Experimenting with the Factory Showerhead

[rob93]

A spare fuel pickup foot, or "showerhead" came with my truck when I bought it. I was not at all interested in using it to fix my fuel tanks, as they seem prone to failure. Instead I am sticking it in this mason jar of diesel in order to see how these things react to the ultra low sulfur diesel.

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I am making this thread mostly to keep track of how long the showerhead has been soaking in the diesel, periodically tampering with it too see how well the material is holding up. I understand being stationary in the mason jar does not replicate what is going on in the tank, so any cheap and easy ideas to help make this experiment more realistic are welcome.

I figure if the showerhead grows soft and can break apart in my fingers under these conditions, then it surely will inside our fuel tanks as fuel sloshes around.

 

[91idi]

Set it ontop of the washer or drier. Mess up a load of clothes daily and have wifey do laundry.

 

[icanfixall]

I believe these are made from some material that can't handle the fuel. then when the fuel level drops and we make a panic stop or rocket ship takeoff they break off. Its not likely we can make a rocket ship takeoff so I'm going with low fuel breaking them off as it washes back and forth in the tanks. BTW I have a new one like that and I installed it oon my rear tank. Had it back up in the frame when the warden posted "did I really want to do that".. So I dropped the tank again and installed a piece of fuel hose and a clamp... Never looked back either. The rear tank can suck the chrome off my bumper ball now...

 

[tbrumm]

When I dropped the tanks in my truck to fix the showerheads, I found the showerheads in both tanks had disintergrated into a million little black bits of plastic. What a mess! I would never put one of these things back into a tank - ever! Now I don't know what the Air Force ran for fuel in my truck when they owned it, but it ate the showerheads up that is for sure.

 

[madpogue]

Hmmm, I've done two tanks thus far, both on PSDs, rear tank on RCLB had 150,000, front tank on ECLB had 90,000. Showerheads on both looked like new. Dunno what the POs ran in either truck, but I always run Power Service White + marine two-stroke, and very seldom run them below 1/4 tank (only exception was to empty them to replace the tanks when they rusted out).

Dude who sold me the '85 told me the rear tank was bad; I haven't dropped it yet. It'll be interesting to see what kind of shape that showerhead is in. Maybe it's not exposure to fuel, but exposure to air (following exposure to fuel), that rots them....

So maybe make that part of the experiment. Leave it dunked for a while, see what it does. Then cycle it in and out of the fuel, exposing it to the air now and then (simulating running the tank down near empty).

 

[rlb245]

probably JP5 or JP4 grin

 

[rob93]

So maybe make that part of the experiment. Leave it dunked for a while, see what it does. Then cycle it in and out of the fuel, exposing it to the air now and then (simulating running the tank down near empty).

This is something that went through my mind as well