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Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 23:57:18 -0700
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
From: Michael McGee <jmpcrftr@teleport.com>
Subject: Aeroquip AQP Socketless racing hose question
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How many of you racers and mechanics, shade tree or pro, have used 
AQP Socketless hose for fuel/oil/coolant lines?  What do you think of 
this stuff for airplanes?

I was in a local hose and fitting shop the other day (Oil Filter 
Service, Portland, OR) getting a short line for my fuel pressure 
sender on the RV-4.  I picked up 4" of -4 AQP Socketless hose, 3 
brass AN fittings, and some fire sleeve.  They assembled it for me 
and it cost me a whopping $7.17.  Comparing this with steel braided 
high pressure hose with aluminum AN fittings we typically see on a 
lot of planes, this particular assembled fuel pressure hose from the 
Van's Aircraft catalog is $55 (14" long I think) with no fire sleeve 
and I don't have to pay for postage living just down the road.

This AQP hose has very good specs, 250 psi working/1000 burst and 300 
deg F.  It was used on my oil cooler lines when I picked up my engine 
from a 1/4 mile racer.  I think this line can see over 150 psi and I 
know my engine has seen the north side of 10,000 rpm many times.

Also, the guys at the hose shop insisted that with the barbed 
"push-on" fittings I used it needs NO HOSE CLAMPS.  These do not have 
the collar that screws up onto the fitting like a regular AN hose 
end.  The hose is designed like a "Chinese finger trap" and tightens 
itself on the fitting barbs as you increase pressure.  I'll probably 
put some kind of clamp on it so my friend Das Fed doesn't complain.

Now, steel braided hose is good for 1000 psi operating/6000 
burst.  And the abrasion resistance is obvious, but you still will 
probably put orange fire sleeve over it so the eye-candy value is 
low.  Also, the fire sleeve will show any abrasion long before the 
hose is in jeopardy.  In my (professional engineer's) opinion, a 
safety factor of 20 is a bit much.

Back to the AQP hose, it has a safety factor of 5 when the fuel 
pressure is 50.  For coolant lines at 25 psi the safety factor is 
10.  It also is compatible with any fuels we would conceivably use 
and I'm even setting my machine up for use with 85% ethanol (just for 
kicks,, my own entertainment, don't start on the ethanol/gas mileage 
thread again).  The oil line at the cooler is potentially 150 psi so 
I might be talked into the steel braided stuff for that.

My apologies for the epistle.  Once again have any of you guys used 
this AQP hose and do you have any stories to tell about it?  How 
about these barbed no-clamp fittings?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike McGee, RV-4 N996RV, O320-E2G, Hillsboro, OR
13B in gestation mode, RD-1C, EC-2