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Author Topic: Fuel Pump on Bottle  (Read 1551 times)

Offline Motorman

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Fuel Pump on Bottle
« on: February 07, 2020, 09:10:06 PM »
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« Last Edit: August 25, 2021, 09:34:05 PM by Motorman »
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Online Brett Buck

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2020, 10:19:00 PM »
Anyone have a hand crank pump on your fuel bottle? I've seen this set up on the Dubro site but it's fairly expensive. Just wondering if the bottle tips over when you get down to less than 1/2 gal. and does the cap pop off if you crank too hard?

https://www.dubro.com/collections/fuel-accessories/products/fillin-station?variant=27880860807

 Quick answer is I don't know, I never used, or saw anyone else use,  that kind of pump. I was very satisfied with the Dave Brown peristaltic pump on my fuel cans.

    A lot of guys in the Northwest use the 'condiment'/ketchup pump because thats what Paul uses, but, I have seen nothing but problems in the form of fuel contamination from the guys that use them here. Paul always used a large automotive fuel filter on his, that seemed like a good idea based on what I saw.

    Brett

Offline Peter in Fairfax, VA

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2020, 05:08:15 AM »
Probably a holdover from flying combat, but graduated 60cc syringes work well for me.  They are inexpensive, too, at about 50 cents or a dollar each.  In my case, I bought ten dollars worth and give them out at the field when anyone has difficulty fueling.

An example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Pack-of-Global-Easy-Glide-60cc-60ML-LUER-LOCK-Sterile-Syringes-NO-NEEDLE/123459646812?epid=1757524386&hash=item1cbec4b55c:g:MKMAAOSw~OVWt86j

Though a critical part of fueling is not introducing dirt.  The Du-Bro fuel can cap fittings work pretty well:  https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=DUBP2192&P=FR&gclid=CjwKCAiA1fnxBRBBEiwAVUouUnLY5E4YW9a2lw5BQztB0lLh_fSnumM0bfHECPkzTSK1bB5AAjs1dRoCKFsQAvD_BwE

The bottle/can is not critical, but I like 1 litre lab bottles with a wide mouth: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-1-Nalgene-Packaging-Bottle-1000ml-32oz-Wide-Mouth-HDPE/262494497954?hash=item3d1de42ca2:g:5rIAAOSw3YNXaxkT

Offline BillP

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2020, 06:56:39 AM »
My experience with a similar crank pump from tower hobby wasn't positive. It broke and I don't think it lasted a yr of weekend flying. Replaced it with a Dave Brown Six Shooter.   I don't think it would strap on a plastic gal jug and be very user friendly due to flex. Mine is mounted on a flight box. 
Bill P.

Online Brett Buck

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2020, 08:37:36 AM »
I need to make a new flight box anyway, I mean how much castor oil can plywood hold?

  A LOT, apparently, my old one still leaves a ring whereever I set it down, and I haven't used it in 30+ years.

    Brett

Offline frank williams

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2020, 11:30:21 AM »
Just a thought that crossed my mind.  Sig used to have a system that had a squeeze bulb air pump with a one way valve in it that you essentially pressurized the jug with air to "pump" fuel out.  It worked pretty good till the valve started leaking.  But at any rate a different way to skin the cat. 

I've also always wanted to use a system where I transferred the gallon of fuel to a sealed  bag that had no air space.  I would then pump fuel from the bag either by pump or pressure.  This would keep air off the fuel at all times.  I was going to use the baggies out of a box of wine.  I would have had to reconfigure the plug to make it work.  I guess by the time I finished the box of juice I couldn't remember what I set out to do initially.  Never completed the project.

I think Dave Brown has a version of their pump that is made for a bottle.

Offline Will Hinton

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2020, 02:03:24 PM »
J.  I guess by the time I finished the box of juice I couldn't remember what I set out to do initially.  Never completed the project.

 LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~ LL~
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Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2020, 09:40:52 AM »
My experience with a similar crank pump from tower hobby wasn't positive. It broke and I don't think it lasted a yr of weekend flying. Replaced it with a Dave Brown Six Shooter.   I don't think it would strap on a plastic gal jug and be very user friendly due to flex. Mine is mounted on a flight box.

     If I was going to use a fuel pump, this is what I would use. Simple operation, with the main component being a length of large silicone tubing. If it wears out, they sell replacements for a few bucks. They have them for glow and for gas/oil/diesel. My wife once had a fancy schmancy coffee making machine that had a length  of silicone tubing that was part  of the drip system for the hot water. It split and started leaking. I called an appliance parts store and they said they could get it and would be 25 bucks or so!! I thought that the tubing looked familiar and compared it to the replacement Dave Brown pump tubing and it was a perfect match! Didn't even have to cut it. Might be useful for other repairs and emergencies. But when it comes to fueling stunt ships, I still use a SIG syringe with a Jim Lee plunger.
   Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee
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Offline Peter in Fairfax, VA

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2020, 11:20:18 AM »
Dan,

I'm not surprised you use a syringe, given the variety of your model engine experience.  Myself, I'm so used to using one that I don't get how a pump would be useful.  Though I understand that each person has their own technique.

For me, flying stunt, the goal is to have enough fuel to do the pattern, without having so little fuel that the last stunts have a marginal supply.  To achieve this, a tank slightly larger than the fuel required allows for some adjustment when fuel economy changes due to weather, fuel, prop, line length, etc.  In practice, the graduations on the syringe allow 3-1/2 ounces into a 4 ounce tank for an LA 46, roughly stated.  How to achieve this with a pump, I have no idea.  Perhaps counting pump handle rotations works.

Peter

Offline BillP

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2020, 12:02:09 PM »
I need to make a new flight box anyway, I mean how much castor oil can plywood hold?

Saturation is a non issue if you seal it with polyurethane paint. Mine is 30ish yrs old and sealed it with polyurethane when I built it. Every 5 or so yrs I empty and clean it well, then put another coat or two on it. The problem area is where the jug sits and I cut the bottom out of a gal poly jug to set the fuel jug in. That catches the worst part.

If the pic makes it you can zoom the 6 shooter and see it has had a hard life. I stopped using squeeze bottles and syringes after doing pumps. To each their own.
Bill P.

Offline Angelo Smyth

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2020, 04:52:52 PM »
Anyone have a hand crank pump on your fuel bottle? I've seen this set up on the Dubro site but it's fairly expensive. Just wondering if the bottle tips over when you get down to less than 1/2 gal. and does the cap pop off if you crank too hard?

https://www.dubro.com/collections/fuel-accessories/products/fillin-station?variant=27880860807


Thanks,
Motorman 8)

This Dubro Fillin Station is what I use on my gallon fuel jugs. I can use that to either fuel the plane directly, or I can use that in conjunction with my Lee machine shop syringe. Yes the cap does pop off from time to time. I fixed that issue by drilling a hole in the cap assembly and then installing a bolt and nut to capture the assembly.  Works great!
-A.

Offline Larry Fruits

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2020, 10:07:22 PM »
Walter,
 Screw a muffler pressure nipple,  6-32 or 8-32 size, I forget which, into the end of the pump nozzle, and you are good to go. Silicon sealer on the threads is good too.

 Blessings;
   Larry 

Online William DeMauro

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2020, 10:09:17 AM »
Will, I really like that solution, so simple, just 4 pumps and you're full. Just have to figure how to hook the fuel tubing up to the nozzle.

Thanks,
Motorman

I used to push a piece of 1/8 copper or brass tubing into the end of it with some carfully placed JB weld. I think mine lasted for years. I may still have it around here somewhere if I didn't toss it when I moved.
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Offline Steve Helmick

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2020, 06:39:05 PM »
Nils Norling used to use one of the crank-type pumps, and I remember asking about it. He said that you could pump fuel in when cranked one direction and pump some out when cranked the opposite direction. But I don't recall which crank pump he used.

PFerg told he'd used one of the DB crank pumps for his R/C endeavors, but that it worked by squeezing a hose, and the hose didn't last forever, and he kinda discouraged trying one, IIRC.

Dirty Dan gifted me one of the mayonnaise pumps, which I've used for about 20 years now. I put a new one together, using even more of the Zoot fittings from Japan (via Billings, Montana) maybe 10 years ago, and passed the one Dan gave me on to Ben Jones. Which reminds me, Ben said the spout split and asked if I could repair it...about a year ago. Personally, I think that problem is from jamming a piece of brass tubing into the hole in the spout. I ran a 5mm tap into the sawed off spout and screwed in one of those Zoot fittings with some red Loctite and no more problems. I just called Ben Jones and he said he fixed the split spout issue himself. Yayyyy!

Some guys still use the cheap veterinary syringes, including Mike and Pete Pete. I asked Pete Pete what the attraction was. He asked how I knew how much fuel I was loading aboard. So I hooked my jug/pump to his 5 oz. syringe and pumped it 5 times. It was exactly on the 5 oz line. But I think he still uses the syringe. I don't think it's smart at all to put a fuel filter on your syringe and both draw fuel in and then push it into your tank! Don't pump fuel in through your airborne filter! I've seen both done...not a good idea. 

Brett says the CA guys had contamination problems with the mustard pumps, but I leave my pump in the jug all year, all winter, for decades, and zero problems. The pumps are all nylon except for the stainless steel spring, and I get them from TAP Plastics, where they're used for pumping epoxy (OMG!). I have a good filter on the outlet...the R/C car filters are big, very good, and fit our fuel hose sizes better than lawnmower type filters. Look at DuBro or Horizon Hobby...some are better than others. Yes, I'll clean the filter every year or two, and seldom find anything significant. I've often seen castor flakes in SIG and Fox fuel, so I wonder if that's what that is. Cold fuel will do that, but it wouldn't make me stop using either SIG or Fox fuel (yeah, I'm aware that Fox isn't making fuel anymore!). I might plan to keep the fuel warm enough to not make the castor get flaky, or I might look for a chemical solution (Nitro Benzine comes to mind, but they banned that and it's terrible on anything short of epoxy paint), perhaps a small % of Amyl Acetate would work? Less than 1%, for sure. I have a small syringe hanging on my fueler rig to withdraw excess fuel, for a fraction of an ounce. Like Brett says, fill the tank every flight and withdraw whatever excess you need to get down to your correct fuel load. More consistent, especially if you use a hard tank and do a cutoff loop.

If I was going to use a crank pump, I'd go with DuBro and get the one for a steel can. Makes a nicer package for travelling and storage. Make an aluminum bracket to clamp onto the can handle. I don't know if the DuBro pump will pump out as well as in, but can see why the Dave Brown pump would. Of course, DB doesn't sell pumps anymore, but sold off the wheels, CF and fuel pump part of the biz to Ohio R/C (I think that's it). I love DB wheels...less bounce than some others that are a wee bit cheaper. Honest!  y1 Steve 

PS: The mustard pump will create enough pressure to blow up combat bladders, so be a little patient when pumping fuel through a tiny little fuel filter. Don't ask how I learned that. Luck was on my side...fuel was on my glasses and everything else.
 
« Last Edit: February 10, 2020, 08:06:19 PM by Steve Helmick »
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Offline BillP

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #15 on: February 10, 2020, 07:49:57 PM »
Yes the DB pumps in and out. I've had to replace the external fuel lines but the tubing inside is original. It's easy to replace if needed though. I pump it dry after every session and remove from the jug. Might be why the original pump is still working. Otherwise the small fuel line has been replaced a bunch of times, including a couple of the brass filter clunks.
Bill P.

Offline Peter in Fairfax, VA

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Re: Fuel Pump on Bottle
« Reply #16 on: February 10, 2020, 09:34:52 PM »
Good points about fuel filter technique.  The Du-Bro can cap fittings include a filter clunk.  I only draw from that.  Returned fuel bypasses the cap/filter, goes directly into the can.  No way would I add fuel through the line attached to the NVA, as that would load the plane's filter.


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