Fuel Cells & Plumbing Questions

[DriveWFO]

I'm looking to install an aluminum fuel cell with a sump during the off-season. What should I look for when buying a fuel cell? Probably gonna be around 10 gallon.

Can anyone post a drawing/pic of a basic fuel cell/sump/electric pump/filter configuration? What size lines, filter CFM, pump flow rating? This is for a 350ci running mid-12s on the motor & 11s on the bottle.

BTW, I'm not running a dedicated fuel line for nitrous.

[jacobgiles]

are you running a dead head style system or one with a return line?

i have -8 coming out the fuel cell going to the classic Fram canister filter, then -8 going to a holley black pump, then to a billet Y block (on the inner wheel well up front) that has -8 going to the holley regulator to the carb and on the other side of the Y it has -8 going the regulator to the fuel solonoid. it works great for me.

[DriveWFO]

are you running a dead head style system or one with a return line?

i have -8 coming out the fuel cell going to the classic Fram canister filter, then -8 going to a holley black pump, then to a billet Y block (on the inner wheel well up front) that has -8 going to the holley regulator to the carb and on the other side of the Y it has -8 going the regulator to the fuel solonoid. it works great for me.

My current setup includes a mechanical pump with a return line. However, I'd like to switch to an electric pump. Do those have return lines?

[jacobgiles]

i believe its the regulator that has the return line. my system doesnt have a return line in it.

[stracer859]

i have a #8 out of the cell to the filter then a swivel coupling #8 to the BG fuel pump and #8 all the way up to my regulators,, i have a billet regulator manifold from quick fuel, #8 goin to the braided fuel inlet on the carb and a #6 goin to the fuel solenoid. so far so good for me, 11.22 on motor and have yet to spray the 1/4.

[stracer859]

depends on what type of pump u wanna use,, the BG400 has return on the pump, and some go from the regulator for a return, which as far as i see, u could get a better pump and use less line which is what i would do or get a cheaper pump and buy another 16 to 20 ft of line to run the return.

[John_Heard]

Most of the bigger pumps have a return built into them, some of adjustable pressure at the pump to regulate the pump pressure via that return. If you're going to run both the fuel and the nitrous system on the same pump, don't get too small of a pump. You don't want your fuel pressure on the nitrous side moving around. G-Forces will effect the pump pressure at launch, the faster you go the worse of a problem it will be and the more pump pressure you will need.

You should be able to reduce the amount of pressure variation at launch letting you use a little smaller pump by using a full return system. A good pump like a Magnaflow 275 or so, #8 to the front a bypass regulator and a #8 to the rear for the bypass would work pretty nice. With that kind of setup you would cap off the regulator/bypass at the pump. When you start stepping up everything you would only need to put a bigger pump on it "maybe" but the fuel lines, regulators, etc. would be fine. Aeromotive makes some good pumps and have some diagrams on their web site that might help.

[DriveWFO]

Something like this?

[John_Heard]

Yes that's what I was talking about, however that is not going to be a low cost setup. I would probably set something like that up with two holley regulators, one for nitrous and one for the carb, then the aeromotive bypass regulator to set the pump pressure. The little holley regulators work real well for the money.

Many would say a setup like that is overkill but it will give you something you can use down the road without having to replace pumps, etc. when you need more.

Oh, I don't know that you need two fuel filters on it... I just use one good hi-volume one before the pump on mine. Plus I filter my fuel before putting it in the tank to start with - see http://www.dragstuff.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=126

[DriveWFO]

What setup do you think would work at a minimum?

[John_Heard]

Roger aka "MOKANRACER" on this board has a good working low buck system on his. It's a two tank system - 1 gal in the front with a holley pump and a 10 gal tank in the rear with a holley pump both with 8an line deadheaded. I can't remember which pumps he was using though, seems like they were both Holley black pumps? Maybe he will chime in here with the model number.

[YD-LUZ]

Do not mess up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buy for what have now and what you may do in the future.

I bought stuff for a 475 hp mtr, again for a 625 hp mtr, then stuff for a 225 shot on a dedicated rear mount system, then everything new for a 1,000 hp mtr and nitrous system. AND - this last time I finally got smart and bought a magnafuel system to feed 2,000+ hp. I did not cut any corners - which saves in broke engine parts when running nitrous.

Talking about wasting money I don't have!!!

Be smarter than me, buy good stuff that meets the current demands and anything you may do in the future.

Good Luck!!!

[MOKANRACER]

What setup do you think would work at a minimum?

I dont mind chiming in. lol I am using a 1 gal Jaz cell in front with a dedicated Blue Holley pump ,Holley regulator,and expensive in line cartrage style filter. All 6AN line. On my rear cell 8 gallon,I,m using all 8 AN line to the carb. Using again a blue pump,Frame style HP filter as you show, and an expensive Holley regulator near the carb. Using a 850 Proform. I have pic,s of most of this if your interested in how I set it up. This all supports a 383,and am confident it will support 9 sec et,s. Thats as quick as I want to go. Allready running 130+ at mid 10,s.

[nastynova]

Dave not sure if you've ever seen my setup or not, I'm running a 5 Gallon Cell with a single 8AN line coming off going to a Mallory Race Filter then into a Holley Black pump, from there it continues with an 8AN line up to a Holley regulator where one 8AN line runs to the carb and on the other side of the regulator I have a 6AN coming off going to the NOS Solenoid, I run a conservative tune on the juice normally staying on the fat side of the mixture, I have the pressure set at 6.75 pounds which when I did my redneck wetflow test the pressure only dropped to around 6 pounds flowing. I do have a fuel pressure safety switch which is a very cheap peice of insurance. We've gone 9.56 @ 140 with this setup time and time again and have felt confident doing it, but I do remember when Pat Budd was doing my Chassis Cert. and I was talking to him up at his shop about the NX Kits they run on their Vette, the one thing he told me that still sticks in my mind to this day, he told me "making friends with nitrous is like making friends with a rattle snake, just when you think your his best friend he'll turn and bite ya in the ass" that's why after the 1st of the year when the new bullet gets dropped in the car we're upgrading the system again but this time it will be capable of supporting 1800+ hp for future use!

[one_fast_camaro]

I have a 1o gallon aluminum fuel cell with a sump on it. Do I need to run foam in it or will it be fine without. My old system used a 4 gallon fuel cell that had the outlet level with the filter on the pump, The pump is a bg400.
I know its a gravity feed pump with very little suction will it be ok to have the sump below the trunk and the fuel line coming into the filter in the trunk?