factory :() .. but excuse my ignorance .. but what am I looking at?

    I see .. fuel tank -> white tubular thing (Fuel filter) -> Blue t-piece ? -> Fuel pump -> another blue joiner?

    If those blue things are joints / t-pieces .. what are they for?
     
  9. Tank—>filter—>t-piece to Eberspacher pump (bottom right)—>fuel cut-off valve—>8 to 6mm reducer to engine.

    The blue things are Tefen nylon t-pieces/reducers.
     
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  10. what is this solenoid wizadry you talk of?
     
  11. Ah! Well I am glad you asked that .. because before I started this thread I had no idea! Now I are an xpert! :):chewie:

    Apparently .. if you convert your bus to an electrical fuel pump (for example because the old mechanical one leaks or stops working) .. then you have to worry about the case when you prang the bus, break a fuel line and the pump decides to continually pump out a nice stream of fuel under the bus the feed the ensuing bonfire ...

    So to prevent that you do two things (1) Put an electrically operated solenoid valve close to the fuel tank that blocks fuel flow as soon as the engine stops and (2) Run your electric pump from a power-rail that is only live when the engine is running. One or both of these should make the whole thing safer.

    The down-sides are discussed in the above thread .. but essentially (1) More joints in fuel lines to fail (2) More to break down and (3) Once it does fail .. more places to have to look for the failure. You can't win really .. but I chose belt-and-braces safety over reliability (since, 'reliability' is not really a word we should associate with my VW bus anyway :().

    I am sure that the real experts who contributed to this thread will correct me if I got this wrong.
     
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  12. Oh I see - so you are tee-ing off petrol to feed your heater. Got it. .. another good reason to have the solenoid I would imagine .. although .. now I think about it ..maybe solenoid cut off before t-joint?
     
  13. The solenoid shuts the fuel off when the ignition's off, to prevent the tank gravity feeding 50 litres of fuel into the engine compartment if there's a fire. The heater needs to run with the ignition off, so the Ebers pump comes before the cutoff valve.
     
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  14. Ahh.. that would explain that then! (Another 20 years on here and I really will know what I am talking about! ;))
     
  15. Enlightenment will come ;). Worth having the cutoff IMHO, as the tank in a Bay is higher than the engine.
     
    F_Pantos likes this.
  16. Hi what make of fuel cut off soldenoid did you use?
     
  17. Can't remember. Techamec or something like that? Don't seem to be available any more. @77 Westy might know. It's not Chinese.
     
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  18. 77 Westy

    77 Westy Supporter

    I have one of these - https://www.valtek.it/en/products/valves/type-06
     
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