(tubing) that runs all the way from tank to single floor valve, but that was
beyond my skills and/or patience, at least at the time. Going to
http://n254mr.com and searching for "fuel line" will bring up lots of photos
and descriptions about my setup. I used a lot of commercial fittings (see
http://summitracing.com or http://jegs.com) for the main fuel lines and vent
lines. They don't leak, but doing it again (and at some point I may) I would
use more hard line (tubing) and fewer fittings, now that I'm more
comfortable with bending and flaring the tubing. I'll expand this a bit,
hopefully to help those who may be entirely new to working with tubing, as I
was.
The first thing to do is become familiar with flaring aluminum tubing, if
you're not already. You need a 37 deg. flaring tool (Parker or equiv.) and
some practice. It's not difficult, especially after you've redone a couple
of parts -- hey, it's just like building the rest of the plane. ;-) Don't
forget to put your sleeve and nut on the tubing before you do the flares,
and in most cases, before most any bends... unless you really want more
practice cutting, bending and flaring tubing.
Of course, coming out of the tank bushing, you start with an AN816-6D nipple
with a 1/4" pipe thread on one end, and 37 deg. flare on the other. If like
me you don't think you want to try to form a single piece of tubing from the
tank all the way to a selector valve on the front floor (or wherever), I
would use a short (~6"-8") straight tube, that will be flared both ends,
from the tank through a grommet to just inside the fuse, then a fairly tight
90 deg. bend aft to another nipple going into your wing root valve (if you
have one -- mine has been very useful already) mounted with Adel clamps.
Back to that first piece of tubing from the tank. First do the grommet hole
in the fuse. Then flare what will be the tank end, add nut and sleeve, then
make the bend, and insert the unflared end of the already bent tube through
the grommet from the wing side, pushing the flare/sleeve/nut all the way to
the grommet, or at least enough to get your flaring tool on that inside end.
Then put the inside end's nut and sleeve on the tube, flare the inside end,
and push the tubing, -- now with flares, sleeves and nuts on both ends --
back to the tank. Connect at the tank, then to the nipple at your inside
valve (again, if you choose to have one.) Then you face choices about how to
get around the bulkhead and aileron push pull tubes before dropping down...
probably another topic -- but the 3003 Versatube (
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/m ... satube.php) is quite
flexible may be useful there where you have to do a short run with multiple
bends in multiple dimensions.
Whenever turning the flare nuts over sleeves and flares, I'd highly
recommend using a little bit of EZ Turn (
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/c ... rnlube.php) lube on the
threads. Get the smallest can -- it'll last literally forever. A local A&P
also recommends a very thin film on the flares themselves, which IMHO is a
good idea, as it helps prevent cracking of the tubing flares as they are
pulled tight against the male side of a flare junction. Keep the film real
thin -- you don't want a bunch of EZ Turn clogging the gascolator.
Hope that helps.
Ron
254R
On Fri, Jul 2, 2010 at 9:44 AM, mike jones <mfjrebel007r@cogeco.ca> wrote:
Hi all
Are there any pics out there of setups for fuel tank to fuselage fittings,
or cam some kind souls describe their setups for me
Cant seem to find a setup that looks right
cheers
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