[T3] Is there a real issue with using 5/16" ID fuel hoseratedSAE 30 R7 ?

[Jim Adney]

On 23 Aug 2017 at 14:02, William J wrote:

> Jim what part number Parker hose do you use?

I went out to see exactly what I have at the moment and here's what I find:

a few feet of Aeroquip FC235-5, 30R1/6, now discontinued, but I'm hoarding 
it for myself even though it's dated 3Q95.  

a lot of Parker 5155-5, 30R3, which I can't find on the Parker site.

a lot of someone's 5/16" 30R7

I've never been able to make any sense of the SAE categories (30R???.) I 
even spend an hour in the engineering library where they are supposed to 
have all the SAE stuff and couldn't find it. It's probably there, but I just didn't 
know where to look, and the SAE standards seemed to occupy a whole wing 
of the library.

> I looked at their site and see a few different hoses for gasoline with
> Ethanol yet they don't talk much about if one can use FI type clamps
> yet the sell stainlees steel worm clmaps for low pressure systems.

For 30 psi, I don't think the clamp style is very important. Most anything will 
work. For higher pressures, the clamp style becomes important. That said, 
you have to be careful with the worm gear clamps on small diameter hose 
like ours. The small clamps have "buckles" that are arced to fit the small 
radius, but if you buy larger clamps and snug them down, they will tend to 
leak at the buckle.

> I saw some fuel lines that are rated 30r7/ ? and some that state 5 year
> life span.

5 years might be a reasonable lifetime in some situations. I find that good 
hose lasts much longer than that in our cars, but cheap hose may last much 
less than 5 years.  

> I didn't see the ethanol rating for the fuel line for engine
> application

I think anything sold these days as the automotive fuel hose is going to be 
ethanol compatable. Parker 395 series, plus the TBE and TBSE hoses look 
good for our applications. I'd tend to stick with the 395 or the TBE because 
of the actual ID, but the TBSE has the smallest permissible bend radius, 55 
mm.

The biggest problem is likely to be finding someone who has stock from 
which they're willing to sell you a few feet. In my years of buying hose, I've 
usually ended up buying 50-100 feet at a time to get good hose at a 
reasonable price. I don't sell much these days, but over the years, i've sold 
and installed a LOT of 5/16 hose.


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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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