Preforming a Rubber Fuel Line

I am thinking that heating to fix a bend in some pressured lines and fuel lines might be a idea that could be scary at times not sure it is worth the effort as controlling temperature would be difficult and lead to brittle spots or degradation of compound.
 
motornut said:
I am thinking that heating to fix a bend in some pressured lines and fuel lines might be a idea that could be scary at times not sure it is worth the effort as controlling temperature would be difficult and lead to brittle spots or degradation of compound.
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One thing is for sure - when I get the stuff I need to do it I will move from 'theory' to 'reality' and see what happens.
Everything 'works in theory' (and on YouTube ;)) but you don't know until it 'works in practice'! :biggrin:
 
Well, the 'experiment' goes on. ;)
I heated two sections of rubber fuel line this morning in a 'bent' position with 'inserts' inside the hoses to keep them from collapsing.
I have a temp gun so I heated them up to about 250F for a little while.
I don't know if was hot enough or not but I figured it was a good place to start.
I'll see what they look like after they cool off and sit in the 'bent' position for a while.
 
Here are the results after letting them cool for 2 hours -

Preformed Hoses.jpg

One is 3/8" fuel line, one is 5/16" fuel line.
I can see no discoloration, cracks, weakness, etc. in either one of the lines.
They are holding the shapes that I wanted so I am very happy with the outcome.
I think the key is not to overheat as to damage the hoses.
As I said, I got them up to about 250F for a little while, gradually working up to that and then let them cool in the shapes that I wanted.
These were both 'straight' hoses before I started.
You do have to have the 'inserts' to keep them from collapsing but they look fine to me.
Now I will install them and we'll see how they hold up in the 'real world'. :biggrin:
 
Larry Fine said:
I was envisioning much tighter bends than that.
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In this application, that's all I needed.
However, the hoses collapsed in those particular applications before I preformed them.
You could make them a lot tighter if you wish using this method.
The key is having something to insert into the hose before you heat and bend it so it doesn't collapse during the process.
Then you have to not overheat the hose to the point of damage.
This method should work with about any hose on the ST1100s - and there are plenty that have bends in them.
 
Sadlsor said:
No, silly.
We use COPPER for that.
Didn't you ever listen to Copperhead Road?
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My grandfather was a 'home brewer' of fine whiskey so I can second the appropriateness of copper tubing. Moonshine, when adequately prepared, will likely deteriorate rubber/vinyl tubing, much like it does your insides if overconsumed.
Historical aside here....Dizzy Dean was a frequent visitor when Pa was brewing.
 
A comment on the hose bend, try running a bottle brush down the inside of the hose. If there is any severe damage it should flake out,. 250 degrees isn't that much heat and should not cause any damage though. Under hood temps get at least that hot.
 
As a suggestion try submerging the hose in some heated water, I have done this to install mirrors to make stuff pliable, it might work to set certain curves and make it easier to control the overall heat readings.
 
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