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fuel filter maintenance
- Thread starter OverDrive
- Start date
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- Messages
- 8,360
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- Bashing
The cleaning or maintenance of the fuel filter is important for a couple of reasons.
1. Fuel flow. A clogged filter will stop the fuel from flowing to your engine or at the very least restrict the flow. This ends up in a stalled engine, a stubborn to start engine, or an engine that runs an artificially lean condition regardless of how you adjust your needles.
2. Engine longevity. A bad filter, clogged filter, or one that just doesn't work can harm the engine in a number of ways. A bad filter can create an air leak. The end result is an overheating engine. A clogged filter does what is described in bullet one above. One that doesn't work properly can allow particulate matter in the fuel to reach the engine. This does a couple of things...clogs the HSN creating a lean condition or a fuel starved engine. Or it passes through the HSN and frags the cylinder in effect destroying the engine.
Either condition above is a bad thing. To that end, I would recommend that cleaning or replacing your fuel filter is an important consideration. I would only replace a fuel filter if you feel that cleaning it would not solve any of the problems above. As for the frequency of cleaning, I would leave that up to your running conditions. If you run for hours and do multiple refills of the tank in dusty conditions, you might want to clean the filter after each day of running. If not, you may be able to go more days of running between cleanings.
I would suggest that you can never clean it too many times. I know that I check mine at the end of each day of running. If it looks clean, then I leave it alone. If it looks gunked up at all (even in the slightest sense of the words "gunked up") I give it a cleaning.
Over to you...
-SkyMaxx
1. Fuel flow. A clogged filter will stop the fuel from flowing to your engine or at the very least restrict the flow. This ends up in a stalled engine, a stubborn to start engine, or an engine that runs an artificially lean condition regardless of how you adjust your needles.
2. Engine longevity. A bad filter, clogged filter, or one that just doesn't work can harm the engine in a number of ways. A bad filter can create an air leak. The end result is an overheating engine. A clogged filter does what is described in bullet one above. One that doesn't work properly can allow particulate matter in the fuel to reach the engine. This does a couple of things...clogs the HSN creating a lean condition or a fuel starved engine. Or it passes through the HSN and frags the cylinder in effect destroying the engine.
Either condition above is a bad thing. To that end, I would recommend that cleaning or replacing your fuel filter is an important consideration. I would only replace a fuel filter if you feel that cleaning it would not solve any of the problems above. As for the frequency of cleaning, I would leave that up to your running conditions. If you run for hours and do multiple refills of the tank in dusty conditions, you might want to clean the filter after each day of running. If not, you may be able to go more days of running between cleanings.
I would suggest that you can never clean it too many times. I know that I check mine at the end of each day of running. If it looks clean, then I leave it alone. If it looks gunked up at all (even in the slightest sense of the words "gunked up") I give it a cleaning.
Over to you...
-SkyMaxx
- Messages
- 8,360
- Reaction score
- 12
- Points
- 758
- RC Driving Style
- Bashing
The o-ring is there to provide a nice seal. Sometimes that o-ring doesn't survive so well and produces a source of air leaks. It is at that point that you can either replace the o-ring or get a new filter.
As for cleaning it, that is dependent on the type of filter element. A lot of them are basket type filter elements. For those, remove the basket and run fuel or soapy water through the element in the reverse direction. Usually the filter is placed on the fuel line so that the fuel from the tank is entering the top of the basket; so run the fuel or soapy water you are using to clean it in the opposite direction (ie from the bottom of the basket.) If the filter is not of the basket style and has the element built in to the casing or is a screen element, simply run the fuel or soapy water through the element in the opposite direction that the fuel from the tank would have hit the element. This should push whatever muck is in there out of the element.
Hope that helps.
As for cleaning it, that is dependent on the type of filter element. A lot of them are basket type filter elements. For those, remove the basket and run fuel or soapy water through the element in the reverse direction. Usually the filter is placed on the fuel line so that the fuel from the tank is entering the top of the basket; so run the fuel or soapy water you are using to clean it in the opposite direction (ie from the bottom of the basket.) If the filter is not of the basket style and has the element built in to the casing or is a screen element, simply run the fuel or soapy water through the element in the opposite direction that the fuel from the tank would have hit the element. This should push whatever muck is in there out of the element.
Hope that helps.
