Fuel and oil hoses

[Oldgeezer]

Has anyone had trouble using auto speed shop Aero Quip stainless steel braided hose and fittings on their RV's? The speed shop, I found has 37 degree, nickle plated straight fittings, and hose for half the cost of products with the word aviation appended on the front. The only noticeable difference is the nipple that goes into the hose seems a little shorter.
Any thoughts appreciated.

Oldgeezer
RV9A, FWF

[Christopher Murphy]

The oil and fuel hoses on your airplane are some of the most important components you will install. Aircraft spec (AN or MS ) hardware has evolved from 100+ years of aviation developement. If you want to save money buy aircraft grade materials and learn how to make and test your own hoses. Save money somewhere else, your life could depend on it.

CM

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by Oldgeezer

Has anyone had trouble using auto speed shop Aero Quip stainless steel braided hose and fittings on their RV's? The speed shop, I found has 37 degree, nickle plated straight fittings, and hose for half the cost of products with the word aviation appended on the front. The only noticeable difference is the nipple that goes into the hose seems a little shorter.
Any thoughts appreciated.

Oldgeezer
RV9A, FWF

All the hoses on my O-320 RV-6 were made from "speed shop" braided hose and AN fittings. They have worked flawlessly for ten years and ~1000 hrs. I replaced the hose at six years (recommended service life) but reused the fittings.

Some of the fittings were actually stamped AN, the rest were obviously the same fitting but without the AN papertrail. Aeroquip was the manufacturer of the fittings and hose.

Be sure you understand how to properly assemble the fittings, and have the hoses pressure tested at a hydraulics shop. You might check to see if the hydraulics shop can make the hoses for you, the price may very well be reasonable.

[sf3543]

Most of the fittings on my RV6 hoses were "Speed Shop" and at 900 hours none ever had any issues.
Actually, the items marked "Aircraft" seem to require the most maintenance!

[RV7ator]

Try them: http://www.bonacoinc.com/

Speed shop hose material and construction is functionally no different than "aircraft grade", which quite frequently is just paper trail legalisms for what's otherwise the same material at the manufacturing level.

Who ever supplies your hoses, assure they are pressure tested and obtained from a source who understands the difference between 45 and 37 degrees. Contrary to the above post, the manufacture (assembly) is most critical, requiring skill, experience, and the proper tools. It's one place amateur built is not a good idea.

One comment on Bonaco's: their firesleeve looks wimpy compared to Aeroquip or Stratoflex. Might want to compare specs to your satisfaction.

John Siebold

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by RV7ator

Try them: http://www.bonacoinc.com/

Speed shop hose material and construction is functionally no different than "aircraft grade", which quite frequently is just paper trail legalisms for what's otherwise the same material at the manufacturing level.

Who ever supplies your hoses, assure they are pressure tested and obtained from a source who understands the difference between 45 and 37 degrees. Contrary to the above post, the manufacture (assembly) is most critical, requiring skill, experience, and the proper tools. It's one place amateur built is not a good idea.

One comment on Bonaco's: their firesleeve looks wimpy compared to Aeroquip or Stratoflex. Might want to compare specs to your satisfaction.

John Siebold

I certainly don't want to encourage anyone to use inferior hoses. In case someone is reading this thread and has never assembled hoses, it might be interesting to know that assembling the Aeroquip fittings and hoses is not a difficult or particularly demanding process and requires no special tools.

With proper attention to detail (a trait anyone building an aircraft should have) hoses that perform well and are safe can be quickly manufactured. The race car guys do this all the time and their machines often run in environments much more demanding than our aircraft applications.

Being able to custom-build hoses on the spot to fit our particular firewall situation is a valuable option. However, if the builder has any doubt about his ability to safely manufacture hoses, commercially built hoses are probably the better option.