Fuel cell

[duramaxzak]

This is where I bought my fuel cell from, although mine is only 3 gallons!!!

http://www.rhodesracecars.com/Fuel-Cells_c_10461.html



You can also have a custom one made!

http://www.rhodesracecars.com/Build-Your-Own-Custom-Cell-_p_10640.html

 

[WisconsinHick1]

I am pricing some place to have a custom one made to fit between the frame rails and bolt to them. I'll just need a hole in the back of the bed for the fuel fill and it won't be deep enough to see below my roll pan and still have a sump and fuel sending unit. I'm guessing it'll be around $300-$350 but I'm willing to pay it to have it built for my truck. Should have pricing back by the end of the week.

 

[DMAX497]

Will a flat bottom fuel cell work? Looks like that Rhodes place offers one?

 

[Chevy1925]

The foam does not hold up long to diesel. Will start plugging the crap out of filters. Dont ask me how i know. Lol. Fuel will slosh around less in a cell then a tank.

your using bad foam then. Fuel safe foam i know will hold up just fine in diesel. the cheap shit from jazz or summit hardly holds up to gas (must be changed once a year). you also get fuzz from the first tank or two thats just from the cut foam.

Fuel will slosh just as much in either tank and without a decent sump, you can suck big gulps of air every so often when taking corners or stop and go and so on should you choose not to run foam. you get down to a 1/4-1/2 tank and the issues start.

 

[Chevy1925]

Baffle or keep it full I guess, I would think racing gas and
Alcohol fuel would be worse but I guess maybe not. is there good and bad foam? Maybe some is cheaper and doesn't hold up as well?

yes there is.

ive been down this road a few times with friends off road cars and our race car.

 

[Ne-max]

your using bad foam then. Fuel safe foam i know will hold up just fine in diesel. the cheap shit from jazz or summit hardly holds up to gas (must be changed once a year). you also get fuzz from the first tank or two thats just from the cut foam.

Fuel will slosh just as much in either tank and without a decent sump, you can suck big gulps of air every so often when taking corners or stop and go and so on should you choose not to run foam. you get down to a 1/4-1/2 tank and the issues start.

I disagree. Tanks are long and shallow. Most cells are just cubes. Will still slosh around but not as bad.

 

[Chevy1925]

I disagree. Tanks are long and shallow. Most cells are just cubes. Will still slosh around but not as bad.

cube or not, you get down to 1/2 tank and lower and it will be sloshing around quite a bit. you still have 1/2 the volume of the tank for fuel to move around, doesnt matter if the tank is 3 times the size of the 20 gal, a stock tank or a 5 gal. i have a 5 gal spun alum tank on my sand car with no foam and no sump. any time im 1/3 of a tank or lower, the car starts cutting out soon as i go to leave out of a corner cause the pick up line is at the center/bottom of the tank. at 1/2 tank i can feel a sputter every now and then so i know its starting to get low. its why im in the process of a new tank with a 1/2 gal sump and foam will be going in. In the end, you only have one pick up point in the tank. there is no perfect spot for it in all conditions of a street truck and without a way to keep the fuel at the pick up point, you run the risk of sucking air. unless you run a holley fuel mat which are pretty trick

 

[Slowmax]

yes there is.

ive been down this road a few times with friends off road cars and our race car.

James can you please provide a link to a fuel cell that will work, with a 12-16 gallon capacity, and either no foam, or a proven quality foam fuel cell?

 

[Chevy1925]

James can you please provide a link to a fuel cell that will work, with a 12-16 gallon capacity, and either no foam, or a proven quality foam fuel cell?

sure! ill get one in a bit.

i also recommend the return be returned to the sump. this will help keep it topped off in extreme angle/g force situations and the temp wont change much to the fuel being drawn in. you use more fuel than being returned and what does get returned is going straight into alot of fuel where it can dissipate heat very quickly. its also no different than a stock tank pick up

 

[prostreeter600]

I always thought the return needed to be as far away from the fuel leaving the tank to where it has additional time to cool before reaching the outlet again. If you look at most fuel cells the returns are on the top , as far away from the outlet as possible . If returned next to the outlet you wind up sending warm fuel right back out and after x amount of re circulation cycles you have hot fuel .

 

[Chevy1925]

I always thought the return needed to be as far away from the fuel leaving the tank to where it has additional time to cool before reaching the outlet again. If you look at most fuel cells the returns are on the top , as far away from the outlet as possible . If returned next to the outlet you wind up sending warm fuel right back out and after x amount of re circulation cycles you have hot fuel .

On a truck/car that sees mainly one direction of travel and doesnt use a sump, you can get away with this. Really, your still putting warm fuel in a tank that cant cool its self so no matter where you put the warm fuel in, its going to heat the tank up. A good fuel cooler will will negate the whole issue. driving around town these last few days ive yet to see fuel temps over 100*.

not having the return fuel go to the sump means you solely rely on what fuel is caught in the sump to be used. when the tank gets low and fuel starts sloshing around more and you take hard long corners that drives fuel away from sump, you can actually suck the sump low enough to get some air. If you run the return to the sump, it will help keep some fuel in the sump to draw from in extreme conditions.

I know alot of you are looking at a drag race situation only. I have needed to look at all aspects for desert racing or duning. On a street truck it may not be as extreme as im making it sound but why have to worry about air if you can solve it with a little planning, not to metion if you want to use the full capacity of the fuel cell, why have to fill up when ever you hit 1/4-1/2 tank every time. I hate having to adjust driving style around a part cause it didnt work as well as the stock engineered setup did in a stock truck.

 

[SSchmi5519]

The Holley fuel mats are friggen awesome. Alien technology. Works by magic.

 

[prostreeter600]

The cell with a sump is already going to be better than our stock setups , our stock tanks use a pickup tube that comes in at the top of the tank . The pickup can be uncovered or suck air easier than a cell with a sump can in low fuel conditions IMHO. Simple fix ,keep fuel in your tank/cell.

 

[Chevy1925]

James can you please provide a link to a fuel cell that will work, with a 12-16 gallon capacity, and either no foam, or a proven quality foam fuel cell?

most of the ones im finding are a angled style sump and they dont exactly work the best. I know Fuel Safe and Jazz offers tanks with sump pick ups through the top like a stock truck but the sump uses trap doors and holes like the stock pick up. OR you can buy a weld on one through summit and other off road places to put a sump on the bottom of a tank. this is what i usually see guys do.

as for foam, im VERY partial to Fuel Safe. Its very high quality. jazz will come apart on you before the end of the year (lost two motors cause of that shit) and summit foam is rebanded cheap crap that will do the same.

 

[Chevy1925]

The cell with a sump is already going to be better than our stock setups , our stock tanks use a pickup tube that comes in at the top of the tank . The pickup can be uncovered or suck air easier than a cell with a sump can in low fuel conditions IMHO. Simple fix ,keep fuel in your tank/cell.

actually, if you look at a stock sump, it has trap doors on the hole openings and has the return dumping into it. ive been down to a couple gallons of fuel and done a few WOT passes without starving for fuel. its a pretty decent setup stock but if you are moving a ton of fuel with dual lift pumps and great big injectors, the stock sump most likely wont hold enough fuel for you in low fuel situation. the bucket would be too small. thats why like like the 1/2 gal sumps like you are saying.

a fuel cell with a sump like you are saying though is definitely going to hold the fuel better in low fuel apps.

 

[mike diesel]

Ok, so...I should just keep my stock tank lol.

 

[LBZ]

actually, if you look at a stock sump, it has trap doors on the hole openings and has the return dumping into it. ive been down to a couple gallons of fuel and done a few WOT passes without starving for fuel. its a pretty decent setup stock but if you are moving a ton of fuel with dual lift pumps and great big injectors, the stock sump most likely wont hold enough fuel for you in low fuel situation. the bucket would be too small. thats why like like the 1/2 gal sumps like you are saying.

a fuel cell with a sump like you are saying though is definitely going to hold the fuel better in low fuel apps.

I agree. Unless you can't maintain rail or have an issue picking up fuel for one reason or another it's not worth the effort. The stock setup does an adequate job for most street trucks. The cup does a good job of eliminating issues from fuel slosh, and keeping debris and water from getting sucked up.

 

[DMAX497]

I ordered a fuel cell with a sump. And I will be ripping the foam out. Also have another fass 220gph titanium to hang under the bed with my other one!

Super excited! Should have my tran back next week... Ordering new shocks. Going to strip my goosneck out and airbags off. Time to go fast! :woott:

 

[JoshH]

Fwiw, the fuel cell in the van is a cheap one I got from Summit. It has foam that didn't fall apart for at least 2 years. I haven't checked it since it has been sitting a lot lately, but like I said, it was good for at least two years. Also, I had the return dumping into the sump right next to the pick up.

 

[PACougar]

Fwiw, the fuel cell in the van is a cheap one I got from Summit. It has foam that didn't fall apart for at least 2 years. I haven't checked it since it has been sitting a lot lately, but like I said, it was good for at least two years. Also, I had the return dumping into the sump right next to the pick up.

I'm in the same boat Josh, my cell's from Summit with foam and I have zero issues. In case anyone wants to know, I can run mine down to about 3 gallons before needing to fill up. After that, a hard enough stop with a wait before driving again can shut down the engine.