AnotherLee Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Interesting short publication here from fuel pump maker - Some salient points: The top reasons for fuel pump failure are contamination, overheating, and the gears in the the fuel pump wearing out over time. When installing a new fuel pump, clean out any partials from the bottom of your gas tank and ensure that dirt does not enter it while reinstalling the fuel sending unit. Frequently running your vehicle on a low gas tank is extremely bad for your fuel pump and fuel system components. A typical gear rotor fuel pump is made up of approximately 200 components. After several years of use, these parts can eventually wear out causing the fuel pump to fail. Link to comment
roger 04 rt Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Interesting read Lee, thanks. Do I take it from this post that your in-tank fuel pump was the culprit in your recent problems? Link to comment
AnotherLee Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 Yes Roger, I think so. And I may have shortened the life of my fuel pump by running the tank low on many occasions. It was fun to go for a day ride and return with the warning light on. I had no idea it was a bad thing to do. I'll be gassing up much sooner in the future. Link to comment
roger 04 rt Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 The numbers are interesting for your near empty tank scenario. The pump circulates about 30 gallons per hour, you probably use 3/4 gallon per hour and have 2 gallons on the tank. So roughly your fuel was recirculated 15 times per hour of riding. Link to comment
ryan_ca1 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Wow. I almost always push it since I drive the same commute daily, and it usually rounds out to filling up just once a week. this leaves me with around 15-20 miles remaining according to the computer. I had no idea this was bad for the bike / fuel pump. Link to comment
AnotherLee Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Curious as to the extent of my fuel pump abuse, I have charted data from all fuel fills since 03/07/2011. Apologies for the poor quality of the chart. Click to view full size. It shows many fills over 5 gallons and a few over 6 (on a 6.66 gal tank). As with many topics discussed here, I suspect not everyone will agree that it's bad to run a tank low - but personally I find the arguments of the experts persuasive. Link to comment
Guest Kakugo Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 These may be the famous last words, but in almost 15 year I've run my car very low on fuel far more often than I car to remember, sometimes getting to the service station while running on fumes. Car pumps are obviously far beefier than those used on bikes, but heating concerns from running low on fuel are the same. The same applies on a smaller scale to my VTR-SP. It used so much fuel you were always running low on the road, and common track practice was to fill the tank with as little fuel as possible before leaving the paddock area. Run out of fuel only once or twice. I tend to blame fuel pump failures more on plain old tear and wear and/or manufacturing issues that were there to start with than on anything else. Link to comment
Daryl W Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 low fuel means that the contaminants in the fuel are more apt to be pulled into the fool pump, as you are pulling from the bottom of the tank where said contaminants like to lurk. Link to comment
kioolt Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 low fuel means that the contaminants in the fuel are more apt to be pulled into the fool pump, as you are pulling from the bottom of the tank where said contaminants like to lurk. Wouldn't you have to say the the fuel pump pulls from the bottom of the tank no matter what the level is in the tank? Link to comment
lkraus Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I think he means the contaminants are more concentrated around the pump when the levels are low. It always seems a bit silly to me that we have to haul around gas (and weight) we "should not" use, just to keep the pump alive. In my company truck we were told to refuel at a quarter tank or about six gallons. I wonder how much lighter and smaller an aluminum, air cooled, heat sink would be? Link to comment
PadG Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I think he means the contaminants are more concentrated around the pump when the levels are low. ....... Sorry, I don't buy that either! The opposite is probably true, considering that full tank of gas don't slosh around to disturb the cruds as much as partial or near empty tank, which in turn spreads the junks rather than concentrating it! Agree with the your other statement, which I had deleted from the quote, though! Link to comment
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