Fuel ON or OFF?

[Auster]

After shutdown I mean. I'm wondering what other Kitfox pilots pilots do - leave the fuel tap on or turn it off after flight? I've always left it on because there seems to be no safety or maintenance advantage to turning it off. It is a 912 ULS powered S5 with the standard on/off tap supplied in the Skystar kit. I occasionally turn it off after engine start just to check that it is operating smoothly and is actually stopping the engine. What do others do?

Nice weather here in central Europe so today a flight to rack up my 500th Kitfox landing

[Delta Whisky]

My procedure is to turn off all three fuel valves. The (my) theory being that it eliminates/minimizes constant pressure on the floats and will minimize any leaks that might occur during the aging process. Thinking it might not be a good idea to shut them off during a short fuel stop, I once experienced the down-wing-massive-overflow on a ramp where the slope was barely noticeable. Now they get shut off and my personal rule is to follow, without exception, the good ole start up checklist.

[desertdave]

I shut mine off and "Fuel On" appears twice in my checklist.

[Auster]

I shut mine off and "Fuel On" appears twice in my checklist.

Dave yes "Fuel on" also appears twice in my checklist even though don't shut mine off and can't yet see the benefit of doing that. Except I do worry about the valve not being moved and maybe the seal hardens and eventually fails when I really do want it to turn off e.g. a fire/crash situation. So I sometimes cycle it but otherwise leave it on.

[Maverick]

My procedure is to turn off all three fuel valves. The (my) theory being that it eliminates/minimizes constant pressure on the floats and will minimize any leaks that might occur during the aging process. Thinking it might not be a good idea to shut them off during a short fuel stop, I once experienced the down-wing-massive-overflow on a ramp where the slope was barely noticeable. Now they get shut off and my personal rule is to follow, without exception, the good ole start up checklist.

Ditto exactly!

[GuppyWN]

Unless there is a safety reason to turn it off, I see no upside.

[Av8r3400]

Unless there is a safety reason to turn it off, I see no upside.

Agreed.

I only shut mine off when needed for maintenance or emergency. I see more valid reasons not to shut them off.

[Maverick]

I bought some ball valves off Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I put them on the vertical that runs behind the pilot/passenger seats right above filters that I also bought from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used yellow Tygon fuel line. There is a short piece between the bottom of the valve and the top of the filter so that I can disconnect the fuel line and attach a hose for draining the tanks at annual. The valves and filters are secured to the vertical with UV resistant zip ties that I'll change annually.

[Dave S]

Larry,

Thanks for the detail on your system. I can see the merits of a ball valve as it eliminates any obstruction/resistance to flow compared to other types of valves.

Blue skies

[alexM]

My procedure is to turn off all three fuel valves. The (my) theory being that it eliminates/minimizes constant pressure on the floats and will minimize any leaks that might occur during the aging process. Thinking it might not be a good idea to shut them off during a short fuel stop, I once experienced the down-wing-massive-overflow on a ramp where the slope was barely noticeable. Now they get shut off and my personal rule is to follow, without exception, the good ole start up checklist.

I haven't run any plumbing yet, but 3 valves? I only know of the one on the center console.