Flying on the Cheap - Again

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To All:

A fellow homebuilder spotted a female air-hose quick-connect fitting on
a fuel I'd just finished sloshing (riveted aluminum tank) and told me
he hadn't bothered to pressure-test his tank since it was gravity feed
and he figured just filling it up was enough of a test. He went on to
say that it hadn't leaked so I guess he was right.

I didn't bother to tell him the fitting wasn't there for the purpose of
pressure-testing.

Heat the end of your 2-ply fuel line in oil, you can push it onto a
female air-hose quick-connect fitting. Safety wire or even a
hose-clamp for the rich *******s, you got yourself a fuel-line fitting.


Why? Because it costs less than half a buck and works perfectly well.
Gettem from Harbor Freight. Three females and one male, plus a
quick-connect coupler. Wait for the sale, you can pick up the kit for
$1.79 (otherwise, it's about $3).

No big deal? Maybe not, if you got lots of money to waste.

Personally, I prefer aluminum tubing for fuel, vent & vacuum lines.
Old habits, etc. But if you have to squeeze ever nickle until the
buffalo farts, hose is makes pretty good sense. When properly
installed & supported, frequently inspected and periodically replaced,
hose can be made to serve for the plumbing in a minimum-cost,
VW-powered puddle jumper. Assuming you've got a drawer full of
fittings.

Back around Thanksgiving I reached in the drawer and came up empty and
the local auto-parts place wanted something like three bucks for ONE
1/4"-NPT to hose fitting, I needed four of them and they only had the
one in stock. I could turn them up on the lathe faster than they could
order them but on the way home I stopped by the Harbor Freight store in
Escondido and they had a whole bin of air-hose fittings on sale.
Bought a bunch. Worked fine.

They're cast brass rather than extruded. And only come in straights,
male or female. But a gravity-feed system doesn't see any pressure to
speak of and space isn't at a premium in this particular airframe so
straight works okay.

Yeah, it's outside the box. No, it isn't unsafe; not when properly
installed. And the proof is no farther away than testing it for
yourself.

-R.S.Hoover

[Ken Reynolds]

Excellent idea Bob
What about the effect of the fuel on the rubber or whatever seals in the
couplings.
Ken
> wrote in message
oups.com...
> To All:
>
> A fellow homebuilder spotted a female air-hose quick-connect fitting on
> a fuel I'd just finished sloshing (riveted aluminum tank) and told me
> he hadn't bothered to pressure-test his tank since it was gravity feed
> and he figured just filling it up was enough of a test. He went on to
> say that it hadn't leaked so I guess he was right.
>
> I didn't bother to tell him the fitting wasn't there for the purpose of
> pressure-testing.
>
> Heat the end of your 2-ply fuel line in oil, you can push it onto a
> female air-hose quick-connect fitting. Safety wire or even a
> hose-clamp for the rich *******s, you got yourself a fuel-line fitting.
>
>
> Why? Because it costs less than half a buck and works perfectly well.
> Gettem from Harbor Freight. Three females and one male, plus a
> quick-connect coupler. Wait for the sale, you can pick up the kit for
> $1.79 (otherwise, it's about $3).
>
> No big deal? Maybe not, if you got lots of money to waste.
>
> Personally, I prefer aluminum tubing for fuel, vent & vacuum lines.
> Old habits, etc. But if you have to squeeze ever nickle until the
> buffalo farts, hose is makes pretty good sense. When properly
> installed & supported, frequently inspected and periodically replaced,
> hose can be made to serve for the plumbing in a minimum-cost,
> VW-powered puddle jumper. Assuming you've got a drawer full of
> fittings.
>
> Back around Thanksgiving I reached in the drawer and came up empty and
> the local auto-parts place wanted something like three bucks for ONE
> 1/4"-NPT to hose fitting, I needed four of them and they only had the
> one in stock. I could turn them up on the lathe faster than they could
> order them but on the way home I stopped by the Harbor Freight store in
> Escondido and they had a whole bin of air-hose fittings on sale.
> Bought a bunch. Worked fine.
>
> They're cast brass rather than extruded. And only come in straights,
> male or female. But a gravity-feed system doesn't see any pressure to
> speak of and space isn't at a premium in this particular airframe so
> straight works okay.
>
> Yeah, it's outside the box. No, it isn't unsafe; not when properly
> installed. And the proof is no farther away than testing it for
> yourself.
>
> -R.S.Hoover
>

[[email protected]]

Ken Reynolds wrote:
> Excellent idea Bob
> What about the effect of the fuel on the rubber or whatever seals in
the
> couplings.
------------------------------------------------

Dear Ken,

You don't use the quick-disconnect couplings, just the straight,
one-piece fittings, over which you slide the hose, secured with safety
wire or hose-clamps.

-R.S.Hoover

[Blueskies]

> wrote in message ups.com...
>
> Ken Reynolds wrote:
>> Excellent idea Bob
>> What about the effect of the fuel on the rubber or whatever seals in
> the
>> couplings.
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> Dear Ken,
>
> You don't use the quick-disconnect couplings, just the straight,
> one-piece fittings, over which you slide the hose, secured with safety
> wire or hose-clamps.
>
> -R.S.Hoover
>

Yup, and you could even chuck it in the lathe turn some 'barbs' on it if you really wanted to...

[Morgans]

> wrote
>
> Dear Ken,
>
> You don't use the quick-disconnect couplings, just the straight,
> one-piece fittings, over which you slide the hose, secured with safety
> wire or hose-clamps.
>
> -R.S.Hoover
>

You have me good and confused. If you are talking about the coupling that
comes three of one kind and one of the other kind in a pack, and are quick
connect, the three are of the "male" designation, not the female as you
posted. Then, of course, you can get male or female pipe threads on either
of the types of couplings.

Or are you talking about the barbed fittings you can get that are used for
air hose repairs?

I like reading your write-ups, but this one lost me.
--
Jim in NC

[Dave S]

Morgans wrote:
> > wrote
>
>>Dear Ken,
>>
>>You don't use the quick-disconnect couplings, just the straight,
>>one-piece fittings, over which you slide the hose, secured with safety
>>wire or hose-clamps.
>>
>>-R.S.Hoover
>>
>
>
> You have me good and confused. If you are talking about the coupling that
> comes three of one kind and one of the other kind in a pack, and are quick
> connect, the three are of the "male" designation, not the female as you
> posted. Then, of course, you can get male or female pipe threads on either
> of the types of couplings.
>
> Or are you talking about the barbed fittings you can get that are used for
> air hose repairs?
>
> I like reading your write-ups, but this one lost me.

i THINK he is saying... use the male end of the "quick connect fittings"
the part with no moving parts, no o rings... just a metal fitting... and
use it as a poor mans "barb". Of course, you could just as easy go to a
tool store and get barbed fittings too for not a whole lot more.

Dave

[[email protected]]

Morgans wrote:

> You have me good and confused. If you are talking about the
coupling that
> comes three of one kind and one of the other kind in a pack, and are
quick
> connect, the three are of the "male" designation, not the female as
you
> posted.
-------------------------------------------------

Whatever.

I was picking them out of a bin, onesy-twosy, found out about the kit
later, obviously mis-read (or mis-typed) its description. Sorry for
the confusion.

I used a female fitting and a modified nipple as a bulkhead fitting
(ie, to the gascolator), male fittings everywhere else.

--------------------------------------------

> Or are you talking about the barbed fittings you can get that are
used for
> air hose repairs?
>
---------------------------------------------
Definitely not.

-R.S.Hoover

[flybynightkarmarepair]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42444
Brass
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=4873
Steel

Picture jamming the hose over the part of the coupling that normally is
the "Male" part of the quick release coupling.

Compare to:

http://tinyurl.com/6r8wg

although this may not the the exact equivalent size for the hose Bob is
using, you get the picture.

[Vaughn]

"Blueskies" > wrote in message
om...
>
>
> Yup, and you could even chuck it in the lathe turn some 'barbs' on it if you
> really wanted to...

True, but I am mystified why you would bother. I am holding in my hand a
nice brass NPT to hose barb fitting that I purchased at Ace hardware just
yesterday for 57 cents. Just how many of those things do you use in a
homebuilt and how much is your time worth?

Vaughn


>
>

[Blueskies]

"Vaughn" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Blueskies" > wrote in message om...
>>
>>
>> Yup, and you could even chuck it in the lathe turn some 'barbs' on it if you really wanted to...
>
> True, but I am mystified why you would bother. I am holding in my hand a nice brass NPT to hose barb fitting that
> I purchased at Ace hardware just yesterday for 57 cents. Just how many of those things do you use in a homebuilt and
> how much is your time worth?
>
> Vaughn
>

I think the original issue was the parts were not available. The ones identified are steel, also. I don't see the need
for the 'barbs' now that I have seen the actual parts.