I'm not quite ready to post all about it yet, but since I wadded up my '14 ES in Wyoming 18 months ago and could have put my hand through the mangled carcass of my McAvan fuel cell....I'm in the process of having a new fuel cell built. Yay!
I'm helping the builder a bit, doing the fuel line part mostly myself having learned building my own one-off-one-use cell for a special Alamo Express ride that from the point you drill a hole in your perfectly good fuel tank to where the fuel cell feeds...there are lots of turns, small orifices, and no standard bill of materials to get as a kit. Many fuel cells are based on fuel lines that are rated at 1/4" or maybe 5/16", but have much smaller orifices along the way depending on which part you're in.
Perhaps the smallest diameter part comes from the fairly common and economical ($20-$30) CPC Quick Disconnect Couplings. But measuring the orifice of their 3/8" rated barbed series actually necks down to half that diameter of 0.22 inches. Compare that to an -6 AN fitting that's a true 0.37 inches and talking less than half the potential flow. I've always preferred gravity-feed cells since gravity works more consistently than fuel pumps.
However, a serious factor if you're trying to stick with a gravity feed cell that is it's designed to be low-profile to begin with....which this one is.
So, I just sourced a seriously cool quick-connect piece that's all spiffy Jiffy-Tite black anodized aluminum and will go with my other red anodized bits I'm accumulating...and its no longer the most narrow point! $65 ain't cheap, but sure seems like a quality engineered product.
So, consider this a tease with more to come and a big reveal. I think the end product is going to a premium fuel cell option for other FJR folks..
I'm helping the builder a bit, doing the fuel line part mostly myself having learned building my own one-off-one-use cell for a special Alamo Express ride that from the point you drill a hole in your perfectly good fuel tank to where the fuel cell feeds...there are lots of turns, small orifices, and no standard bill of materials to get as a kit. Many fuel cells are based on fuel lines that are rated at 1/4" or maybe 5/16", but have much smaller orifices along the way depending on which part you're in.
Perhaps the smallest diameter part comes from the fairly common and economical ($20-$30) CPC Quick Disconnect Couplings. But measuring the orifice of their 3/8" rated barbed series actually necks down to half that diameter of 0.22 inches. Compare that to an -6 AN fitting that's a true 0.37 inches and talking less than half the potential flow. I've always preferred gravity-feed cells since gravity works more consistently than fuel pumps.
However, a serious factor if you're trying to stick with a gravity feed cell that is it's designed to be low-profile to begin with....which this one is.
So, I just sourced a seriously cool quick-connect piece that's all spiffy Jiffy-Tite black anodized aluminum and will go with my other red anodized bits I'm accumulating...and its no longer the most narrow point! $65 ain't cheap, but sure seems like a quality engineered product.
So, consider this a tease with more to come and a big reveal. I think the end product is going to a premium fuel cell option for other FJR folks..
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