Fuel pickups....what's the hotness today

[CarterKraft]

Mount a Wema S3 sender with this flange in the flat area under the filler neck?

HFL Tank Fitting Flange

The Wema HFL Tank Fitting Flange is supplied as a flange kit – complete with gasket, inner ring and a set of stainless.

wema.co.uk

S3 Fuel and Water Sender

SENDER IDENTIFICATION CHART Senders are available in a series of lengths from 150mm - 1600mm. There are two standard.

wema.co.uk

 

[Ghetto Fab.]

I had considered doing a sight glass on a fuel cell also. Put it on the front of the cell someplace so all you have to do is turn around to look at it and instantly know how full the cell is. It does add more connections and failure points, but I think with some planning the failures could be minimized.

 

[arse_sidewards]

I had considered doing a sight glass on a fuel cell also. Put it on the front of the cell someplace so all you have to do is turn around to look at it and instantly know how full the cell is. It does add more connections and failure points, but I think with some planning the failures could be minimized.

Get some 1"+ thick glass and build a frame for it?

Or build a shield around the normal sight glass like the valve stem guard on ag rims.

Edit: Fuck, used portholes in small-ish sizes are cheap. Use one of them.

 

[HYDRODYNAMIC]

Double posting from my build thread, because I forget where I posted when going back later.
Finally decided on how to know the tank level while filling without overfilling.
After seeing a number of poly tanks with bulkheads down low for gravity pickups I figured it must be possible. At work, I put bulkheads in sulfuric acid tanks and that is way scarier than fuel, it doesn't even need to be ignited to melt your face off.
So I figured it would be fine if done correctly. I used #6 XRP fittings and bulkhead made in the USA. Many off road shops and some racers sell and use the Nylon washers or the Parker Stat-O-Seals , XRP sells them as well and I installed them the first time and then got to wondering what material they are, which is Nitrile which is fuel resistant but not ethanol resistant and if you live in CA then you are hosed. So I decided to pull the tank out and apart for the hundredth time and make my own Stat O Seals with Viton o-rings and SS washers/shims, both of which are happy sitting in ethanol all day. #6 Threads are right around 9/16" and that size o-ring is 9/16" ID and 3/4" OD. I luckily had a 3/4" SS shim pack from my hording supplies that had washers of varying thickness and used the one that was just thinner than the o-ring. Used Gasoila thread sealant that's rated for 20% ethanol. Used some star washers and another nut to double jamb it. Use some 3/8"ID x 1/2"OD Teflon tube and 157 OET SS crimp clamps. Also changed out the fill hose from PVC clear to some Napa fuel fill hose NBH1045 since I don't need to see through it. Napa lists it at Nitrile lined, but also says its suitable for use with gasoline, gasohol blends of ethanol, methanol, ethers, diesel and biodiesel to B20, so it should be good for CA fuel.

 

[Grendel]

So we went from fuel pick ups to sight glass?

Meh.

 

[94toytruck]

Sight tube on my fuel cell, I'll pass.

 

[HYDRODYNAMIC]

So we went from fuel pick ups to sight glass?

Meh.

Not so much about the sight tube as it is about plumbing. There is a phobia about only being able to pickup from the top of the tank. I see no reason that a pickup can not come in from the side or bottom of a tank if done correctly. On an external pump not having to lift the fuel to the top matters. That's why in tank pumps have an easier life pulling from the bottom of the tank.

 

[CarterKraft]

Not so much about the sight tube as it is about plumbing. There is a phobia about only being able to pickup from the top of the tank. I see no reason that a pickup can not come in from the side or bottom of a tank if done correctly. On an external pump not having to lift the fuel to the top matters. That's why in tank pumps have an easier life pulling from the bottom of the tank.

Diesel truck sumps?

FASS STK-5500BO "No Drop" Fuel Tank Sump (Bowl Only)

Check out the deal on FASS STK-5500BO "No Drop" Fuel Tank Sump (Bowl Only) at XDP

www.xtremediesel.com

 

[aczlan]

Not so much about the sight tube as it is about plumbing. There is a phobia about only being able to pickup from the top of the tank. I see no reason that a pickup can not come in from the side or bottom of a tank if done correctly. On an external pump not having to lift the fuel to the top matters. That's why in tank pumps have an easier life pulling from the bottom of the tank.

The physical height of the pump in relation to the bottom of the tank will make more difference and how hard pump has to work to move fuel than pulling out of the top or the bottom IMO.
If the external pump is physically located at the same level (or lower) than the bottom of the tank, the friction losses (due to the extra length of pipe and elbows) will be the ONLY difference in the amount of suction needed between a pump that is plumbed out of the top of the tank and one plumbed out of the bottom of the tank (once the lines are full of fuel and it can siphon).
Same with an in tank pump vs an external pump sitting at or below the bottom of the tank.

Aaron Z

 

[HYDRODYNAMIC]

Not sure anyone wants or needs to do this but a cell with the large oval opening could have a drop in external pump assembly. It would look like a top hat turned upside down. Pick up is low almost at the bottom of the cell and the external pump or pumps could sit in the dry open area inside the cell. Lower head lift, external pump, easier access to pumps.

 

[gt1guy]

Not so much about the sight tube as it is about plumbing. There is a phobia about only being able to pickup from the top of the tank. I see no reason that a pickup can not come in from the side or bottom of a tank if done correctly. On an external pump not having to lift the fuel to the top matters. That's why in tank pumps have an easier life pulling from the bottom of the tank.

I think that phobia comes from racing with a real fuel cell and the fact that in a bad wreck it's generally the sides and the bottom of cell that takes the damage and abuse. It's is the low hanging fruit compared to the top.

A true fuel cell with a bladder inside, you would never want to add fittings in the sides or bottom because that bladder has to be able to deform when the can gets smashed in a wreck. Any kind of fitting other than on top would get ripped out and .......fire.

A fuel tank like you have, without a bladder, as long as it is well secured/protected and you don't plan on having it torpedoed by another car at 100mph, I wouldn't think twice about putting fittings where ever you want.

There's a lot of trucks on the road with tanks in the bed with fittings at the bottom.

 

[HYDRODYNAMIC]

I think that phobia comes from racing with a real fuel cell and the fact that in a bad wreck it's generally the sides and the bottom of cell that takes the damage and abuse. It's is the low hanging fruit compared to the top.

A true fuel cell with a bladder inside, you would never want to add fittings in the sides or bottom because that bladder has to be able to deform when the can gets smashed in a wreck. Any kind of fitting other than on top would get ripped out and .......fire.

A fuel tank like you have, without a bladder, as long as it is well secured/protected and you don't plan on having it torpedoed by another car at 100mph, I wouldn't think twice about putting fittings where ever you want.

There's a lot of trucks on the road with tanks in the bed with fittings at the bottom.

That a good point to bring up. Tanks vs cell vs hard bladder vs flexible bladder. The goat built tank is a rotomold hard tank that can have a metal cover put around it and used for racing or pass tech. Other companies use a hard tank with a metal cover and call it a fuel cell, and I believe a number of Ultra4 teams use them. These can have bulkhead fittings that pass through both the metal and plastic and sandwich them together. Then you have flexible bladders inside of a metal tank, these being more high end with molded ports at the top fill plate area.
I agree a soft bladder with ports across its area is asking for a tear.
I think some of the hard plastic tanks with metal covers will have a metal cutout near the bulkhead so the two materials are not fighting each other at the ports.