Re: [T3] Braided fuel hoses

[Jim Adney <jadney@vwtype3.org>]

On 30 Jun 2009 at 22:37, J. Jonik wrote:

> I know about debate for and anti the braided kind (but forget what the
> problems may be..or what some suggest as alternatives)...but does anyone
> here have them on hand?Ê Could use 10 ft of 7 MM (for buses etc) and 16 ft
> of 10 MM. ( for T III). Ê Ê 

I can't imagine where you can use 16' of 10 mm hose in a Type 3. Is that the 
size for the carbon cannister and the 72-3 head vent hoses?

I find that the 7 mm stuff is really too small for the FI lines. I'm not 
familiar with the bus stuff, but I'll bet they are the same as ours. For ours, 
I thought VW changed from 7 mm to 7.5 mm rather early on, just because the 7 mm 
hose had to stretch too much and always cracked too quickly at the connections. 
I've used 5/16" ( = 8 mm) hose for decades with much better results, but most 
of the 5/16" hose is too big to go thru the 3 places where there are grommets. 
Everywhere else it is fine. I have some very good quality small OD hose that's 
sold as 5/16" but it turns out to be rather small on the ID, so I don't know 
how well it will survive on our fittings. I've been using it for several years 
now with good results, but that's not long enough to be much reassurance.

This 5/16" hose is US made, with a rubber outer jacket, so it's not the 
European braid covered style. US hose comes with 3 layers: rubber-braid-rubber, 
while the European hose just omits the outer rubber layer. There's really 
nothing wrong with leaving off the outer layer in our application, because it's 
only purpose is to protect the braid against abrasion. The inner layer provides 
sealing and fluid compatibility, while the braid provides the strength 
necessary to hold pressure. The outer rubber layer is only a benefit if the 
hose will be dragged around on the ground.

I may be able to find the 10 mm ID braid stuff somewhere, but I'm not sure 
about that. I think you'll find that it's fairly expensive.

-- 
Jim Adney
jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI USA


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