How important/neccessary are fuel filters for glow engines and how do you install them?

Some people swear by them, others swear at them. I'm in the camp that believes they are not necessary as long as you keep your fuel supply clean and regularly flush the fuel tank.

To install them you just cut the line between the tank and needle valve and add the filter.

I have a fuel filter on my gallon jug of fuel so the fuel is filtered when I fill up the tank. I don't have one on my planes.

that works as long as you never use your fuel jug to de-fuel the plane because de-fueling adds all the trash (metal wear that comes in with exhaust pressure) to the out side of the filter and then you push all that back into the tank next time you fuel up. i run a filter in line with all my carbs as well as on the fueling system and do my best to run the tank dry and not have to de-fuel.

kc

An inline filter between the tank and engine can clog or loosen and mess up the mixture. I use a klunk and inline filter in my supply jug filling line. Keep the filler nozzle off the ground and your fuel will be clean when you pump it into the tank. Anything that's pumped in when de-fueling will be filtered out when you fill again.

Dr.1

Not if it came from your tank, and is caught by the fuel filter. It will flow back into the tank when you fill the next tank.

I never thought about the crap from the muffler pressure. I had pointed out to a fellow new flier at the field that when he fill his tank thru the plane's filter that if he does not reverse the filter anything it caught while fueling will be immediatly sent to the needle.

I think I will start defueling thru a different hose than for fueling.

Wont all that muffler crap get into your fuel tank though the vent then into your engine? I've never used a filter, don't know if there are any downsides to using one eather.

i use em on everything and never have had a problem with them, don't know the problem Dr1Driver might be having with his/her setup but I'd recommend one between the carb and the tank. also always fill your tank between the filter and the tank, not through the filter. on turbine engines i always mount the filter vertically to prevent air getting trapped in it but with a glow engine their size is so small that's never been a problem, glow engines also don't flame out as easily from a trapped bubble in the filter when it comes through, it just leans the mixture for a split second and then right back to what you had.

kc

EDIT: FYI, those who don't use an in line filter you should stay away from a pumped engine such as YS's, Gasser's, Turbine's, etc......

I usually just use one in the fill line from the jug but if I do use one on the plane I use this one. [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFU76&P=ML]sullivan[/link] It doesn't come apart so there's less to mess up.

I use one in the fuel jug on the fill line. clean it when the fuel flow diminishes, probably once a season.

I use one at the pump. When defueling I switch it to another line so it doesn't go through that filter. None on the airplane.

I am just now planning to use a fuel filter for the first time. One of the reasons I am going to install a filter between the tank and carb is that with a 2 line system (1 vent and 1 klunk) is that it is very difficult to remove the fuel line at the engine because of the tight engine installation and rear mounted needle valve. I will just cut the fuel line and install the filter. I believe for this particular plane (GP Super Sportster), it will make it a little easier to fuel and I can reap the benefits of the filter.

DaveB

I fuel with a syringe. There is a filter clunk and an Sullivan filter, as shown in the link above, in the line when I fill the syringe. I take the filters off to fuel the tank with the syringe. There is another filter, usually a Sullivan, between the tank and carb. Noticed it was getting hard to suck fuel into the syringe. Sullivan filter was clean. Took the clunk filter apart and it was full of fuzzy stuff. Cleaned it out and went my merry way.

I have one screen on the bottom of the pick-up line in my gallon jug. I have another screen that is part of a filter/nipple combo used to fuel the models. Both are part of my support equipment. I have no screens on my airplanes.

I woud say I am with the majority here my fuel jug has a filter and I replace it yearly.
if I notice any crud in my fuel filling jug I will empty it and clean it out.

I filter once in the can and again between the carb and tank. Who knows,,,,,,,just fly man!!!

I guess I am in the minority when it comes to using Fuel Filters.
I have never yet used them. Most people I fly with do not use them too.

The two fields where I fly are 49 and 62 miles away, respectively. Contests are from 250 to 1000 miles away. So I try to make sure that all my stuff will work when I get there. That's why I use filters, etc. The filters were no help that time I forgot to load my airplanes before taking off for the flying field. [X(] Fortunately, I realized it before I was halfway there and went back home and got them.

I just had a thought, Uh-oh.

If I put a filter in the fuel jug on the line..... use a t-connector after the filter (on the out, side) and install a check valve.... all inside the jug. That way, when you fill the tank, it'll pull fuel through the filter. When you de-fuel it'll route through the check valve back into the jug (and not through the filter). Junk will collect in the jug and the filter, but everything else stays clean. I hope that makes sense. Now'd be a good time for some nice ascii drawing, but I'm not gonna try[:'(]

the first little tiny microscopic minuscule piece of trash will get caught in the check valves and stick them open. that's why on pumped engines you have to use a filter or you have problems with the pump and regulator.

kc

kc

Oh, well. I THOUGHT it was a good idea. Maybe I'll try it for kicks. Maybe if I keep the check valve high enough in the jug it'll just suck air when it sticks. That way I'll know when it's time to replace.

I used to use filters on all planes between the tank and carb,but as the fleet grew it became too expensive so a crap trap went in the fill line from the pump .since i run the tank dry on the last flight of the day de fueling is not an issue.

i stick a tornado fuel filter about mid-way between the tank and carb on my Savage, Tmaxx and MFA and have never had any problems, i will up using the second inlet line (on my MFA tank there are 3 lines, 1 going to the carb, one coming from the muffler and a spare one with a one-way valve fitted which i fuel through)

fuel filter SHOULD be used. the problem become one of where. in the tank or in the feed line they can leak & they can get clogged. anothe fitting to be concerned with. personally ive never seen one "unclog" itself either. using them in the jug seems to work well for me & Ive very seldom had problems mostly because im a stickler about keeping all fuel lines clean. its some what immaterial if you dont follow with using an AIR CLEANER as your engine sucks in huge quanties of dust.