|
Message
When your
electric system starts to act up, you might not be able to shut down your pumps!
You still can stop your engine by cutting the fuel!
You're reaching a bit here. A fuel pump is an
on/off device. It's not like we have a bank of CPU's running the pumps
:-)
But keeping it to a part that is
not really a shut off valve, like the fuel pump, no way! What if the pump
shortens out/gets hot/leaks/etc. I want to be able to cut the fuel at the
source!
What if your fuel
valve connections leak, or the shaft of the valve? Then you're sucking
air, which is a much more ominous problem.
Everyone has their comfort level, so feel free to
install a cutoff valve. There are certainly situations where it could be
needed, but for every one of those, I can come up with one where it's an extra
danger :-)
As a point of trivia, Van's specifically
recommends against using braided hose in place of the normal aluminum tubing
from the wing tanks. The theory is that in an accident, the wings
will be pulled back, and the fuel line will be torn loose. The
aluminum line will tend to pinch itself closed when it bends and breaks, but the
braided hose will stay open when it breaks. The difference is a big leak
vs a small leak. Van's not so dumb :-)
Cheers,
Rusty (my beer's
empty)
|