Temporary fuel hose
 

Anyone tried it before?

I was on a camping trip when my car leaked a lot of fuel, started losing lots of diesel due to a retired fuel hose that `melted away` and ruptured. I had no choice there but to use a piece of heater hose I had under my spare tire.

What do you think, for how long can a `standard heater hose` be used as a (bio)diesel fuel hose? I know it will degrade quickly but how fast? I visited many auto parts stores but none of them had the 1/2 ID fuel hose available from the shelf... weekend is here and I have another fishing trip planned, a 250mile drive. I will visit a truck-school bus-ambulance truck repair shop on Monday, they will have it for sure. I guess. If not, I`ll have to order some and redo the whole thing. Pictures show the problem before my SOS fix.

Part 2
 

After removing the `bracket`, the leaking hose is clearly visible. Surprise :) I have to buy a new center support:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Proparts...3ac658&vxp=mtr

Part 3
 

What`s this setup for? Does it have to be like that for some reason?
I can`t figure out the reason why I have all those (6) clamps holding together all those short pieces of hoses; instead of having a single connection with a clamp or two. I might change this when I find the proper 1/2 I.D. DIESEL fuel line sold somewhere..
The hose section that rested on the crossbar deteriorated thanks to chafing on the support bracket, I guess. Luckily I saw it that day letting out a few drops but after 60miles of driving it leaked a very substantial amount, constantly. Slowly leaking when engine was not running, but ~~ a Liter of Diesel in minutes of idling!
Back to my original question: how long can the heater hose stay there safely? :)
and: why several shorter hoses instead of one connection? Any good use of that? (bleeding, priming, etc)
Isn`t it the spot for a fuel pump on the gassers btw? idk...

If it's really half inch, it is a leftover from the cars gas operated days.
The coolant hose will hold a little better than the undercoat.
the clear hardware store hose with braided reinforcement usually lasts me about 5 years. Iif you find a Parker Hydraulics dealer, the blue fuel/oil pushlock hose seems to hold up well. they will also have a single adapter fitting to replace the hose cluster.

Leftover from gasser, okay
 

I don`t think the car was white anywhere underneath, :) before this leak. I need to have the 1/2 hose soon. It`s crazy that Autozone did not have it, or Napa. I met a trucker and he gave me a double thick wall heater hose (1/2 i.d.) that would be used on a garbage truck and I have an airhose to experiment if my first junkfix does not hold up well. It might be ok for a few days?:)

One more thing I`d like to know. The fuel hose I did buy (too small inner diameter) says something I don`t get.

If the airhose is ether-based polyurethane, it makes an excellent fuel hose, and will last a long long time. Often this type of air hose is a transparent tinted color with visible braiding reinforcement. Mine was a blue tint.
http://www.newageindustries.com/polyurethane_hose.asp

The ether-based polyurethane clear fuel hose (found in motorcycle shops, and trucking equipment shops) is also very good, without the braiding reinforcement.

Holds up well to heat, stays flexible and clear. Very resistant to petro diesel, biodiesel, and (heated) WVO.
http://www.procycle.us/main/fuel_hose.htm

I have used it to replace the clear line running from the filter to the IP. IIRC, it was 1/2" size that fit perfectly over the cut off ends of the old clear hose I cut off flush at the ends of the nipples. Impossible to get the old hose off the nipples without scratching up the nipples (which would invite air leaks). Also, this allowed (necessitated?) the use of larger hose clamps, which are easier to create a good seal.

RE: Longevity of your heater hose temp. replacement, who knows? What is the quality of the heater hose? My guess would be at least a few weeks. The hose will start to "sweat" long before it starts dripping good.

Do you have a fuel pump at the tank?

Hose options
 

Thanks for the ideas! I got back with no issues at all, not a drop of diesel out.
Before the trip I cut off a mini-section of the above mentioned hoses, the `standard heater hose` (currently being used) + the thick wall heavy duty heater hose + the pneumatic hose as well and soaked them separately in #2 Diesel just to see if anything happens... but so far (in about 5 days) there`s no breaking down or discolored fuel visible in the jars.



I think I do have some help for the IP; having the fuel system pressurized by a leftover pump from the 4cyl setup, but I`m not quite sure yet. (Probably the `Red wagon build` thread mentions it?)
After disconnecting the hoses I left both ends open so I basically let it lose a few liters of fuel but later had no issues of air entering; I turned bleeder screw on filter, also kept idling for a while.

I also found a nice informative website to buy any type of hoses. I love it because you don`t have to get a minimum of 25, 50, 100 feet.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-pl...tubing/=og78g6

Fuel pump, d24t
 

Does it have a fuel pump at the tank? YES.
`` I retained the stock low-pressure in-tank pump from the LH gas fuel system and eliminated the under-car high pressure pump and filter unit. The original diesel setup has no electric pumps at all, relying on the mechanical injection pump to suck all the way from the tank pickup, but it actually benefits from a low-pressure fuel feed and the in-tank pump from the LH system does that job perfectly.`` :)

I'm very suprised your petrol in-tank pump copes with diesel, and especially biodiesel!

My IP struggles to pull my WVO/petrol mix through the lines at higher revs, so I had thought about getting an electric pump - but WVO/biodiesel normally kill most OEM electric diesel lift pumps fairly quickly..let alone one designed for petrol.

Biodegradable parts :) and my biodieseling schedule
 

I was dieseling a lot on quality B99 straight into the tank, worked perfect, smelled great like a restaurant-on-wheels; but coming Winter last year I went down to B30 and that`s what I continued to use without issues whatsoever. The Bosch diesel filter always looked reusable&clean but I replaced them every time I changed motor oil+filter, every 5000miles. ( http://www.amazon.com/Mobil-44999-Tu...1+turbo+diesel )

On 450< mile trips I put two 5Gallon (usa) tanks of B99 in the trunk. I pour in 3Gallons (3*3.78L) of bio (b99) into the tank @every gas-station fill-up. (12G+3G=15G --> 20%bio = B20 :0)
If needed, the 10Gallons of B99 provides me with 50Gallons of B20. That`s 1500miles worth of fuel without the headaches of finding (reliable!) biodiesel stations.
Recently I got lazy getting the b99 (it`s pretty far from where I live) so I ended up being ``Scottish`` :) : started adding only 1G of b99 into every fill up, so the mixture is about B5 (or max B10) depending on how low the tank got by the fillup. (Bio content goes up `cause I can`t drive the 15G tank completely dry, of course, and I always start the fillup with my b99 so only the rest can be regular diesel. ) The leftover fuel from the previous tank is not regular diesel either but at least B5 or higher, ...and up :)

It happened multiple times that I switched between #2 and b99 or b50, back and forth, without sensible or visible trouble but I`m trying to avoid it.
I read it that you run it on 85% alternative fuel. What`s your overall experience, advantages and/or disadvantages?
PS. I love the prancing moose.