Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

well Ihave always been a little paranoid about the carb ingesting loose mounting bolts --sticks and little old ladies into the engine spoiling my day ----here my solution ----skip down to the dollar store pick up 4 [four] tea bag strainers ---remove the handles --safety wire in place and your worries are gone ----ed

closer view

That seems like a great idea but we need a spread sheet on the air flow.
I inhaled one of those little nuts into #4 one time, decoked the piston very well, but I can't recommend it for cleaning spark plugs! Also found the noise to be a bit distracting, kind of like a 'goober thrasher' working rock.

we went through all this in formula vee -----the carbs work best in a contained area and the screen doesn't contribute to loss in flow to the velocity stack ---there is a loss of 1/3 hp if the screen is left in the air stream to create vorticess --I'm sure there are other opinions ---ed

Actually, I have been working on a spreadsheet on airflow.

But I had not thought of modeling the effects of tea bag strainers on the airflow characteristics in the intake ducts down stream of the tea bag strainers. Usually, a properly sized and constructed intake plenum is sufficient to prevent the entry of most little old ladies.

Does anybody have figures on the air resistance in slugs versus reynolds number (Re)? Also needed is data on the vortex generated versus angle of incidence against the strainer, and if the shape of the strainer has any effect, and what those effects are.

Finally, I need the temperature rise caused by the turbulence generated by the strainers so that the decrease in filling ratio can be properly computed.

David

it depends on whether or not you have just gingerly elevated a tea bag recently and from a cup or pot [wow man] or what the ambient temperature is at the time and how the Boston tea party quotient is applied ---[Mr Ben Ulie may have something to apply to the problem ]-----ed

Be careful that the mesh dose not break up from metal fatigue due to the inlet pulse .

Sorry all, but tea strainers are a waste of time. The debris that does long term damage to an engine will easily pass throught tea strainers. This has been proven many times in the past.

Best to make sure any vunerable bolts/nuts are nylocs / loctited / wired and to fit good quailty proven filters such as K&N's etc.

Regards,

Alex

...AND the tea strainers won't stop fuel 'spit-back', which can be a quick route to an insurance claim...

Matthew

Matthew ---an on board fire bottle handles that problem --[as will taking a little advance off the timing to prevent carb flashing ]----ed

Alex ---I don't much care for K&Ns or after market filters ----the fuel system was designed to work best in a plenum also the air box silences a lot of venturi noise -----so this system is just for a tittle added peace of mind ----no one is saying you have to use it ----ed