This isn't exactly RV-related, hence this forum. But hopefully it will help someone...
Recently I had a fuel starvation issue with my old Ford Bronco. Like our RVs, it has dual tanks, with a switching valve- electric, in this case, because it's fuel injected, though the latter isn't relevant here. Accelerating away from a stop, it felt like it was running out of gas. I pulled to the side of the road, switched tanks, the engine re-lit and I drove home. I removed the cheap steel filter that I had installed in-line between the main tank (the one that was starving the engine) and the fuel selector valve. When I got it off, it rattled. Cut it open with a hacksaw and found that it had fallen apart internally. The adhesive bonding the filter element to the inside of the can had turned to a soft rubbery goop. I blew air backward through the selector valve and a glob of goop shot out, revealing what the problem was.
Later I went to the parts store in search of another similar filter (made, or marketed by, Mr Gasket in this case) and noted that the filters are now labeled as unsuitable for E85. Clearly they are unsuitable for any fuel that's laced with alcohol, as all mogas in California is these days. Needless to say, I'm not going to run one of these filters anymore.
RV relevance: I have seen this type of filter on a few RVs in the past. I've seen cautions, I believe from Mel and/or Walt, to not run this type of filter on our aircraft. Probably good advice in general. And if you run mogas in your RV, you really don't want to run one.
Here's a crappy iphone photo of the filter, after I cut it open. Some bits of goopy rubber are barely visible at lower left.
Here's a generic photo lifted from the internet, of what it looked like new, for reference:
Recently I had a fuel starvation issue with my old Ford Bronco. Like our RVs, it has dual tanks, with a switching valve- electric, in this case, because it's fuel injected, though the latter isn't relevant here. Accelerating away from a stop, it felt like it was running out of gas. I pulled to the side of the road, switched tanks, the engine re-lit and I drove home. I removed the cheap steel filter that I had installed in-line between the main tank (the one that was starving the engine) and the fuel selector valve. When I got it off, it rattled. Cut it open with a hacksaw and found that it had fallen apart internally. The adhesive bonding the filter element to the inside of the can had turned to a soft rubbery goop. I blew air backward through the selector valve and a glob of goop shot out, revealing what the problem was.
Later I went to the parts store in search of another similar filter (made, or marketed by, Mr Gasket in this case) and noted that the filters are now labeled as unsuitable for E85. Clearly they are unsuitable for any fuel that's laced with alcohol, as all mogas in California is these days. Needless to say, I'm not going to run one of these filters anymore.
RV relevance: I have seen this type of filter on a few RVs in the past. I've seen cautions, I believe from Mel and/or Walt, to not run this type of filter on our aircraft. Probably good advice in general. And if you run mogas in your RV, you really don't want to run one.
Here's a crappy iphone photo of the filter, after I cut it open. Some bits of goopy rubber are barely visible at lower left.
Here's a generic photo lifted from the internet, of what it looked like new, for reference:
