main fuel tank strainer

[Laz]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Thanks very much for your help. this exactly what I needed. The elbow is exactly like mine. For the record that particular brass elbow is very very hard to come by. It is 1/4 male NPT and 3/8 NPT on the female end. I will solder a new finger screen in mine. If you change this setup much It will not line up with the hole in the firewall.

LAZ

[Larry Lyons]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Look in McMaster-Carr, I think I see just what you are looking for. L

[M Towsley]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Laz,

I'm terrible at pipe thread fittings, are your measurements correct? Did you find a new elbow? I couldn't find anything at McMaster-Carr in your listed sizes.

[Laz]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Marty,
I am not that great at pipe threads either, however my stepson runs a website for his Dad's Company, Pressure Connections, based in Columbus Ohio. The elbow that comes directly out of the bottom of the main T-craft tank is a " reduction elbow. The male end that fist into the tank is 3/8 NPT. The female end that the Imperial fuel valve screw into is 1/4 NPT. According to pressure connections this is not a standard stock item, but he can get them. I ordered a couple. If you look at a 1/4 NPT Tap you will see that it appears much larger than 1/4 of an inch. Hope that helps. I am not surprised McMaster-Carr does not stock it. What is usually done is the will use the larger elbow and just use a reducer in the female end.

Mike

[M Towsley]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Mike,

I don't want to start a stampede by asking, but I think I want to replace the one I have and need a source. Do you mind sharing, you can PM me too. Thank you!

[Laz]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Marty,

When My Son gets them I will adk him to post them on their Company Web site. If you google Pressure Connections you can brows the site. Now they do not have this particular elbow, but they can get it.

Laz

[M Towsley]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Laz,

If there is a part number associated with that I would appreciate it. Thanks again.

[cvavon]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Ok I hope I don't sound stupid but why do we need the screens in the tanks when we have a gascolator down stream that is there to catch foreign objects before it gets to the carberator also the screen in the gascolator is much finer then the one pictured and it can be checked a lot easier then taking the tank lines apart to inspect them.

[mikeg]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

I once had a T quit on me on take-off. Landing OK on an intersecting runway. Found a piece of a 3/16 rubber hose about a 1/4 inch long lodged in the tank elbow (no screen).
Mikeg

[Ray36048]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

Why does a standard 3/8 street elbow with a 3/8 to 1/4 reducing bushing not work??

[Laz]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

It would work. I just did not want to move the location of shut off valve that much. Probably no big deal in most cases. If you go with a standard finger strainer form AC spruce, which fits in the tank 3/8 NPT then you need a male with a 1/4 NPT on one end and a female 1/4 NPT on the other end to get back to the original setup. At the end of the day this will all work. I just wanted to reproduce the original setup.

Laz

[NY86]

Re: main fuel tank strainer

If you look at a 1/4 NPT Tap you will see that it appears much larger than 1/4 of an inch.

Pipe sizes are based on ID, so the external threads are a lot bigger.

Ok I hope I don't sound stupid but why do we need the screens in the tanks when we have a gascolator down stream that is there to catch foreign objects before it gets to the carberator

One good size chunk of debris can plug the line if there is no screen. The screen is shaped such that it is nearly impossible to plug the whole thing.