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Holley Hydromat

nomocom

Well Known Member
Keeping air and vapor phase gasoline out of the fuel delivery system is a good thing. Holley's argument in favor of Hydramat is that any of the fabric still in fuel passes liquid, while surface area uncovered doesn't pass air or vapor.

So..if we have two tanks both with a hydramat inlet- one tank empty and the other with fuel, the uncovered hydromat doesn't allow air into the fuel piping system.

Potential simplification of fuel system design and operation?

"The amazing HydraMat is a patent-pending fuel reservoir system designed to reduce fuel starvation issues present in hard cornering, acceleration, stopping, inclines, and low fuel conditions."

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/hydramat/
 
Keeping air and vapor phase gasoline out of the fuel delivery system is a good thing. Holley's argument in favor of Hydramat is that any of the fabric still in fuel passes liquid, while surface area uncovered doesn't pass air or vapor.

So..if we have two tanks both with a hydramat inlet- one tank empty and the other with fuel, the uncovered hydromat doesn't allow air into the fuel piping system.

Potential simplification of fuel system design and operation?

"The amazing HydraMat is a patent-pending fuel reservoir system designed to reduce fuel starvation issues present in hard cornering, acceleration, stopping, inclines, and low fuel conditions."

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/hydramat/

The demo video shows them running with water, which has a lot more surface tension than gasoline. Lower surface tension will NOT allow the same results.
 
Water?

Good eye on catching the water. That paticular video is from the floor of a trade show, so perhaps water was all common sense and the show rules would allow.

Molecular interactions are managed and designed into products by some pretty smart folks. The characteristics (polarity, pore size, material and etc) would be part of the fabric selection. Having spent time around some chemical processing and a fair amount of separation technologies, nothing here seems unreasonable, though my initial thought is things might get complicated when using a polar fuel like alcohol versus non-polar gasolines.
 
Glass half full view . . . lets understand the new failure modes.

I am not going to presume it does not work with gasoline but . . . a "sock" in automotive separates water from getting in the fuel flow. If it gets saturated then no flow - or water only.

There are several things that would be of concern for flying machines.

1. water - it needs to go through - it can also freeze (if no warm fuel return)
2. 15 micron filtration - concern that it would add pressure drop to the typical AC system, and/or it could become more easily plugged than a pressure fed 50-75 micron filter. [this is the main concern] either accumulated debris or ice crystals.

The basic function of the device (assuming it works a like magic) is a good idea and could help for getting the last drop from the tank at all "normal" angles. The additional failure modes for fuel starvation are more of a concern.

So, basically, just how many fewer RV's will crash due to this device? What is broken that it fixes?
 
I have seen this at the trade show, and it does work. Water used on show floor as gasoline is a big no-no.

It works. I have a good friend that is a major player in the high performance world and it is amazing stuff. The cost is also up there.

I can see it working great in a plane if the budget allows.
 
Does the thread title invoke the image of a summertime high school car wash to anybody else but me???
 
Is somebody flying with a Hydramat?

I find the product interesting, but I'm looking if people using only 100LL are flying it. Ideally if poeple fly it where it's cold, say Northern Canada, Alaska, etc.

Thanks,

Eric D
 
Keeping air and vapor phase gasoline out of the fuel delivery system is a good thing. Holley's argument in favor of Hydramat is that any of the fabric still in fuel passes liquid, while surface area uncovered doesn't pass air or vapor.

So..if we have two tanks both with a hydramat inlet- one tank empty and the other with fuel, the uncovered hydromat doesn't allow air into the fuel piping system.

Potential simplification of fuel system design and operation?

"The amazing HydraMat is a patent-pending fuel reservoir system designed to reduce fuel starvation issues present in hard cornering, acceleration, stopping, inclines, and low fuel conditions."

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/hydramat/

It's an expensive solution to a problem we don't really have. In a race care with lots of lateral Gs, yeah. In an airplane flying coordinated, unnecessary. Getting the last drops out of our tanks already works. If you set your pickup right, you can get virtually all the fuel out. What you are proposing is a "both" position on the selector and counting on the surface tension effect of the Hydramat to keep from sucking air out of an empty tank. The only thing this gains you, at great expense and with unknown new failure modes, is not having to switch tanks periodically. 15 micron is a bit small for the pickup screen. Early versions of Van's pickups were just hacksawn slots in a crimped piece of tubing. Cheap, crude, and effective. All you really want to do in the tank is keep big chunks of stuff out of the lines and filter it finer, later downstream.

An inordinate percentage of homebuilt airplane loss of power incidents has been traced to changing fuel system designs from what the aircraft designer intended. Not to say that it can't be done safely, just that it needs to be thought out carefully.

I am planning to use Hydramat in my Factory Five 818. It's got a long skinny fuel tank and will easily unport in a corner. If that doesn't get it, I'll add an external surge tank.

Ed Holyoke
 
Understood for the mods to the fuel system.

My plane is a Cozy with composite fuel tank which can have some left over scrap from the build inside if one is not extremely carefull when instaling the filler caps, fuel probes, etc.

Just wondering if its been done before. If not I'm not going to be the fisrt...
 
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