I put in an order for the balance of my flexible fuel/oil lines from Aircraft Specialty. Its a nice alternative for ordering hoses that I found on VAF. I like the way I can pick/choose my fuel lines right on the website. This way nothing gets lost in translation during a phone call. Most hose suppliers require you to put your order in by phone. C'mon people, embrace technology.
I think I've said this before, but just in case, if I were to do this all over again I wouldn't order ANY hoses from Van's FWF kit. Unless you have an exact copy of their standard system (which I surely don't), the hoses probably are not going to be the right length for your application. Order them custom...save the headache. I now have several extra hoses that I am stuck with...and they aren't cheap.
With this order of hoses (I added the firesleeve myself...saves some money), I was able to get all of my oil/fuel lines done...including the auxiliary fuel tanks.
Because of not very good planning on my part, this vent line coming out of the main tank attaching to the aux tank was hidden behind a wing nose rib. I was forced to either cut an access hole in the nose rib or pull the tank to get to it. I chose the latter. I opted for a flexible line here just for ease of assembly. Here you can see the hose in place. Now its easy to put the tank back on.
The plans I followed for the aux fuel tanks specified putting a fuel transfer pump in between the two tanks for takeoff and unusual attitude scenarios. I wasn't convinced they were needed and had heard that the original designer didn't even use his. I decided to remove them...for once, deciding to simplify my system. In place of the fuel pump, I also decided to add a check valve as shown here. The "U" shape in the line was intentional to allow for flex between the tanks.
If you are using the capacitance plate system from Dynon, you will need to install one of these converters (I have four...one for each tank). I don't like this design...they look flimsy (one exposed soldered wire could render it useless), have an exposed circuit board and seem like the bayonet connector could easily come unplugged. But, alas...I am stuck with it, there are not any options.
The ones on my aux tank are connected directly to the tank since they are well protected from the elements inside the wing. The main tanks however are right where the wing root fairing attaches to the wing...I can imagine plenty of water coming through this lap joint during a rain scenario. I decided I didn't like that and remotely mounted them inside the cockpit. Looking closely you can see my RG58 running into the fuse, protected by corrugated conduit.
Here you can see my fuel line routing...I added that coupler for ease of assembly/disassembly. Also notice how I safety wired the front tank attach point. Really no instructions that I saw from Van's on how to do this? I drilled a #30 hole in the bracket and used that for the safety wire attach point.
Once I got these last tidbits done, it was time to close up the wing root gap with the fairing. Not much to this task...did a little trim work to get a 3/16" gap and then installed the gap seal.
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