Inline fuel filter

[Pete Logan]

Inline filters are cheaper than gas tanks.

Sure, but you don't have a hole in the thing. You can scour out a tank with gravel and line it with a spray can for $10, and that's a helluva lot better solution than filtering (or not) a load of known feldecarp.

I know, I just live an easy and privileged life. Sorry

Pete

 

[mixongw]

I'll chime in again as I am firmly on the "con" side of using inline filters.

I had one on my 81 model and it caused me serious greif. I spent countless hours trying to solve a problem I couldn't find. I'll save you the entire sob story and details, but suffice it to say the problem was 100% the inline filters' fault. The filter cost me dearly- close to $600.

In my opinion, if you have a rusty tank, you need to fix it. A filter is not going to save your engine from steel tainted gas. The '80 and up 1100's all come with CV carbs, and there is a small screen filter on each float bowl needle jet. The petcock also has a very fine screen type filter. These filters will stop anything big from getting in the system.

When you buy gas, the biggest problem you are going to have with the stock is excess mositure. A fuel filter won't help there. You won't get grit in

Basically, I haven't had a problem with not running a fuel filter, but I have had a problem with running one. That's where I get a sour taste in my mouth with them.

I'm just curious. How did a filter cost $600.00 in repairs and countless hours? I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first, including the fuel filter. Maybe he could use a little basic training in gasoline engine troubleshooting.

I'm aware of the screens. I just don't want to be cleaning them all the time. As for the tank, when I get the money, it'll get taken care of. Thanks for the info.

 

[Pete Logan]

I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first

You have a mechanic 8O

Pete

 

[rikusa]

Just stick a magnet to the bottom of the tank by the petcock. End of rust problem. Rik

 

[mixongw]

I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first

You have a mechanic 8O

Pete

Who me?

No way!

 

[Pete Logan]

I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first

You have a mechanic 8O

Pete

Who me?

No way!

Phew [-o<

Thought we were in trouble there for a second :lol:

A GS owner with a mechanic - whatever next :twisted:

Pete

 

[mixongw]

I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first

You have a mechanic 8O

Pete

Who me?

No way!

Phew [-o<

Thought we were in trouble there for a second :lol:

A GS owner with a mechanic - whatever next :twisted:

Pete

Naw... That was a cheap shot to Jethro.

 

[gsBert]

i dont think the magnet in the gastank would work, iron oxyde is not attracted by magnets...

 

[Hotblack]

I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first

You have a mechanic 8O

Pete

Who me?

No way!

Phew [-o<

Thought we were in trouble there for a second :lol:

A GS owner with a mechanic - whatever next :twisted:

Pete

Naw... That was a cheap shot to Jethro.

Okay since it's getting silly and it's open season on Jethro I just have to ask: are you Jethro Q. Walrustittie?

If you're not a Monty Python fan please accept my apology and forget I ever said that.

 

[Jethro]

I'm just curious. How did a filter cost $600.00 in repairs and countless hours? I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first, including the fuel filter. Maybe he could use a little basic training in gasoline engine troubleshooting.

I'm the mechanic. No one touches my bikes, not for anything. That should answer your question as to what went wrong!

Seriously, I burnt the exhaust cam seats and the exhaust manifolds by hammering on the highway with the bike intermittantly running lean. I can't 100% be sure it was the filters fault, but the new head and exhaust and throwing away the filter solved the problem. The filter was definitely starving the engine for gas. I just didn't realize it for a loooooong time. I would not recommend running one if your engine is modified in any way like mine was. Maybe stock the fuel demand isn't as large.

 

[mixongw]

I'm just curious. How did a filter cost $600.00 in repairs and countless hours? I think your mechanic would have checked the easy and cheap stuff first, including the fuel filter. Maybe he could use a little basic training in gasoline engine troubleshooting.

I'm the mechanic. No one touches my bikes, not for anything. That should answer your question as to what went wrong!

Seriously, I burnt the exhaust cam seats and the exhaust manifolds by hammering on the highway with the bike intermittantly running lean. I can't 100% be sure it was the filters fault, but the new head and exhaust and throwing away the filter solved the problem. The filter was definitely starving the engine for gas. I just didn't realize it for a loooooong time. I would not recommend running one if your engine is modified in any way like mine was. Maybe stock the fuel demand isn't as large.

Jethro,

I'm glad you weren't offended by my attempt at humor.

That's the reason I asked the question to start with. I know that even stock, my 1100 probably sucks more fuel than a Briggs & Stratton. I think that if I do put one on that it'll be one larger than the lawn mower plastic ones that you can get at Walmart. I see some in J&P that look to be higher flow. Also, I never thought about the fact that our bikes are gravity fed, not pumped. Good point.

My tank is going to come off soon to be cleaned of rust, now that the riding season is coming to an end. Thanks for the input.

 

[DaveDanger]

Pulled this from another site... "Vapor lock is highly unlikely with today's (automotive) fuel systems. Vapor lock occurs when the vapor pressure of the fuel is higher than the surrounding environment. In older engines with "sucking" fuel pumps at the engine the pressure in the fuel line to the tank was reduced by the sucking action of the fuel pump drawing fuel form a fuel tank nearly twenty feet away, and when heated, the gasoline actually boiled creating a vapor of gasoline which the fuel pump could not handle, thus the name "vapor lock". Today's fuel pumps are in the fuel tank where they push the fuel under pressure to the engine systems. Excessive fuel which is not used is sent back to the fuel tank. This causes a constant flow of pressurized, cool fuel in the lines to the engine system, be it fuel injection or carburetor. As a result you would have to heat the fuel line with a propane torch to get the fuel to boil and even then it would be cooled by the flowing fuel circulating from the tank to the engine and back again to the tank. Vapor lock as we once knew it is a thing of the past."

(Now for my comments, however uneducated)
To factor this into motorcycle terms, vapor is more possible than in a car, yet I think unlikely. For the most part, our fuel systems are simply gravity fed from the tank down to the carb inlets. There is NO fuel pump anywhere in the system to actually pull or push fuel. IF an inline fuel filter is installed that in any significant manner reduces the free flow of fuel, the vapor pressure in that line may lower a tiny bit. If there is significant heat from the engine present, a vapor lock is possible. I think it's much more likely that an inline filter of insufficient flow will simply starve the carbs because it simply won't flow quickly enough. Heat and vapor pressure aren't going to be huge factors. As a test of a particular filter, try this math problem... let's assume that a particular bike manages about 30 MPG at say 60 MPH (That's 1 mile per minute). That's 128 oz of fuel for every 30 miles. A simple division tells us that it takes about 4.25 oz of fuel to take that bike a mile down the road in one minute. Connect your inline fuel filter to a free flowing fuel line from a tank of any type and gravity drain it into a container. measure and see if you get at least 4.25 oz in 60 seconds time. If so, ON AVERAGE, that particular fuel filter should flow enough fuel for your bike. Feel free to substitute real world numbers in this equation to arrive at accurate answers. In other words, determine what you might reasonably use as a normal maximum speed, and MPG, and use those numbers.

I personally am a big fan of inline fuel filters. I don't care how many filters are built into the petcock and the inside the carbs... they are not SIMPLE to get to. I like a transparent inline filter that I can glance at and see when it's dirty. I can then easily remove it, clean it or replace it as neccessary. If it caught trash before it got inside the carb... IT DID ITS JOB. Even if it stops up the filter and shut the engine down. I'd rather it happen to a disposable, easily accesible filter than inside the carb. The ones with a small pleated paper (?) element inside is perfect as far as I'm concerned. I keep a spare in a ziplock bag in my bike toolkit. If I had a problem on the road, I can change one out in less than 5 minutes.

 

[Hotblack]

Not a fan I guess. Sorry, Jethro.

 

[Jethro]

Jethro,

I'm glad you weren't offended by my attempt at humor.

Not at all. Gotta have a think skin in this world! Seriously, I cause as many problems as I can fix. The head was ruined becasue I chose to ignore a super lean condition, and got pi$$ed on the highway, so I floored it for a while. Live and learn...

 

[Hotblack]

You're welcome.

 

[rikusa]

i dont think the magnet in the gastank would work, iron oxyde is not attracted by magnets...

Iron oxide with an"i" occurs in three forms; FeO, Fe2O3 and Fe3O4.

From my science class, age 12; FeO is not ferromagnetic, but it is pulled about twice as much as Fe2O3 towards the poles of a magnet. Fe3O4 is ferromagnetic, and is about 1/4 as strong as the pull of pure iron.

The rust in your tank is mostly a mix of FeO and Fe3O4 as well as being hydrated by the H2O that aided the reaction and IS attracted to a magnet. Try running the end of a magnetic pickup tool around the inside of your tank and then tell me it's not magnetic!

Don't put the magnet inside the tank. Stick it to the outside, out of sight, close to the petcock. Whenever you have the tank off the bike, lay it on its side and remove the petcock. Just slide the magnet slowly past the petcock holes and pull it off the tank. MOST of the crap will be stuck to the magnet.

I use a small but very powerful neodymium magnet.

I run a fuel filter as well. I've never had a problem with fuel starvation even at sustained WOT on a stage 3 16v 1100. Rik

 

[Anonymous]

FWIW, the filters keep out a lot more junk than the fairly course screens in the petcock and carbs. You can get junk from bad gas, not just from a corroded tank so a filter is very cheap insurance against the headache of removing and cleaning your bank of carbs. Especially if it happens miles away from home.

I've seen 'vapor lock' caused by line kinking once the engine got to temperature and the fuel line heats up enough to kink shut.

I use in-line filter with a right angle plug at the bottom to avoid a lot of curve in the fuel line to avoid this, and yes, the above scenario happened to me, and was very aggravating to sort out. The filter is Napa part #3006, for around $5 at Advanced Auto.

A lot of Kawasaki Concours owners use these units and they work great and have plenty of flow. These bikes have 1,000cc in-line 4 engines like the big displacement GS's, basically a Ninja motor.