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fuel filter in engine compartment

Little Wing

Little Wing

Active Member
Hello looking for opinions on mounting my fuel filter on the engine mount. RV8 IO360 dual electric pumps with efii system 32 excess fuel return to tank. Braided fire sleeved fuel lines firewall forward. Want a solution to ease maintenance opposed to mounting with pumps on the forward lower cabin floor. Would this be a no go on a DAR inspection?

Thanks,
Rod

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Do you have the space to mount the fuel filter next to the fuel pump outlet right on the firewall? It seems like an easier solution than mounting on the engine mount. Also mounting the filter vertical may affect the fuel flow. Statically fuel problems are killers for the EAB so I stuck as closely to the plan for my build. But you can do a fuel flow test to prove your system works safely before the DAR sign off
 
I went with the Aerolabs filter to ease that maintenance aspect. This is plumbed before the pump.
 

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Suggestion

Here's what I came up with. Maintenance access through the front bagage area might not be as easy as wished, and once a year I might let out a few unprintable words here... we'll see...



I don't know if it would be an issue for a filter in the engine side, as for heat or other issues. Maybe you should check with Robert?
 

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AT 46 +- psi, I doubt seriously that the flow is going to be affected. Depending on th efilter medium of course. We do a similar install for our SDS packages.

Tom
 
fuel filter location

It will be much easier to clean forward of the firewall, that's for sure. I put mine in a similar place to Eric - not that hard to maintain. I've removed the assembly twice to check the filter for debris, and it's about a 30 min task with the method I used.

http://www.rv8.ch/andair-fuel-pump-upgrade/
 
Is the filter metal? If so, it will be a heat conductor and may (or may not) cause vapor lock issues, whether on hot starts or (even worse), in flight.

I'd think long and hard before making a compromise on operational safety to improve maintenance access/convenience.
 
I don't see a temperature issue here, as it is a recirculating system at 40+ psi. Just use the usual best practice methods to minimize radiant heating.

In general, I do not like to see vertical screen filters. I think they tend to accumulate water when present in the fuel supply, more so than a horizontal filter, and a lot of it makes its way back down the inlet line at shutdown, usually back to the pump. Water is hard on fuel pumps and PWM injectors.
 
Wouldn't a fuel filter in the engine compartment be about the same as a gascolator in the engine compartment which was the standard for decades? I doubt a DAR would find a problem with it. I know we had a fuel filter on the engine mount on the Starduster I had a share in and had no problems with it.
 
Good point Dan about the water, something I didn't consider. I will go ahead and mount the filter with with the pumps on the floor and embrace the associated suck!
Thanks all for your opinions!
 
I use a Delco high pressure EFI fuel filter, it's mounted vertically on the accessory case of the engine, and I throw it away at every condition inspection. No issues with heat, water, vapor lock or access. It's staring me right in the face with the cowl top removed and takes about 5 minutes to change.

If I had to do it over again I wouldn't change a thing.
 
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