TonyPrin
Well-Known Member
Buying a fuel line is no different from buying anything else. Find a reliable retailer then rely on them. Beyond that, don't buy a fuel hose selling for $.50/ft.
2 stroke fuel lines
- Thread starter Bearrepair
- Start date
StarTech
Lawn Royalty
See this is where the knock offs takes advantage of the unsuspecting consumer. Most knock offs are lousy but when you buy from a good aftermarket company like Stens, Rotary, and Oregon you usually get good lines as their businesses depends on repeat business.
As for line lasting it all depends on storage, what the line is exposed to, and usage factors. I even had one time on a personal chainsaw that I installed Tygon lines but a week later line failed. I didn't even get to use the saw. I then redid the lines out the same box and had no further issues. I chalk it up to a defective section of line.
I won't not surprised that other shops like mine have found equipment right of the box with failed lines so the lines can fail never having fuel in them.
Yes it true prices are not like our fathers prices anymore; heck they not even like it was 15 yrs ago either. Even buy bulk line it cost nearly 0.75 per foot for a 50 ft roll of Tygon type line. Even that varies depending size and the vendor. I usually charge my customer the suggested retail (about 1.30 per ft) to help cover the waste line as even the best lines do go bad over time even properly stored. That price is still better the local retail stores which have even higher markups on small amounts.
Bearrepair
Member
Honestly if its a good knock off ya cant just tell by looking but if you buy small sections and test them. Just like sitting in fuel tank if you leave them in a jar with some fuel even overnight and pull them out give them a little tug the cheap stuff will just come apart super easy the good stuff has no real change and can withstand a good amount of pull. Thats the only reliable way of testing ive found without installing anyway.
StarTech
Lawn Royalty
That is why I would not recommend buying the supposedly Ethanol resistance Stens True Blue fuel line. The first batch I order failed the submerged test. The failed on two items they it would not do. It got both hard and shrunk.
Bearrepair
Member
You know ive never even purchased the blue lines at all before i always tell people to use ethenal free and i wont hafta see them again lol but thanks for the heads up tho! I wonder if any of these manufacturers ever really list what the lines are made of other then just *plastic* or just product name. At my main work i deal with alot of chemicals but pn larger scales and the difference in material for flexible transfer lines can vary wildly. Even tho they are just plastic! The manufacturing material matters!
bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
Tygon is branded with their name and the grade of the hose
Unbranded is yellow cellulose plastic and crumbles in a season or so .