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Fuel Pick-up

Av8torTom

Well Known Member
I don't like the soft 3/8" OD aluminum tube used for the fuel pick-up inside the tank. Any reason not to use stainless steel? Is it difficult to bend and flair?

Thanks,

Tom
 
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Aluminum Tube

There are two possibilities for the fuel pickup tubes, the sawcut ones as shown in the plans and the optional ones in the accessories catalog online which have a finger screen safety wired and prosealed to the tube. Consider the latter for your tanks. I think the type of sawcut/screen is more important than the type of tubing.

In answer to your question, yes, stainless steel is much harder to flare and bend. If you want a better material than the soft aluminum tube in the kit consider 5052-0 in the ACS catalog, it is a much stronger alloy. In any case, whether 3003-0, 5052-0 or stainless, the material should be annealed or
"-0" temper for easier fabrication.
 
Saw cuts

Terry, yes - it's the saw cuts that bother me. Seems like the end could easily break off after a while from vibration.

ACS has 5052-0

OD ID Thickness Part number
3/8 0.305 .035 03-39500

Think I'll order some of that and see how it is.
 
I was more worried about their performance as a screen than them breaking; I never heard of that happening. I'll be using these from Vans on my -7. You might want to talk to them to make sure they'll work in a -9 tank.

A fine mesh screen is safety wired and prosealed to the tube.
cat-med_fuel-pickup.jpg
 
Doesn't say

Miles, it doesn't say that those fuel pick-ups are specific to any model does it?
Thanks,
T.
 
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Miles, it doesn't say that those fuel pick-ups are specific to any model does it?
Thanks,
T.

Correct. I would hope that means they fit all models, but I would call Van's to make sure. The -9 does have a differently shaped tank/leading edge.
 
I used the ones from Vans on my RV-9A and they seem to be fine. I didn't care for the saw cut way of doing it either.
 
The pre-made Vans pick-ups with the nice mesh screen fit my RV9 tanks just fine. The tubes are the same soft aluminum used throughout the fuel system. A little light bending to get the pickup to sit a few thousandths off the bottom of the tank is all it takes. Maybe I should have bent them to sit ON the tank bottom, but figured I didn't want the mesh rubbing on the tank bottom from vibration. Anyway, the point is, the pre-made fuel pickups are quite nice, decently inexpensive, and fit the 9 just dandy.
 
You'll be glad you ordered those from Vans, Tom. I put them in both of my tanks and I like 'em.
 
Does anyone with these Van's mesh screen pickups have any data on their unusable fuel? I installed these per the plans in my RV-7 (as low as I could to the bottom of the tank and as far aft as possible, then performed two tests to determine remaining fuel, one in level flight attitude and one with the tail down. In both cases I was left with just under 7 liters, or 1.8gal each side when the pump started sucking air (I disconnected the fuel line at the fuel servo and just pumped into a bucket until the pump first started sucked air, then undid the tank drain and measured the remaining quantity). I've seen other posts where people have as little as 10oz left in the tank (with any unspecified pickup situation), and I'm wondering how this is possible. Are my remaining fuel numbers really way out of the ballpark?
Tom.
 
Problem solved. Leaking wing root gascolators (inadequately tightened and not lockwired by yours truly) caused the pump to suck air when the tanks got below 7 liters. Now the left tank only has 45 ml unuseable, and the right tank 60ml in level flight attitude.

Tom.
 
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