Affect of ethanol on fuel lines

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debby

debby

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I replaced the fuel lines on my 850 today. Here is a little photo of the old filters and lines vs. new:

Affect of ethanol on fuel lines


I buy the fuel line from denniskirk.com. It does not harden with exposure to the fuel, but the color change is striking, from blue to green.

I was running inline fuel filters and noticed they were getting deformed. It looks like the ethanol fuel softened the plastic filter housing and caused the ends to bend. It also turned the plastic yellow. These are the standard filters we've all used for decades with no trouble until now. I decided not to fit new ones. I might look for new filters with metal housings. Maybe they'll hold up better. These plastic ones were only a couple of years old. :?

Debby
 
Hi Debby,
I too use plastic gas lines, I use the clear stuff and yes it yellows and gets stiff. Fortunately it is dirt cheap and can be replaced yearly (or more often if necessary). Your filters must have been placed in a curved section of the line, perhaps placing them closer to the tap would be a straighter section. Regarding the metal cased fuel filters, companies like "Hastings" make a variety of them.

GB
 
Hi Debby

I am with geo46er~ I replace mine with clear "woven" thread style hose ~ cheap and looks good ~

But the new ULP fuels are crap and certainly wreck hoses licketty- splick ~

I pullled the Commando out for a run recently and because I had neglected the bike while doing the finishing touches on the Trident ~ and blow me down ~ the bike ran on one clylinder ad then the slides jammed because the fuel had gone to rubbish !
 
Besides the fiberglass tank and fuel lines, I use the ethanol free 94 octane from VP Racing Fuels because it does not degrade as fast. The fuel comes with a stabilizer already mixed in and it will last 2 years in the tank and up to 5 years in the fuel can. Besides not having to worry about my tank and not having fuel lines and/or plastic bodied filter breaking down, the bike starts much easier and runs much better. Since I never really go more than a half a tank of gas from home, I don't have to worry about putting pump gas in.
 
I looked up the VP site and they only list the main office in DE. Is VP something I should be able to find locally? Right now I'm using avgas, it seems to work fine.

Dave
69S
 
Avgas is fine too Dave. If you want to find a VP dealer near you just call the Delaware number and they will tell you who the dealer is in your area. If they don't have a dealer near you, they will typically find a way to get it to you. Since I live just outside of Philly I just go to VP's Delaware location and get a 5 gallon pail of it. No tax in Delaware either. I just paid 62.90 for a 5 gallon pail. Not cheap by any means, but I have to confess that I spoil my Commandos rotten.
 
I use standard black rubber fuel line and the only effect I notice is unless clamped it expands and leaks. It also hardens every season, which is really nothing new. Tygon seems to work ok, but I have never ordered any and the only color in these parts is an awful yellow which I refuse to use. As for the inline filters mine seem to deform as Debbies show. I recently tried some nice looking rectangular filters from mikes xs site, but one has started leaking at the seam after about a month. I have used aluminum filters in the past and will probbaly go back to using them. I don't like them as well because they are not transparent and they are silly expensive for a filter.
 
Wow, I guess I'll stick to avgas, I can get it at the local airport about 20 miles away and last time I got it, still under $5, but I bet it's over that now. I too doubt if I will get over a half tank away from the house. Probably the longest trip I'll take is to Middleburg, about a half hour away on good traffic free country roads. I may try to get to sidriley's in Madison, but that's an hour away.

Dave
69S
 
I wonder if the bike manufactures have done research and changed the hose they use? I'm not a chemist, don't even spell it well. But I would think the people making large quantities of this gas line to sell to bike makers would do the reaserch to make a type that is ok with this crapp pump gas we're being force fed.
 
britbike220 said:
Tygon seems to work ok, but I have never ordered any and the only color in these parts is an awful yellow which I refuse to use.
Click to expand...

:shock:

Awful yellow!

:mrgreen:
 
No it's like a terrible neon yellow green. No offense I just don't like the color. Wife even told me it looked bad.
 
Clear would be nice. Fuel line isn't my worry it's the stinking filters warping, bending and leaking quickly because of the gas.
 
pelican said:
I'm pretty sure it comes in yellow, gray, and clear
Click to expand...

Tygon comes in different grades. I like to see my gas. I have not seen gas-grade Tygon in clear before, but I could be wrong.
 
Is the fuel still O/k in the UK?
Had my fuel lines on for years, still perfect.
Also, why a filter in the fuel line? There is filters on the petrol tap & in the carbs.
 
I use the filters as an extra precaution for the sometimes big chunks that may pass through the screen filters and so I can see there is gas flow.
 
Tygon is trade name.
http://www.tygon.com/tygon-tubing.aspx

Tygon tubing comes in many different chemistries, some are petroleum resistant and some are not. Don't rely on the tradename to tell you it is suitable for fuels

The original fuel lines that came on my '73 were just PVC. Gasoline leached the plasticizer out of the tubing in no time and they become hard and brittle. Many replacement clear fuel lines are PVC. They will beome hard and brittle rapidly.

The blue tubing Debby is using is probably what Ducati used to use on the bevelheads. I don't know the chemistry, but it seems to last longer than PVC.

Tygon fuel approved tubing is a rather ugly flourescent yellow. I use polyurethane tubing which has a faint yellow shade, certainly no worse than PVC after about a month. However, it stays flexible. I have some lines I made 10 years ago that are still pliable.
 
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