I've been doing a lot of research regarding what others have done and the components they used. As you can imagine, it's all over the board. Any where from Auto Zone rubber fuel hose and hose clamps to full on racing gear and everything in between. Some keep it super simple without valves, or any special fittings. Others have very elaborate systems with a lot of safety features.Some opt for cheap, and others spare no expense. Which is better? Whatever works, doesn't leak, clog, break, or kill me. Unfortunately, there is no STANDARD, I guess that is why it is EXPERIMENTAL. Good news is you can pretty much do what you want, bad news is you can pretty much do what you want.
Well after hours, days, and weeks of reading, there are a few things I know I don't want. Mainly, any rubber hose or fittings. Fuel in whatever form I will use (91, 93, 100LL) eats rubber over time. Pretty much every thread I read about fuel problems had a common denominator, rubber. Even ROTAX requires that every piece of rubber on its engines be replaced every five years, MANDATORY. Doesn't matter if it still looks new, replace it, period. Another item I don't want is hose clamps.
So, purely from a safety perspective it boils down to two options. Hard line (aluminum tube) or PTFE hose. PTFE hose is special hose that comes in a variety of styles, stainless braided, black nylon braided, or even with rubber over it and it is impervious to pretty much every chemical (acid, alcohol, fuel of any kind). The hard line requires some tools (bender, flare kit, brackets, hangers) which I already possess and is harder to install as it must fit exactly, but it's cheaper per foot. Hose offers a bit of wiggle room and is more expensive per foot.
After much deliberation, I think the best bet is a combination of the two with an eye to keeping the number of connections to a minimum. After all, the more connections, the more chance for leaks. I'll use hard line under the floor and stainless braided flexible PTFE hose to the header tanks and up to the wing tanks. Since the wings fold, I'll need flexible hose passing from the cabin to the wings. I'll design the forward part of the fuel system once I know more about the engine setup. Here is a quick diagram of the system, some of which may change as I proceed but it gives me a plan to operate from. I've been ordering most of the components (hose, fittings, valves, filters, etc.) over the past week and they're arriving daily. I hope to start installing some of it this next week.
