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Fuel Drain o-ring

Paul 5r4

Paul 5r4

Well Known Member
Doing some maintenance today and after draining fuel for a new W/B numbers, I noticed the o-ring on one of them had tiny slits and needed to be replaced. My question is this.... can I replace these o-rings with some I have which came from Lowes. They are for faucets I think. Anyway, the ones from Lowes are exactly the same size. Can I use them or do I need to order new "aircraft" grade o-rings?

Appreciate any information.
Thanks in advance!
 
Don't screw around with the hardware store o rings in your fuel system. You have no way of knowing whether they will hold up to fuel exposure and you don't want to find out the answer is no mid flight. Order from ACS or equivalent. It's not like they are a big ticket item.

Erich
 
For roughly the price of a new quick drain, you can buy a nitrile o ring kit that will have the right size (*10), and enough of other sizes to keep anything you currently own and might own in the future, o ringed for the rest of your life.

The google is your friend. (So is Amazon & ebay.)

edit: Been there, did that, got the t shirt, and a lot of o rings. Been holding up fine for years of exposure to E-free mogas and avgas.
 
Aircraft Spruce has 'em

My AS order of them has scrolled and the baggie they came in is at the hangar, but a considered search should turn up what you need on their website. They are cheap.

-d
 
But do go to Lowes and get a 1/8" NPT pipe plug for your onboard tool kit. If caught away from home or at home and you need to remove the drain for service, the pipe plug will keep the go juice where it belongs until you replace the drain. With a bit of practice you can swap out the drain for the plug with very little fuel loss.

A hint....perform this operation while standing at the leading edge of the wing. If you try this procedure while lying beneath the wing, you will be wearing fuel from hand to armpit. :)
 
Thanks for the info guys new ones on order from ACS. Sam... great idea and I'm going to do just that!
 
Last edited:
Sam Buchanan said:
But do go to Lowes and get a 1/8" NPT pipe plug for your onboard tool kit.
Click to expand...

I prefer having a spare drain in my on-board kit. When needed you swap it out and are done VS installing a plug and then having to change that out again later.
 
Paul 5r4 said:
Thanks for the info guys new ones on order from ACS. Sam... great idea and I'm going to do just that!
Click to expand...

Paul - if you haven't placed your order yet, when I need to order "smalls" like this, I try to plump my order up with a few down the road essentials to make the order larger and offset some of the shipping charges. Things to think about;
Crush Gaskets
Control Cable "boots"
Cotter pins for axle nuts
Torque Seal
etc....

Order extra and put them into your "kit". I keep a plastic cheapo tool box with all my CI stuff in it. Inevitably I will need a few small things at each CI.
 
so...

Is torque seal back on the market again?

Been needing that for some time now.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
JonJay said:
Paul - if you haven't placed your order yet, when I need to order "smalls" like this, I try to plump my order up with a few down the road essentials to make the order larger and offset some of the shipping charges. Things to think about;
Crush Gaskets
Control Cable "boots"
Cotter pins for axle nuts
Torque Seal
etc....

Order extra and put them into your "kit". I keep a plastic cheapo tool box with all my CI stuff in it. Inevitably I will need a few small things at each CI.
Click to expand...

I often use USPS shipping for small orders from Aircraft Spruce, it is usually very reasonable and a fraction of UPS fees.
 
Bill Boyd said:
Is torque seal back on the market again?

Been needing that for some time now.
Click to expand...

I bought TamperProof to avoid hazmat charges, $6.99 with free shipping and available in various colors.

51HPdHO9lJL._SL1000_.jpg
 
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