I'm installing a dual oil pressure sender. Instead of using a flexible line to move the sender away from the dizzy, can I use copper pipe and NPT fittings? This would also eliminate the need to ground it or to fabricate a bracket for it.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

You could however unless you support the pipe or sender it will vibrate and crack the standpipe. Ask me how I know...I used a short standpipe and 45 degree fitting and that allowed room to clear the distributor.

....keep as short as possible....like he said......

It can and will break off, just from heat and vibration.
I would not do it...

Use the paint ball stainless hose and make a shiny blingly bracket for it...done.

RIch

Rich is so correct .... brass nipples are really weak at the threads and it will break. You get to walk home regardless if you ruin the engine or not.

Which paint ball hose? I need to get the hose for my corvair engine as well

OK Let me "pipe-in" here.... Damn, I couldn't resist that one. Any who. Nipples are inheritently weakest i.e. thinnest, at the thread. Although the "schedule" (ratio of wall thickness to diameter)of the pipe takes this in to account. Brass nipples are found in 2 types. Yellow and red brass. Yellow is harder and more brittle. Red is softer and less prone to fatigue from vibration. Keep 'em short. Flexible connection to a remote sender! BTW, is that tap NPT size??

I may be wrong here but wouldn't the heat/vibration work harden the soft brass and essentially turn it into the hard (yellow) brass?

More please on the paintball hose..

I was told to use grease gun hose, and it works fine.

Grease gun or paint ball hose....but what type or where to get?

Grease gun would be pretty easy to get from Harbor Freight (aw yeah, I invoked the name again ).

HF item #1703-3VGA

$12.99 for a grease gun that comes with an extra hose


Or, 18" flexible grease hose
ITEM 92657-1VGA
$3.99

McMaster catalog has the grease gun hose:

1195K51
Polypro Flexible Grease Gun Extension Hose Without Coupler, 12" Length

$4.75 Each

Comes with 1/8" NPT male ends

Show us your bracket and ground set ups with the flexible hose!

John

Ok.. I am going to disagree with the masses here.

I had a grease gun hose on Betty's 914. The hose split at the end where it was screwed in the case. Luckily this was in the garage, and all that happened was a mess as the oil fountained upwards. The only issue was getting the remains of the hose out of the case.

On the other hand, I have been running brass fittings for over 15 years with no issues whatsoever. I use the absolutely shortest fittings I can find, and I replace them at regular intervals to prevent fatigue cracks. I have a T in the line, and the VDO gauge sender is mounted on top, and the idiot light sensor is mounted on the side. I position them to clear the components around the distributor.


Just my $.02.

You ever ask "Why me, Lord", Clay? I have yet to see a 600+ rated grease gun hose (purchased from a quality supplier) fail. On the other hand, I've seen several brass pipe failures, something I attribute to the pendulum effect of the weight of the sender at the end of the pipe. I suppose keeping the pipe length to a minimum would alleviate the problem, but then the sender's in the way. I would NEVER use a hose from HF or any FLAPS. Well, possibly NAPA, but there are good industrial supply houses all over the place.

The Cap'n

I had my dual pressure sender on a 6" brass pipe that stuck straight out of the block. It was easy to install and did not interfere with the dizzy.
Eventually I noticed that I had a oil leak coming from above the oil cooler. I could not find the leak until Cap'n mentioned that a common leak is at the pressure sender. I checked mine and found that my brass pipe had cracked at the threads and was the source of my oil leak.
I fixed it with a combination of brass pipes and angles. I think it is time to put in a flex hose before I have another brass pipe failure.

Zach (Vacca Rabite) bought a stainless braided flexible paint ball gun hose and installed it in his car. It has been working great so far. Last night I ordered a 12" length of grease gun hose from McMaster-Carr for $4.75 roughly. It has male NPT ends on it. 12" is a bit longer than what I need, but I can make it work.

Clay, any more details on the hose you had that broke? Do you think it was heat related?

Here's mine

I don't have any idea. The problem happened over 15 years ago. No failures since. But I replace the brass every so often to prevent fatigue cracking.

So whats every so often? I just did this on my engine (hard pipe)( it was suggested about as week ago ) and it hasent even cranked over yet. Also if it is suggested to use grease gun hose But not from a FLAPS or Harbor... Which one specifically do I get? and the mount I see in the prevoius set-up what is that ? where did you get it ?

Ok... I didn't want to admit this, but I replace the brass fittings for the sender every time I replace the push rod tube seals. It usually is about once a year.

I stopped by my local paintball store and they had the flexible lines with 1/8NPT males fittings on each end for $10. I'll keep the female coupler. The lines were braided so they looked a little cooler than the greasegun hose. Bling, bling! They came in different lengths so I'll wait to mock things up before getting one. As you can see, my engine is in pieces.

I used the grease gun hose myself, then a pipe clamp to fasten it down to the fan shroud. Didn't like the VDO hose clamp set up. You could use 1/8 medium pressure stuff from a hydraulic shop instead of the brass. That stuff is pretty bullet proof. Case would break first. Would be more expensive though.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#stainless-steel-p...nd-pipe/=5g4eqm

If I wasnt already ordering some stuff from McMaster, I would have just gone to the local paint ball shop. But, $5 is hard to beat

Why not use a stainless flexible brake line. That is what I am using. Grease guns and paint ball guns are not going to have hose rated for high temperature or posibly petroleum fluids.I went to a local VW shop and bought a 10" flexible brake hose with a male fitting one one end and a female fitting on the other. It was under $15. Mount it with a large rubber lined loop clamp to the tin.
Bruce

I am pretty sure that a GREASE gun hose rated at 3000psi is ok for petroleum

The brake hose is likely the same one. As far as heat goes, the grease gun hose has been proven by others (not Clay ), but not the brake line......yet.

Bartender, I second Clays opinion. Keep it short. I had the oil pressure and fuel primer lines run in 1/8 copper tube and brass fittings with no leaks for 10 yr's. Oh yea, I bet my ass on it. That was in my plane. The vibrational forces are far greater for piston A/C than our cars. Lets not even talk about harmonics. It's all in how it's installed.

Copper is way different than brass. Won't work harden so easy. And you didn't have a sender unit hanging in the air causing more vibration. Not saying the brass won't work, i thought about it before i did the hose, for about a minute.

Nice looking engine!

this is what you need, not sure where you can find it any more

VDO-150752 VDO Pressure Adaptor Hose Kit