Fuel Filter??
 

Should I run a fuel filter betwwen tank and carb?

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

Generally, I don't, but I put a fuel filter in the line going from the bottle into the tank. In other words, I filter the fuel when filling the tank.

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

i run one half way between the tank and the engine on my savage, it weighs next to nothing and it stops your engine pulling any grit from the fuel tank

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

if you do run a filter...how do you pinch line to cut off engine? is this the only way used to stop engine other than running it copletely out of fuel?

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

You can adjust the carb/servo linkage so that when the throttle stick and throttle trim is pulled completely down it'll close the carb. Therefore cutting all air going into the engine and stopping the motor.

I also just filter the fuel before it goes into the tank.

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

I've been flying for 10 years and I've never had to use a filter on the plane itself. If you filter the fuel that is coming out of the fuel jug as your fuel your plane you will be fine.

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

You can close the throttle to the point the engine stops due to lack of air.

I would not run a fuel filter in a normally aspirated glow engine.

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

I also only filter my fuel as it comes out of my fuel container. One less thing to go wrong in the plane.

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

I run filters out of my can and also to the carb.. and on my YS's I use one on the press.
side also.. It works great for me.. It may be overkill... But, no problems to date..

As said above, adjust your throttle/linkage so as to kill the engine with the trim or kill
switch from your radio..

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

While I am quite new to rc flying I have a lot of experience with race cars (real ones) and have the following comment:
There is no such thing as overkill. What can go wrong will. Filtering at the closest point to where the failure will hurt the most is always a good idea. That point is where a failure in flight will cost you the plane and possibly the motor as well. Filtering out of the can is a great idea, but cannot stop problems from contaminants that have crept into the tank or line. While that might seem a low probability, any time you pull a line or open the tank for any reason you are risking it. And there are additional possibilities of contamination from tank or cap (plastic) detrioration or foriegn particles that were there to begin with and were not dislodged when the tank was cleaned out prior to installation in the plane (you all DO flush out the tank before installing it don't you? Or do you assume it came from the factory and is brand new so it must be clean?).
This hobby is not cheap and there are so many ways to create failures (other than my own lack of skill and experience) that I think filtering at the plane is more critical than doing it out of the can...but ideally I would do both (although I have not yet followed that part of my own advice I will on the next Tower order).

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

Airplanes normally are not run in the same environment as RC cars so there is some difference.

While you can put a filter on a plane, you can also keep the tank from getting dirty in the first place and avoid the filter on the plane altogether.

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

I'm going to side with tessmar on this one. I'm one of those anal people who use a filter as a clunk in my fuel jug, a filter in the line on the jug, and a filter about an inch before the carb. I guess you'd call that triple filtered. :) Oh and for what it's worth, I use one on my muffler pressure line too. It's not hard to imagine unwanted sludge making it's way into the fuel tank through the exhaust pressure line. Of course, with this many opportunities for failure, I have to make sure I backflush them from time to time to keep every thing free flowing. :)

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

And I'm going to side with Ken. ;) I've been at this for a while with both planes and boats. Occasionally I've tried running fuel filters and I've actually had more unexplained problems with them than without. Since I adhere to the K.I.S.S. philosophy, I've concluded that filters just complicate things. Practice good sanitation when fueling and I think filters are pretty much not needed.

RE: Fuel Filter??
 

The K.I.S.S. principle is good but where do you draw the line? The simplest of course is no filters at all. Anywhere. I've been guilty of doing that but only on a test stand, they don't crash very often if the engine suddenly stops :). In a model I'll always use an inline filter as a last line of defence but not a takeapart type because they have a chance of leaking. The only one I use is the Sullivan Cr*p Trap with it's double filter. You can filter your fuel as much as you like before it gets into the tank but what happens when a bit of carbon from the muffler gets in there through the pressure line? I go by the K.I.R.S.S. principle....keep it Reasonably simple...