Gascolator

N73087 · Post by **N73087** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 8:15 pm

I've had my 51 170A since July.
I bought a nifty STC'd gascolator from Spruce. The manufacturer is Steves Aerosomething. It is machined from aluminum, and appears to be very well made.
My glass walled gascolator appears to be relying on silicone for its seal.
I tried to install it today, and can't figure out how to get to the fuel line inside the firewall. I disconnected from the selector, and thought I would pull the line forward through the firewall with the gascolator. The fitting wouldn't fit through the hole.
How do I get to the fuel line inside the firewall?
Does anyone else have Steve's gascolator?
Dave

spiro · Post by **spiro** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 11:39 pm

I've never understood why one would want to replace a glass gascolator where you can easily see water and fod with an opaque metal one. The glass seals with an inexpensive rubber gasket top and bottom, not silicone.

mit · Post by **mit** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 4:28 am

I agree with you on that one Paul!

N170BP · Post by **N170BP** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 5:17 am

spiro wrote:I've never understood why one would want to replace a glass gascolator where you can easily see water and fod with an opaque metal one. The glass seals with an inexpensive rubber gasket top and bottom, not silicone.

One reason I can think of is, if the ground rises up to smite thee
hard enough to knock the main landing gear off, there's an awefully
good chance the glass in the "stock" gascolator will break, promptly
spilling/sprayin fuel in and around the engine compartment (not
a good thing....).

I'm of the opinion that this is a rather poor design.... Yes the gascolator
has to be as low on the airframe as practical, and glass is indeed nice
to have so you can see any bad junk in there that might ruin your day,
but you'd think the engineers would have given a little more forethought to placement/protection of the gascolator in the event of a crash.

Bela P. Havasreti
'54 C-170B N170BP

mit · Post by **mit** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 6:58 am

Bela, What makes you think that in a crash that a metal bowl is not going to leak fuel? I have seen several wrecks and the metal bowl breaks off too.
As well as the line pulling apart. All bets are off when you go crashing threw the trees.

N170BP · Post by **N170BP** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 6:15 pm

mit wrote:Bela, What makes you think that in a crash that a metal bowl is not going to leak fuel? I have seen several wrecks and the metal bowl breaks off too.
As well as the line pulling apart. All bets are off when you go crashing threw the trees.

A very good friend of mine made his living as an accident investigator.
It's his words/experience that lead me to say what I did about the glass
gascolators. In a nutshell, he's been to more than one fatal accident
that appeared to be otherwise survivable, but the glass in the
gascolator broke and spilled/sprayed fuel in and around the engine compartment, and now you've got a fire. Point being, you don't have
to be in a horrendous crash for the glass in the gascolator to break!
(imagine landing in a dry riverbed for example and the gear gets
torn out, or you go up on your nose and scoop up rocks in and around
the firewall area).

And you're right, the metal bowl is also susceptable to damage (to
a lesser extent) which is why I think the placement/design could be
improved upon.

Bottom line, I agree that if you hit something hard enough, it's not
going to matter what your gascolator is made out of....

Bela P. Havasreti
'54 C-170B N170BP

N73087 · Post by **N73087** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 9:58 pm

How do I get to the fuel line inside the firewall?
Does anyone else have Steve's gascolator?

spiro · Post by **spiro** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 3:34 am

guess I don't understand the problem. After pulling the old gascolator did you you let the fuel line end fall behind the firewall so you can't get to it now or does the new gascolator not fit up the same and needs a longer fuel line? In either case you should be able to access the fuel line thru an inspection plate and either thread the end back thru the firewall or pull the whole thing out. There's probably 2 sections of hose and a union between the gascolator and selector, maybe that union's holding you up?

can I assume this "Steve's" gascolator is PMA-STC'd? If so, what do the directions say? Or call them if unclear.

and *why* are you doing this?

Post by **GAHorn** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 4:55 am

If you examine the illustrated parts catalog you'll likely see that the line does not simply pass thru the firewall. It's got a fitting that is attached to the firewall, and on each side of the firewall the fuel line components screw to that fitting.
The FAA has an aversion to glass gascolators. I agree with Spiro. I've got a glass gascolator and I will not change until there's a prison term penalty for it.

N73087 · Post by **N73087** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 9:51 am

Restating the problem. The gascolator has an AN fitting for in and out. I remove the line to the carb. I disconnect the line at the fuel selector. I remove the primer line and the two bolts holding the gascolator to the mounting bracket. Everything is now loose, but the line from the selector is still attached to the gascolator. I cannot pull the gascolator and line forward through the firewall to disconnect it. The hole in the firewall is too small to pass the nut on the line.
The unit is STC'd, SA01026SE.

Dave Clark · Post by **Dave Clark** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:08 pm

Take the rudder pedal covers off on the copilot side and you should see an AN nut on the fuel line just at the firewall by the tunnel.