Hi,
On my rig, there are two Dayco 80304 fuel filler hoses in the route for the fuel to get in the tank. One is mostly straight, and I believe it is the original. One makes a 90 degree turn with a 12 inch radius.

Each 80304 is 3 feet long with a 1.75" inside diameter.

This one, which must make the turn, lasted under 2 years. It is leaking through small cracks on the outside portion of the bend. I replaced it in the spring of 2009. I am guessing that since the first one lasted over 22 years, and that the second lasted only 2 years, that something is amiss. Could the mechanical strain of the bend and the newer fuel additives cause this problem?

I'm thinking that this is going to repeat itself with the 80304 I just installed yesterday.

I could have a muffler shop bend me piping to replace this. But is that the right thing to do? Could I use iron pipe like on a natural gas installation?

What is the safest thing to do? I don't want to give my Barth a flame job!!!!
Matt

Both Gates and Sheilds make the size you want and they are steel coil reinforced and suitable for fire/alcohol use. West Marine distributes Shields stuff.I bought mine at NAPA who can get Gates if you ask them to.
Jim

I replaced my filler hose and wound up having some exhaust pipe bent to limit a potential problem with kinking or stress cracks.

Here is the post on what I did and what I used.

quote:

~Fuel Filler Hose: NAPA# NBH 1045 >> Gas Filler Neck Hose, 2"
~Fuel Vent Hose for filler pipe: NAPA# NBH H1712 >> Multi Duty Hose: I.D. .625" - O.D. .9375" - Working Pressure 250 psi

...new fuel filler hose from NAPA was kinking when I tried to install it.

The new fill hose is a "thinner wall hose" and is more likely to kink when compared to the original fill hose which also had a wire braid molded inside the rubber hose.

I went to a friends garage and had some exhaust pipe bent.

80304 good chinese quality? 2 yrs! replacing poor american quality lasting 20 yrs!

Here is a much better 2" fuel filler hose. NAPA: NBH 1130 and it does have the wire braiding.

Your vehicle uses a 1.75" hose and that would be Gates 23968 or a NAPA: NBH 1125 1-3/4 X 3FT FUEL FILL



I would still use an exhaust pipe for a major bend.

It sounds like getting an exhaust pipe bent to fit would be a better way to go. I can use a short segment of the 80304 to connect this to the other pipes.

Is there any need or reason to have the interior of the pipe coated, painted, plated, in such a way as to inhibit rust? Or should a stainless pipe be considered?

Thanks Bill NY!!!!

Matt

quote:

80304 good chinese quality? 2 yrs! replacing poor american quality lasting 20 yrs!

Who knows where it is really made, but it says "Made in USA" on it. The replacement from Dayco is identical, but says "Made in Turkey" on it.

Happy Motoring!
Matt

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:

I would still use an exhaust pipe for a major bend.

I would use exhaust pipe for both curved and straight. Hose use should be kept to a minimum and should be straight whenever possible. Bending a hose causes stress and earlier failure. Coating a hose with Liquid Electrical Tape will extend its life. Use Corbin or other constant-torque clamps.

Take a picture for us

Fuel hose just commenced to leak on mine. All the way home from Phoenix I had no trouble with leaks, even after refueling right up into the upper part of the hose. Today was another story. noticed that diesel at local Speedway station jumped from 4.10 to 4.25 overnight! Knowing that the Barth had only about a 1/4 tank, I went to a Marathon where the price was still 4.09. filled it completely.
Then I was puttering around and exploring the still-unfamiliar coach, in high-seventies sunny day, when I notice a puddle under the middle. crawled under and found several inches of hose, at tank connection, wet and dripping. Pushing my finger on it indicates the hose is going porous. checked clamp. That is not the problem.

The hose connection is about half way up the port side of the fuel tank. I don't want to let it drip, drip, drip constantly until I have lost or consumed 20 gallons. had not planned to travel any time soon. So, maybe the shop can drain enough fuel but not dispose of it. intend to get a piece of new hose spliced with a metal tube rather than replace it all the way up into the wall behind the galley.
looks like my planned trip to the nearest (New Hudson, MI) Cummins shop needs to be moved up to priority status. had already communicated with them about my concern over the water temp gauge never going above 125f all the way from Phoenix to home in MI.

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
The hose connection is about half way up the port side of the fuel tank.

Not good.

If it looks like this...



Mogan, you'll want to read this post by Ed

Filler Relocation after you read that PDF file - then read the follow up located here.

Then look this over too - it's been posted in several places and each has a different view for you.

Thank you so much, Bill. You are always on the ball. However, it seems that Ed had a different problem. His esophagus constriction was an elbow. On mine, the fitting is a straight iron nipple out the side of the tank and does not cause reflux which would preclude rapid filling. That said, the effective tank capacity seems to be only 40 gallons. I was warned by the consignment folks in Mesa that I should get fuel at 400 miles. Indeed, I ran out a couple days later when I tried to squeeze out 410 in IL. Then it took only 40 gal for a complete full.
I am confident that I do not need to do the mods Ed did. I just need a length of hose. But, if only I had known that before I filled the belly of the beast with an additional 33 gal. I think whoever suggested splicing with SS exhaust pipe had a good idea.

Think about the location of fuel entry... when you stated, "The hose connection is about half way up the port side of the fuel tank." that tells me that you are probably not using the full effective capacity of that tank.

He wasn't only increasing the fill rate, Ed increased his fuel tank capacity as well.

400 miles might turn into 700+ miles if it really is as low as it looks. Also, I would rather add more fuel at a cheaper price if I could.

Chances are extremely good that your fuel tank is already designed with a top fill port in it. You probably will make out better, this way, in the long run. But, if your body panel cutout for the fuel filler is too low, then it isn't worth the hassles.

At around 7-lbs per gallon, you'll only be adding an additional 210-280 lbs (30-40 gallons)

There are a few places in the design and construction of your Barth that you can improve on... getting added fuel capacity is one that is always desired.

Just a suggestion.

My Barth had the same design with the filler installed half way up the tank, although a much higher capacity tank (100 I think). I still could fill to capacity, but it was a frustrating effort above half full that more than once resulted in a fuel dousing when it "burped" back at me. I have warned the new owner (Tonka) about this, but he will be christened no doubt.

If the fill tube is above the tank, it will fill to capacity, albeit slowly. One has to wonder why Barth/Spartan put the fill there; convenience?, safety?, ignorance? laziness?

The other issue I felt contributed was the very small vent tube. An ambitious person might decide to put a secondary fill pipe on the opposite side of the rig, creating both a large vent and the ability to pull into either side of the pumps. I'm thankful my BB came this way and I can run even the high capacity pumps without any blow back. Heck, I can fill from two sides at once, which is helpful with these crazy credit card limits on pumps!!

I found that two things aided me mightily when filling the Barth, 1) never try it with the high capacity pumps at the big rig centers, instead look for a regular fuel station with good access, 2) try for a quiet fuel station and listen to the fuel going in the tank, I got really good at knowing when the pressure was starting to be a problem and backing off the fill rate. Sadly, it took so long at the slow rate it was inevitable that another diesel would pull up and make it impossible to hear well. I'd often have my ear perilously close to a diesel bath.

On our breakaway.

My tank measures out to about 80 gallon. Not sure how much is usable but have put over 50 gallons in it when the gauge was still registering about 1/8 tank.

I think the reason for the side input on the tank is that the filler hose runs under the frame. There is no room between the frame and body to run the hose.