----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
At 01:44 PM 5/27/03 -0700, Joe Czaplicki wrote: >Guys & Gals; >got a question for those in the know. On the fuse tank cas cap with the >glass cover, should the vent hole be open or shut. Open! I don't think any of the fuel systems came with an unvented header tank. >Mine is drilled but not through. On occasion when the fuse tank overflow >cannot keep up with the >pump, I get seepage around the cap gasket. This can't be good... the header tank definitely should not be pressurized. Nothing good can come of that. That said, under the right circumstances, both my coupes would spew from the header vent. Those circumstances seem to be really full wing tanks (vented). Probably to the point where the fuel in the wing tanks is covering the in-flow from the overflow from the header. >When this happens I shut off the wing tank fuel flow long enough to allow >the center tank to get down about a 1/3 then turn fuel back on. This can't >be right and I don't like letting the pump run dry. What gives?? It seems to be about the #1 complaint with Ercoupe fuel systems. I bet all those variations on the theme had something to do with people bitchin' about it in '46 as well. Leaving some 'slack' in the fuel system (i.e., air space) seems to be the best cure. I don't think you need to shut the wing feed off for 1/3 of the header's capacity. That seems excessive. In my case, I usually end up with a 'spew' on the taxi back from the gas pump to the hangar, and turning off the electric pump for that duration (i.e. 3 minutes) seems to solve the issue. It doesn't take much to get the system back in balance. The original mechanical pump is designed to run dry without harm. Otherwise it wouldn't be on a plane where 25% of the fuel is still left after the pump is running dry. It's not great to run the facet electric pumps on our O-200's dry, but we have a switch for that. And a big light that says 'hey, dummy, you got another hour or less to fly, so you may want to find an airport between now and then!' Greg ========================================================================== ==== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
