This is horrible!

[Craven]

Timely reminder for those of us who carry a dry powder extinguisher to give it a good shake, they do pack down.
Most latter cars have secondary containment in case of hydraulic fluid loss, silicone fluid is much much safer as far as flammability is concerned. No brainer in a fibreglass car, however many choose brake feel to safety.

[TBG]

I have two of these in clips under my legs. Anyone have any experience with them? They are on Amazon amongst other places. They light like a firework apparently. D

Fire Safety Stick - Fire Extinguisher A, B, C, F & Electrical - Double 25 Seconds Discharge Time - Light & Compact, No Residue, No Mess, Non-pressurised, 10 year Shelf-life

[2cams70]

I really don’t know why braided hoses were used for the fuel lines to the webers originally.
Plain, good quality, correct SAE specification boring looking rubber hoses are all that’s needed. You can see what’s happening. You don’t need fancy dandy AN fittings with lots of potential leak paths. You don’t need braid. It’s really low fluid pressure we are talking about.
I’ve always found Oetiker crimp fittings great for hoses such as this.

If anyone knows why braided hoses were used originally I’d be interested to hear the explanation.

[HCA]

You re just trying to be argumentative now. Sure the braid does not assist anything in low pressure delivery to Webers, I do not believe anyone has said or intimated that it does. It certainly does not contribute a fire hazard. But there is nothing at all wrong with having something well presented, which, in most cases is what braid is doing. What is your problem with this?

[englishmaninwales]

My view is the problem with braided fuel hose is the inability to carry out a visual inspection of the internal ‘rubber’ component’s condition for degradation by age or ethanol.
Malcolm

[2cams70]

You re just trying to be argumentative now. Sure the braid does not assist anything in low pressure delivery to Webers, I do not believe anyone has said or intimated that it does. It certainly does not contribute a fire hazard. But there is nothing at all wrong with having something well presented, which, in most cases is what braid is doing. What is your problem with this?

As has been stated here before and I agree with it - you can't see what horrors lurk underneath braid. You can't see what grade of hose lies underneath and you can't see it's condition. It's not the braid that creates the seal. That's not being argumentative. That's just fact. If you don't need braid for mechanical or thermal protection why use it?

[nmauduit]

I really don’t know why braided hoses were used for the fuel lines to the webers originally.
Plain, good quality, correct SAE specification boring looking rubber hoses are all that’s needed. You can see what’s happening. You don’t need fancy dandy AN fittings with lots of potential leak paths. You don’t need braid. It’s really low fluid pressure we are talking about.
I’ve always found Oetiker crimp fittings great for hoses such as this.

If anyone knows why braided hoses were used originally I’d be interested to hear the explanation.

the way I understand the motivation for that use is the frequency of maintenance requirements : if a setup is to be taken apart a lot (say a race car), then such a system would be safer and more efficient than a 100% rubber with single use collars one finds on a daily driver.

[rgh0]

Like 2Cams I believe Lotus used it for appearance sake as there is no engineering need that i can see for the braided hose.

The braided hose can hide many problems as observed. Soon after I got my Elan many many years ago I had a weep from one of the crimped fittings on braided assembly. I cut off the braid and hose and fitted good quality fuel hose to the original fittings with screw clamps and have not had any issues for the last 45 years

I think I replaced the fuel hose about 25 years ago as a precaution when I moved from 40 to 45's and again in the last couple of years when I installed a new higher capacity fuel pump and fuel line to keep up with the HP and fuel use of my ever developing engine as I was suffering fuel starvation on the long uphill back straight at Sandown

cheers
Rohan

[Donels]

I had an engine bay fire in a Westfield caused by the banjo union between the Weber’s coming loose. The carbs ran low on fuel and spit back igniting the fuel. Pretty terrifying when you’re sitting right behind it. I jumped out with my fire extinguisher only to hear the electric pump ticking away, back in to switch off the ignition then safely put the fire out.
Three lessons learned:-
1. Regularly check all fittings for tightness
2. Always switch off the ignition, even in a panic
3. Always carry a fire extinguisher in a G/F car

[h20hamelan]

any chance pipe dope, or even Teflon tape might stop this?
I suspect, how the hoses (banjo) are positioned, the vibration and gravity are enemies of this.