Teflon lined braided hose - Anyone use this?

[dhardison]

I have a total of ~5' of Russell stainless braided hose on my Nova and the fuel permeation odor is AWFUL. When parking it in my garage the smell lasts for at least a week and I have to crack the door (thereby letting the a/c & heat escape) to get the smell out.

I've written to a couple vendors and they tell me that teflon lined braided hose substantially reduces permeation. Does anyone use this type hose? If so, what brand?

I've heard it's tough to bend, especially the larger diameters. Is this the case?

Also, do you need teflon specific ends/fittings or can I just reuse my exisitng Russell ends/fittings?

Thanks!

[quadfather]

ive used it for brakes, tranny, ac lines ,and nos, but never for fuel. the only drawback i could see is , that it uses steel ends instead of aluminum .and isn't as flexible as rubber in the larger sizes. it will kink easilly if you try to bend it to tightly.

[chicane67]

The hose ends for teflon are different. They have to pressure swaged to seal correctly.

I personally like using the "Starlight" hose and fittings from Aeroquip. Just as Carl is going to say below...

[CarlC]

Aeroquip has the good stuff.

[dhardison]

Aeroquip has the good stuff. The "good stuff" meaning little to no permeation? Also is the "good stuff" teflon or no?

[Rick Dorion]

I have a few feet of aeroquip braided, not teflon and have no issues with odors, Dan. I have the teflon for the high pressure line of my hydroboost/ps setup.

[Adam's 55 Chevy]

Iused it on my dragster fuel line in case I ever went to alcohol but sold it before that. I will run it on the '57 race car for the same reason + with normal braided it is hard to tell the condition of the rubber under the braid. More expensive and doesn't bend as well but good insurance.

[J2speedandcustom]

That's the only kind we use for any type of fluid line. I've run that in my race car with VP C16 in it all the time and you Never smell fuel. They aren't that inflexible either, but putting the ends together is kind of a b$%^h. And yes Aeroquip is the only way to go!

[Lowend]

I've never had an issue with fuel smell from rubebr based AN line, but than again I would say that Russel is probably the lowest quality of all of the AN stuff out there.
Before you go replacing everthing I would go hunting for leaks.

The tefflon stuff is great, but is does not bend and the ends are different.

I like Aeroquip, and XRP. The Earls stuff is nice, but since Holley bought the company they have the worst customer service in history

[dhardison]

Thanks for all the great feedback/info guys. I've been in contact with a David Barker at XRP and he's provided me with a wealth of info about stainless braided hose. Great customer service from XRP even before a sale, so I'll probably be going with one of their products. Here's a little of the info he provided, maybe this will help someone else.

"In our opinion, all the stainless steel braided hoses have this fuel permeation issue. All rubber and even plastic and Teflon compounds have a permeation rate. Under some circumstances, such as when the vehicle is confined in an enclosed area it can be an annoyance due to the odor but it is not usually a safety issue because the permeation is so small, just enough to have an odor. The hose cannot be used for a marine application where fumes could possibly accumulate in a bilge for example and not dissipate. The stainless braided hose was originally developed for aircraft use and this permeation is not an issue on those applications or in the majority of racing applications. However, on some street cars or when the fuel lines pass through the internal enclosed cockpit area, this odor is objectionable.

Replacing the fuel lines with a Teflon hose does decrease this permeation rate dramatically. Hoses that are manufactured specifically for fuel applications on OEM vehicles are made from compounds that are specifically formulated for gasoline and the hose construction, often a veneer barrier, is made so as to greatly reduce this permeation. Those same compounds however are often not suitable for the alcohol, engine oil and coolant fluids. The Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE) compounds used in the stainless racing hose is about as close to a one universal compound as there is. Unfortunately, Teflon is about the only compound that is compatible with all the fluids found in the majority of automotive applications. The problem with the Teflon Hose is its lack of flexibility, especially in the larger sizes.

The Teflon hose uses a specific hose end designed for that hose. We only stock the stainless braided Teflon hose and hose ends in -3. -4 and -6 sizes. The hose ends are steel and not aluminum. I believe that Earl’s does have some aluminum hose ends available for Teflon hose.

We do sell a lightweight hose product, HS79, that many of the professional race teams use. It is not covered with stainless steel but does have a single partial stainless reinforcing braid imbedded in the hose wall. This is a Teflon lined silicone tube covered with Nomex and an outer protective cover of black Hypalon rubber for abrasion protection is an option. This hose has crimped on hose ends and must be made up here at XRP or at a dealer with the proper assembly equipment. This hose is available from -4 through -20 sizes."

[ErikSOCAL]

go to nastyz28.com and search teflon or user name ultm8z. He had the same problem and did some extensive research on other sites (links included) and made the switch to teflon with success. Also used some sort of sniffer before and after.

[Turbo Hen]

Teflon hose will not smell, the regular braided hose will. I personally use the "socketless" hose & it doesnt smell either although i have used the teflon hose & made the switch because of easy made cnnections with the socketless.

-Carm