What is the best ethanol compatible fuel line hose that can be used with regular old worm gear hose clamps? There's about a foot of rubber line in my fuel system that I want to replace. BTW,the car is very HAMB friendly and I'd like to keep the engine compartment looking old but with modern fuel safe soft lines. We have 10% ethanol in my neck of the woods. Did a search but came up empty. Thanks for any help.
I've used efi fuel injection line. Black rubber, looks old, good w/new fuels. Got it at O'Reillys, price wasn't cheap, but not horrible. Marcus...
Use that rubber hose meant to be used with the submerged fuel pumps in modern car's fuel tanks. It is about 30 bucks a foot, but if that's all you need. Gary
Thank you gentlemen. As long as I can use any of these with regular hose clamps and not the push on ends I'll go for it.
Just get the name brand fuel injected hose. It's rated for higher pressures and doesn't deteriorate in sunlight like the other rubber hose does.
Yep, FI hose is the stuff. Co-incidentally I recently repaired a back pack mounted leaf blower for a neighbor lady. I replaced some fuel line but not all of it as it ran all around the damn thing and I didn't want to pull it all apart. Ethanol eats that stuff for breakfast. So the other day she's using it and it catches fire on her back! She wasn't hurt, also wasn't happy. Could happen on a hot rod...
I use Sta-Bill additive in every fill-up and have not had a problem in 7 years. Only "rubber" is from the hard line at the fuel pump to the fuel pump, about 6" 5/16" line. Mind security and nothing else.
EFI fuel injection line is all that I will use. It's black colored and seems to last a long time. Any good parts house should have it.
Napa turned me on to fuel injection line years ago, when regular lines fell apart in short order. Good stuff too, but more expensive. But it beats catching fire. I've seen it on original equipment lines on small engines too. All fairly new stuff, and the fuel lines start leaking like crazy. So I keep and eye on the now too.
I'm pretty sure any currently available hose rated for fuel is compatible with today's gas. 10 or 15 years ago was a different story, but what is available today is going to be OK, or they couldn't sell it as "fuel hose". The fuel injection hose just supports a higher pressure, and the fuel injection hose should be installed with the fuel injection hose clamps if the higher pressure is involved. Gene
Good question. Just got back from O'Reilly for 3/8". They brought normal looking stuff out. Didn't say anything about ethanol on it, just not for FI. I asked what else they had, he brought out an almost empty spool of Gates Barricade. So I bought it, 4', $30. Wish I could remember the writing on the cheaper hose. As you say, ethanol has been around long enough, and it's all we got, so if it was a problem they shouldn't be offering it.
Here is a good Vid BangShift.com Ready For E85? Which Fuel Line Do you Need To Make Sure Your Fuel System Is Ready? - BangShift.com
Yeah, but if the third graders at Glorious Fuel Hose Factory #34 went on a hunger strike that week their replacements may not have had the same attention to detail. It's tough to find good help these days.
The rubber hose rated for fuel injection is very high quality, and will work. But it's also not as flexible, so consider that if your hose has a very sharp bend in it. I personally just buy rubber hose that's alcohol resistant and never had any issues with the gasohol attacking it, or hurting it. I usually have to order it online as even before supply issues we have, it was not easy to find at local auto parts stores.
Look for the designation SAE30R6 on the hose. SAE 30R6 Application Specially designed low-pressure hose for gas and gas/ethanol blends in carbureted vehicle applications. Resists gas, oil and diesel fuel. (Not recommended for use with biodiesel – see 30R9.) Tube: Chemigum® Cover: Chemivic™ for exceptional abrasion resistance Reinforcement: Two-spiral polyester Temperature range Up to 212 °F (100 °C) Specially designed for gas, oil, diesel and other fuels Minimum Burst 175 psi (1.2MPa) Meets and exceeds SAE J30R6 specifications Warning: Do not use for pressure line on fuel-injected engines. Not compatible with biodiesel fuels – See 30R9 construction.
Normal fuel hoses are made of Nitrile rubber (NBR). For ethanol you need a hose made of Fluorocarbon rubber (FKM) aka Viton. Ask at your local parts store for a hose made of FKM.
Well "normal" fuel these days is some percentage of ethanol, just to meet federal regulations. It's used as an "oxygenate", replacing MTBE, which was found to be contaminating groundwater. The danger is, the deterioration of fuel hose won't be visible on the outside, they rot out on the inside first.
I only use Gates Barricade hose as well, and the most reasonable place I’ve found to buy it is Rockauto. I also buy it by the 25 foot length. As of this writing, it’s currently $1.29 a foot for 3/8” on the Rock.