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Alternative fuel pumps

BGordon

Well Known Member
Good morning everyone,
I am just starting on my fuel system for an IO-320 and I know Andair is the group favorite, but does anyone have experience with high performance pumps for cars? There is a Summit Racing just down the road from me and I was contemplating going that route.

Thanks
Brandon
 
Obviously, this is experimental aviation and you can do whatever you want but if you go off of the proven track, make absolutely certain that you know what you are dealing with. I recently bought a beautiful earlier build RV-8. It was near perfect in every respect except it had a boost pump system that was built in accordance with a magazine article written in the early 2000s. The system was a bypass system that used an automotive pump that had been modified to put out the pressure needed by our fuel injection systems. It was not rated for continuous use. Also, the way it was plumbed, there was no pressure indication. So, you had a system that you couldn't tell if it was working and, if it was, you weren't guaranteed it would work long enough to get you back on the ground as an internal heat switch would shut it off if it got too hot. It was also a maze of hoses and check valves. It had flown 400 hrs like this but there was NO way I was going to leave it. I flew the plane home and immediately ripped it all out and put it back to exact Vans spec with new T&S hoses and an AFP pump system. In my view, fuel systems are just too critical to go too far from the tried and true.
 
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Obviously, this is experimental aviation and you can do whatever you want but if you go off of the proven track, make absolutely certain that you what you are dealing with. I recently bought a beautiful earlier build RV-8. It was near perfect in every respect except it had a boost pump system that was built in accordance with a magazine article written in the early 2000s. The system was a bypass system that used an automotive pump that had been modified to put out the pressure needed by our fuel injection systems. It was not rated for continuous use. Also, the way it was plumbed, there was no pressure indication. So, you had a system that you couldn't tell if it was working and, if it was, you weren't guaranteed it would work long enough to get you back on the ground as an internal heat switch would shut it off if it got too hot. It was also a maze of hoses and check valves. It had flown 400 hrs like this but there was NO way I was going to leave it. I flew the plane home and immediately ripped it all out and put it back to exact Vans spec with new T&S hoses and an AFP pump system. In my view, fuel systems are just too critical to go too far from the tried and true.

Good call!
 
Good morning everyone,
I am just starting on my fuel system for an IO-320 and I know Andair is the group favorite, but does anyone have experience with high performance pumps for cars? There is a Summit Racing just down the road from me and I was contemplating going that route.

Thanks
Brandon

I don’t think I’d characterize Andair as the favorite among RV’ers - it gets discussed a lot, but it is probably installed in a much smaller percentage of aircraft than the AFP pumps. I have an AFP in one of my injected airplanes, and an EFII pump in the other - both of them work great, and were designed specifically for aircraft use (using an automotive pump as their heart).

Just remember that fuel delivery problems are the number one cause of unexpected engine stoppage in homebuilts, and unexpected engine stoppage is the number one reason for homebuilt crashes caused by mechanical issues - so if this is your first airplane build, better to stick with the tried and true. Many, many people think they had a better idea for their fuel system, and ended up in the weeds....

Paul
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I have researched and decided to go with Airflow Performance and was wondering....in my research I saw that some are using two fuel filters, located outside of the fuselage instead of the single filter right by the pump. To those using the one filter do you have problems with checking or changing the filter? Do you end up getting fuel inside the cockpit?

Thanks again
Brandon
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I have researched and decided to go with Airflow Performance and was wondering....in my research I saw that some are using two fuel filters, located outside of the fuselage instead of the single filter right by the pump. To those using the one filter do you have problems with checking or changing the filter? Do you end up getting fuel inside the cockpit?

Thanks again
Brandon

Every time you open those lines to check/change/clean the filter, yes you will spill fuel in the cockpit. Also consider the problems with having one single filter that can become plugged, versus two of them where one gets plugged but you can still get fuel from the other side.
 
I have the AFP fuel pump in my -9A and use this combination fuel filter/gascolator mounted right below my fuel selector valve (Andair) pre-boost pump. https://www.flyboyaccessories.com/product-p/72rr02.htm I hated servicing the fuel filter in the tunnel of my RV-10 and the mess of mopping up fuel when you disconnect to service it. Not gonna need to do that anymore!
 

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Thanks for the input everyone. I have researched and decided to go with Airflow Performance and was wondering....in my research I saw that some are using two fuel filters, located outside of the fuselage instead of the single filter right by the pump. To those using the one filter do you have problems with checking or changing the filter? Do you end up getting fuel inside the cockpit?

Thanks again
Brandon

Good selection, actually the most popular, but so reliable it needs no discussion. (as Paul mentioned) Just get a double fist full of rags and/or towels to soak up the gas, and stuff them in a plastic bag to pitch out of the cabin. Not really so much trouble if prepared. You can see if there is debris inside from the first white towel.
 
I agree with Paul---The only real reason we plumb Andair pumps is because Vans chose it for the RV14. Dont know why, since they have used AFP pumps as accessories, and for OE on the RV10. NOTHING against Andair, but we thought it was alittle weird to spec the PX375 pump when they generally hadnt used it on anything else.

AFP is the generally accepted pump for most mechanical injections we see on RVs and others. EFii has a very good pump as an option. For Duplex systems, we plumb ALOT of SDS pumps to match their systems.

Tom
 
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