Fuel lines, what material?

[Weekend Yachtsman]

My boat has nylon fuel lines, which I regard as unsatisfactory on safety grounds.

I plan to replace them with metal pipes, the question is what metal?

Copper central heating microbore pipe?

Stainless? (cheaper, actually, but very hard to work)

Or something else?

 

[rivonia]

Use the thick rubber, the same as they use to fill your tanks with.

Peter

 

[dmmbruce]

Don't use metal, it cracks.

Also a surveyor will fail it.
Then demand it be changed for proper black rubber fuel pipe.

Mike

 

[jdc]

Bs / iso 7840

My boat has nylon fuel lines, which I regard as unsatisfactory on safety grounds.

I plan to replace them with metal pipes...

I seriously doubt that nylon (aka polyamide) has been used - at least I've never heard of it.

The correct material is, I believe, a synthetic rubber with reinforcing. The standard is ISO 7840, which is quite thick - about 19mm OD for an 8mm ID - and is fire resistant. It's used pretty much throughout my boat precisely becuase the regulations insist, and I think for good reason.

I wouldn't use metal pipes except for short runs which suffer no vibration or flexing at all.

You can buy the approriate tube from http://www.ssldieselparts.co.uk/marine-fuel-hose-7840-p-582.html

 

[vyv_cox]

I seriously doubt that nylon (aka polyamide) has been used - at least I've never heard of it.

Maybe they didn't bother to inform you

My VW van has nylon fuel pipes. See here for one example Googling 'nylon fuel pipe' gets 127,000 hits.

Copper is often used for fuel pipes but it does suffer fatigue fairly readily so needs to be well supported.

 

[Dipper]

My boat had what looked like nylon fuel pipes as well. Initially I changed them for copper but then fitted the proper 'rubber' ones. The rubber ones are much easier to fit and secure. I'm reassured by the post stating they are fire resistant.

 

[stuhaynes]

My boat has nylon fuel lines, which I regard as unsatisfactory on safety grounds.

I plan to replace them with metal pipes, the question is what metal?

Copper central heating microbore pipe?

Stainless? (cheaper, actually, but very hard to work)

Or something else?

If I were you I'd talk to the boat safety person. Earlier this year a boat only 50 yards away from where I'm sitting now was failed because of its (diesel)fuel lines. The whole lot had to be changed to meet an updated standard. I don't know the details, but before you spend any money ring the BSC man and see what he/she has to say. The boat owner used several swear words in describing how much it cost him. Stu

 

[pvb]

What a strange selection of replies! The correct answer is to use rigid metal pipes for the majority of the fuel line, then use the minimum amount of flexible pipe needed to cope with the engine's vibration. The rigid pipes need to be properly supported at regular intervals. The flexible pipes need to be supported as required to prevent abrasion damage.

Rigid metal pipes are usually copper. Flexible pipes are reinforced rubber, and are usually marked with their approval standard - look for ISO7840, SAE J 1527 or DIN 4798.

 

[JONDAVIS]

fuelines

i agree with PVB after fitting a new Beta engine an independant marine engineer advised me to fit new soft copper microbore piping clipped every 300mm up to the new engine and then flexible fuel hose to the engine filter these fuel hoses from asap supplies have copper tails for use with an olive and compression fitting.

 

[bikedaft]

will the new bio diesel be ok with the copper?

 

[stevek]

At a recent Fuel Forum the PLA stated that all their fuel lines were stainless steel as copper tends to corrode and corrosion will be worse with sulphur free bio diesels.