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New EFII Fuel Lines

mciaglia

Well Known Member
There are a few companies with emerging technology for Electronic fuel injection and ignition. The problem is the complexity of the needed fuel lines associated with these. I spent countless hours bending fuel tubing and could never get it just quite right. When I leak tested my system I had leaks and was just not happy.

I was contacted by Steve (Aircraft Specialties) who was intrigued about creating a drop in package of fuel lines for the EFII system. So we set to embark upon creating one.

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Here is a picture of the lines I bent. These are tough to make. The most complex bends are in the tunnel that go to the Andair duplex valve. You have to clear the pushrods for the ailerons and the central pushrod for the elevator control. Super hard to get these correct with no tension on the flare.

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These are all the hoses I cut for the installation with the various fittings that would provide an installation that is leak and trouble free. I feel the fuel system is the most critical of all systems in the plane. I know everyone comments about weight of stainless braided lines. Yes there is a penalty. I weighted all my aluminum tubes and B nuts and then weighted the stainless lines and fittings. There is a 1.83lb weight increase as a result of these.

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The lines were sent back and Steve created exact copies with perfect clocking of the fittings for a smooth install that is functional and aesthically perfect. This allows good visual inspection

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The lines for the tunnel between the bulkhead and the fuel valve fit perfect and are clear of the pushrods


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Under the seat the fuel in and fuel return lines are easily secured in the brackets. I planned ahead and moved my brake line to the aft most position.

I wrote some detailed instructions for pump install and placement so these lines will work for anyone. Hope this solves a problem for people as more builders are venturing into the EFII systems.
 
Tom and I want to thank Mark for his help in the design and creation of this package. As always we could not build these packages without the help of our incredible group of beta testers throughout the experimental aircraft community.

Mark didn't mention it here, but he also helped us refine our control approach stainless braided brake line setup.

The EFII cabin fuel hose setup is now offered as a complete installation package and includes 12 cabin hoses, including one very custom dual 180 degree fitting setup.


More information on this package as well as the control approach setup can be found by contacting Tom at TS Flightlines, or Steve at Aircraft Specialty (via the website link below) The RV-10 section of the website below has package information as well as the link to the installation manual.

Once Mark gets his wings installed, we are going to work on the exact placement for the tank fittings as well as lines to attach them to the fuselage bulkhead fittings.


Thanks again Mark for your help in this.
Steve and Tom
 
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Nicely done Mark! I suspect many of us going down this path will benefit from your work here. :)
 
Very nice job on the lines, but how to you get the scat tubing for rear-seat heat past the fuel selector?

-Marc
 
Very nice job on the lines, but how to you get the scat tubing for rear-seat heat past the fuel selector?

-Marc

Just like you would with the stock setup. The scat tubing goes over the fuel selector bracket to the right of the extension
 
SCAT

Nice job! I wish I would have gone down that road instead of bending all of those lines from 5052!

As far as the SCAT goes, I found that the standard 2" SCAT was a very tight fit, needing to be squeezed in several locations, especially where it passes the valve. I have about a 2" extension between my valve and the selector handle. The SCAT was forced up against the rotating extension, causing a bit of binding. I would imagine it would not take long for that extension to wear a hole in the SCAT.

My solution was to use a 2"-1.5" reducer to get past the valve and over the spar, then another reducer to go back to 2" for the aft heat connection. No interference at all, now...
 
EFII Fuel Lines

I just wanted to say I ordered these lines last week and just finished the installation today. The lines are top quality and I would highly recommend them to anyone using the EFII 32 system.
 
The lines are top quality and I would highly recommend them to anyone using the EFII 32 system.

This is an awesome set!

For anyone planning to try to get their fuel hoses that look like these hoses but from a discount source, please realize that its not easy to find fuel hoses with conductive Teflon like the ones that Aircraft Specialty provides.

These really are top quality items that they sell.... much better than the ebay stuff.
 
Jeff, Andrew, and all

Thanks for that! We really do love hearing that our products make assembly easier for our fellow RV builders.

Tom and I decided long ago that only the BEST quality components will be utilized in anything that has our name on it. As such, we only use the highest quality Conductive Teflon hoses. We utilize true stainless fittings (not plated brass made to look like stainless.) We also utilize AS1072 compliant firesleeve on our firewall forward hoses with stainless steel bands.

Finally, each hose assembly undergoes a hydrostatic proofing pressure test to ensure 100% reliability. Every assembly comes with a 10 year warranty.

We recognize that safety is absolutely the highest priority in all of this. However, we are also builders and realize that the importance of customer service and value is imperative.

In the past, we have been told that "Good is good enough." However, Tom and I vehemently REJECT that notion. There is always room for improvement, and we enjoy the challenge.

We continue to improve our kits and really appreciate customer feedback. Sometimes our changes are as small as adding 1/8" or removing 1/8" from an assembly for a nicer look. But, that is what makes this fun for us!!!!

Thanks again for the support of the RV and experimental Aircraft community. You have allowed us to take this crazy idea of innovating new products and turned it into a very rewarding endeavor that has allowed us to work on some incredibly neat projects with some incredibly great people around the world while building friendships along the way.

We have a lot of new items that are in the works and will continue to seek beta testers as we approach new product launches.


Happy Building!!!!
 
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Quick comment here. Marc's install varies slightly from some that we previously did. Mainly the repositioning of the brake and fuel lines under the seat, and the use of 45* bulkhead fittings in lieu of the 90*s that we originally used. Just another way of looking at the same thing.
If there were to be a trick to making all of this work in the confines of the tunnel, its the short drop 90* hose ends at the upper chamber of the valve. This fitting easily clears the flight controls, whereas a normally bent rigid tube with a long drop may/may not clear, or be really close.


We are working on the install of the SDS modular pump. It differs slightly from the EFii model in both length and fitting placement. Because of that, installing a pre-filter at the pump inlet is alittle bothersome. Its pretty tight in there, and we want to provide a package that not only installs well, but is easy to do maintenance on. All of these little "out of the box" thought processes go into our development of these packages.

Just a 'few' of the things we are working on at Aircraft Specialty and TS Flightlines. Yep, doing a similar package for the RV14, refining what we previously had done, and incorporating more interchangebility between packages.
 
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