Locating the Gascolator
Greetings,
Here in Canada we have to install a gascolator in our aircraft to establish a low point for fuel on the engine side of the firewall. I decided to install one of the Van’s Aircraft designed Gascolators as it wasn’t expensive.
It was challenging to find a place low on the firewall of my RV-10 because of the design of the engine mount. The mount I am using for my LS1 installation as well as Vans original design have a tube that runs the perimeter of the lower firewall. This meant that I had to devise some sort of standoff that would allow me to mount the unit and at the same time have the drain clear the mount tubing.
What I did was take a chunk of aluminum the same size as the base of the gascolator and deep enough to allow the drain valve extension to clear the mount. I then drilled the block to accept a threaded brass extension which was then threaded into the gascolator. The threaded brass extension was then fed through a hole in the firewall and the gascolator was bolted through the firewall as well.
On the inside of the firewall I threaded an aluminum 90 deg AN fitting on to the brass extension and clocked it to be parallel to an angle brace that runs diagonally across the firewall. I secured rigid flared tubing to this brace and ran it between the output of the high pressure Walbro pumps and the 90 degree fitting on the firewall.
I now have a low point for fuel in the engine compartment and have the drain valves for both the gascolator and the header tank side by side so they can be easily checked for water contamination during the pre-flight inspection.
Thanks for taking this in. I would appreciate your comments on this blog. Please feel free to drop me a line or two.
Dave