Funny you should say that.
I have today replaced all my braided hose for the newer stuff from the
factory Which dosent have the protective sheath), because my inspector
pretty much said the same about the old style Europa hose as you have -
ie: looks great but not fit for purpose.
Cant say I noticed anything wrong with the old stuff (5yrs old), but
clearly it dosent age well.
Dont really see the need for metal braided covering if the hoses are
secured properly. Even braid will wear if not secured properly.
I think its fair to say that aircraft quality hose probably wont do the
job if you are usiing mogas as it appears to be more aggressive towards
unsuitable hose. Probably best to use racing spec stuff as racing fuels
can contain a lot of alcohol/ethanol - presumably the hose can cope with
that.
Carl Pattinson
G-LABS
----- Original Message -----
From: Frank Mycroft
To: europa-list@matronics.com
Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2008 6:54 PM
Subject: Europa-List: Fuel pipes
G-BWYD has fuel pipes which are rubber with a cotton and then a
stainless braid covering. They look great, as though they would last
for ever - but they don't! One of mine sprung a leak after I moved it a
bit and when I removed the stainless and then the cotton braids I found
that it was perished and split circumferentially in the place where it
was leaking. The pipes are obviously resistant to outside abrasion, but
you can't see what's happening inside and they plainly have a limited
life, at least inside the engine compartment. Mine had been in place
for 11 years.
What pipes do people recommend? Alloy pipes are great if installed
during the build, but not so easy for a retrofit. I have Aeroquip 303
---From the tank to the electric pump, but the stuff with the stainless
braid from then on when the chances of outside abrasion are greater.
LAS don't seem to supply the stainless braid stuff. How do people
protect the Aeroquip pipe where it could suffer from outside abrasion.
Frank
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