Ethanol proof and ethanol resistant fuel hose

[sparkywig]

When I changed the fuel pipes in the Type 3 engine bay I thought I would undertake an experiment to see if there was any "real world" difference between Cohline ethanol proof hose and a premium ethanol resistant hose. I used a tee piece and the fuel hose (blue text) to the left hand carb was ethanol proof and the fuel hose (yellow text) to the right hand carb was ethanol resistant. The two pieces of 8mm hose were equal lengths and ran the same route, and the clips were torqued as well.





After 15 months the results are in.....



Nothing to see




Some small cracks appearing around the hose clamp




Again, nothing visible on the ethanol proof hose






Much larger cracks appearing on the underside of the right hand hose


Bearing in mind that the car hasn't done many miles since the hoses were replaced, you can see that the ethanol resistant hose is anything but.
IMHO the Cohline fuel hose definitely worth the extra cost.

 

[gvee]

That is very interesting!

Thank you for sharing. That'll be the stuff I order when I'm ready to do that in a few months

 

[gas1man]

Thank you very much for that.

J & P

 

[Moseley]

Crikey, that is pretty scary after such a short period of time. Worrying that people might be mislead into thinking this is ok to fit and forget.

Out of interest, where was the yellow text hose from - is it marketed as a branded item of some description?

The last hose I purchased was from Advanced Fluid Solutions; I can’t recall the branding on the hose, but from the website the same product appears under the general ethanol proof hoses as it does under the Cohline specific section. I presume it is Cohline hose at around £15 per meter.

 

[sparkywig]

I bought the Cohline from Graham at Midland Early Bay, he does complete kits for various vehicles.

 

[Coda]

If that's the condition of the exterior that doesn't even directly come into contact with the fuel, I wonder what the interior is like???...
Actually, no I don't wanna know. I'm gonna just buy a Cohline kit.

 

[mike202]

Thanks for posting. I think this confirms that only the 100% ethanol proof hose is worth installing.


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[montypsx]

My cohline pipe is now in its 10th year I still check it twice a year and still not a crack in sight and I got a new length of pipe that I’ve had for 5 years still in its wrapper ready to replace the old stuff

 

[Darren2030]

Jesus that’s scary can see how people would be confused when buying fuel lines aswell glad I’ve got the good stuff fitted on me bus cheers for sharing very interesting mate

 

[Low n slow]

So the VW Aircooled Works fit and forget fuel line is no good then?

 

[mike202]

So the VW Aircooled Works fit and forget fuel line is no good then?

What do you mean?


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[sparkywig]

So the VW Aircooled Works fit and forget fuel line is no good then?

It's advertised as 100% ethanol safe, so it should be OK Shaun.

 

[mike202]

I’ve used that kit before and it was fine. I have since bought the same fuel line, cohline 2240 5.5mm, from advance fluid solutions as I don’t need another kit, just some more fuel line.

I bought it from them directly, as I don’t trust the online market place shops. There’s too much other old fuel line out there which can get passed off as the genuine thing.


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[Low n slow]

So the VW Aircooled Works fit and forget fuel line is no good then?

It's advertised as 100% ethanol safe, so it should be OK Shaun.

Thanks that's what I wanted to hear. I wish they'd stop messing around with the fuel. :shock: