Lister Engine Forum
Lister Engines => Listeroid Engines => Topic started by: Hugh Conway on June 28, 2014, 10:18:45 PM
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Wound the JKSON/PMG up today to use some shop tools. Started, but would not run more than a minute. Cranking, could hear the injector creak, it would start, not run.
Bled fuel lines, same problem. Making a long one short, the original braided, banjo-ended flex line from the fuel filter to injector pump was clogged. I wondered how that could be, as the fuel is well filtered. Found the rubber liner was soft and swollen, allowing just enough fuel through for the injector to creak on start-up, but not sufficient fuel for the engine to run.
I have about 425 hours on the engine in an off-grid situation. Most hours logged in in winter. Always have used regular diesel fuel, no bio. A bit of old power saw and weed whacker gas gets mixed into the fuel once in a while. Seems odd that it took so long for the fuel line to deteriorate.
Had a bit of 1/4" fuel line and made up a replacement, all good now. The problem was most likely slowly developing over time, but presented itself only today. I was running yesterday to pump water, ran well then.
Glad the problem was a plugged line rather than a ruptured and leaking one.
Cheers,
Hugh
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Might have had a little ethanol in the gasoline? An Indian fuel line might have had just about any kind of crap rubber used in its manufacture for that matter.
dieselgman
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Every time the gov comes up with a new mandate, there are lots of "unintended" consequences. It seems that every new fuel requirement leads to something in the fuel that eats or swells the old lines. When they mandated ULSD, lots of lines and connections started leaking or swelling shut due to the additives needed to replace the lubricity of the sulfur. Similar problems happened with adding alcohol to gas.
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that is not an unusual problem.some of the older clones with braided fuel lines would swell up inside and stop fuel flow.my solution was to grind the flair off and throw away the braided hose and use a good quality fuel line on the banjo fitting. only few minute repair.all of the older lines would swell inside,did not matter what fuel you used.sid
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Those lines will swell, especially if used with Bio-D.
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+1 for Tom's comment.
I had to replace my fuel lines after running Biodiesel for just 3 hours.
The fuel line got soft and gummy with a big blister in one section that would have burst if not caught in time.
veggie
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I think the fuel injection grade fuel line is viton lined and should last decades. It's being used on my 'roid for mostly bio-d and no signs of degradation after 4 years.
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Hi Tom,
Slightly off topic of this engine that rarely sees anything other than earth based diesel. The key word in your sentence is "lined". I lost two lines in a month when I crossed over to biodiesel because weeping diesel didn't do much but when the biodiesel hit the outside - no viton - material it was a matter of days.
For any engine I'm now a high grade fuel line kind of guy.
Casey
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Viton rules! ... and for such short lengths as are required, $ cost should be a non-issue for most of us! Maybe third-world is another case though.
dieselgman
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Urethane also holds up quite well though it stains brownish color so my 16 gallon tank urethane sight tube requires a close look now. I think mine has been in service 5 years, and it ran straight biodiesel for the first two years. It's still the same flexibility as when new, neither brittle nor soft.