Sport Pilot Talk

I’m about to get started on my 5-year rubber parts replacement.

Fuel lines are straightforward enough I can do them myself, as I did last time. Planning to get help on the other rubber parts.

If you switch to Teflon fuel lines, the 5-year replacement requirement goes away, so it seems like a good option.

I have a friend with an RV12 who made the change. But it was a custom kit for an RV12, and was around $600, involving lots of custom fittings. Too rich for my taste just to avoid a few hours of work every 5 years.

His source: https://www.tsflightlines.com/home.html

Looks very slick on his plane, but again, that’s a lot of money.

Question: can one just buy Teflon lines and use stock fittings? I think I read that Teflon lines and barbed fittings don’t mix, so I’d have to track down how many of those I have and replace them with “bulb” fittings.

Or am I missing something fundamental here?

"If you switch to Teflon fuel lines, the 5-year replacement requirement goes away, so it seems like a good option."

The 5 year doesn't go away. Nothing wrong with Teflon except it's expensive and only addresses what's in the engine compartment. You'll still have to do the 5 year rubber change which is everything else. The fuel hose in the engine compartment is only a small portion. So you spend $600 plus new fittings vs $15-$20 for standard fuel hose. It takes me about 40 minutes to change fuel hose in the engine compartment.
Is it worth $600 for that difference? Only a few make the change, but only you can decide that.

roger lee wrote:
The 5 year doesn't go away...You'll still have to do the 5 year rubber change which is everything else.

Yes. I just meant the fuel line part “goes away”.

Thanks. Do you remember the one fuel line that we had to team up on in the Sky Arrow last time?

I don’t think my question was answered...

Can I just buy the right sized Teflon hose, cut it to length, and slide it over the hose fittings and secure with hose clamps, as long as I stay away from barbed fittings?