Printable Version | Subscribe | Add to Favourites
New Topic New Poll New Reply
Author: Subject: Swirl pot
iwbunting

posted on 29/7/04 at 07:41 PM Reply With Quote
Swirl pot

Has anybody got a drawing or description of a fuel tank with inbuilt swirl pot suitable for EFI.

One that actually works would be nice.

View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
Mark Allanson

posted on 29/7/04 at 08:23 PM Reply With Quote
Better than a drawing or description of a swirl pot... Rescued attachment Swirl pot.jpg
Rescued attachment Swirl pot.jpg






If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation

View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
niceperson709

posted on 29/7/04 at 10:32 PM Reply With Quote
For my Fuel injected Nissan I'm going to reuse the plastic swirl pot out of the original donor tank ,only thing is that i have to make sure that I dont fry it while welding the tank up as it can't be fitted in side otherwise ]

best wishes
Iain

View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
Mark Allanson

posted on 29/7/04 at 10:56 PM Reply With Quote
How are you going to fasten the pot to the inside of the tank?





If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation

View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
dave1888

posted on 29/7/04 at 11:20 PM Reply With Quote
Have you given any thought to an external swirl pot burton power do them for £70
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
jack trolley

posted on 30/7/04 at 12:56 AM Reply With Quote
I've read that the VW Golf EFI pump has a integral swirl pot.
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
zetec

posted on 30/7/04 at 03:16 AM Reply With Quote
Only added problem with external swirl pot is the need to have a low presure pump to feed it.
View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
stephen_gusterson

posted on 30/7/04 at 09:01 AM Reply With Quote
I have always been a bit confused over 'swirl pot theory' as to me, a lot of people's ideas on what constitutes a swirl pot is too complex, or doesnt work.


I cant see how an internal swirl pot would work......

I see the mechanism as follows. Low fuel in tank is sloshing around. You need a way to trap it. So, you have a small container in the tank, fixed to the lower surface of the inside of the tank, like marks pikkie. So, you need holes in the wall of the swirl pot to allow fuel to fill it. These will be the same holes that will allow it to drain right back out again....plus you have the efi pump emptying it, so

fuel in = thro the side holes.

fuel out = thro side holes AND from the pump.

This looks to me like a losing struggle.

If you route the efi return back into the swirl pot, that takes one thing out of the equation, but you still have an equal ability for fuel to exit the side wall holes at the same speed it went in!


why do you need a pump for filling a swirl pot? Just put it lower than the tank and gravity feed it thro a large dia pipe.


My theory was that fuel needs to be supplied to the engine when the tank level is 'sloshing'. Ideally, you need to maintain a reserve of fuel such that for an average slosh, the fuel will hold up until the next slosh, at whatever the flow rate is. Scientifially, I had no clue of what these factors were, so I used the American technique - IE make it as big as you can. In my case its not a huge swirl pot, just a 180mm length of 50mm dia tube, IIRC its about 1/4 - 1/3 litre - cant be bothered to work it out.

This tube is welded to an exit hole on the tank bottom - the hole is approx 20mm - to easily let fuel in. 'slosh' wont allow the fuel back out as easily as a surface mounted pot, as gravity and the 'walls' at the 25mm entryb hole will tned to turn the fuel back down into the pot.

so, as long as the average slosh keeps fuel in the tube, it says there, so that only the pump draws it out. so....


fuel in = thro the 20mm top hole.

fuel out = from the pump, and sloshing back out of the top of the 20mm hole (small due to gravity).



The only mod I would make to my scheme would be to allow the efi return to dump right back into the 20mm hole of the swirl pot. It doesnt - it just dumps in the region of the swirl pot via a tube to the base of the tank.


atb

steve Rescued attachment swirl.jpg
Rescued attachment swirl.jpg







View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
j_davis

posted on 30/7/04 at 09:32 AM Reply With Quote
The swirl pot in my tank takes the form of a cylinder thats been split longintudinally and the edges overlapped for 45deg, the gap between the edges is 15mm. This is sealed to the bottom of the tank inside.
The fuel pump sits inside the pot and the return line is fitted inside the overlap, so as to direct the return flow into the pot.
In this way the return flow creates a swirl in the pot and also acts as a non-return valve for the inlet to the pot (which is through gap where the overlapped section is), as the flow encourages fuel to enter the pot and stops it leaving.

I tested it with water using a washer pump to give the flow and it easily kept the pot full whilst there was practically nothing in the rest of the tank.

James.

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
stephen_gusterson

posted on 30/7/04 at 09:44 AM Reply With Quote
is the term 'swirl pot' just a bit of miss-naming?

why do you need a 'swirl' as such?

atb

steve


link to fuel pumps with integral swirl

http://www.vdo.com/siemens/en/prod_fuel_pumps.asp


[Edited on 30/7/04 by stephen_gusterson]






View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
crbrlfrost

posted on 30/7/04 at 09:44 PM Reply With Quote
The main problem, and I may be nit picking, with the second pic is having to set the fuel tank up high. Eight pounds a gallon starts to add up the higher it sits. I would problably try experimenting with a small sump and trap profiles to reduce sloshing, along with feeding the return line directly back into it ala the pic. Cheers!
View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
Peteff

posted on 30/7/04 at 10:12 PM Reply With Quote
Is this fuel swirling round the inside of the tank or is it sloshing round the inside of the tank or does it only swirl once it gets into the pot? I'm getting confused by the different terminology. It's a device to prevent the pump from running dry isn't it?. Set the fuel gauge to empty when it's on quarter and don't let it get lower than quarter so you always have half a tankful. Simple.





yours, Pete

I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Mark Allanson

posted on 30/7/04 at 10:23 PM Reply With Quote
Steve, I agree with what you say, but my pot is welded to the baffle and the only route between the two sides of the tank is through the pot, so whichever side the petrol sloshes it has to pass through the pot, so I should have a constant supply





If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation

View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
zetec

posted on 31/7/04 at 06:56 AM Reply With Quote
I suspect it is called a swirl pot because it's other function is to remove bubbles in the fuel feed to the injection pump that would then end up in high presure fuel feed to the injectors. Just like a tap running at high presure into a bucket you would get too many bubbles produced with the return pipe directed at the swirl pot inlet.

Found this out when I could hear air running through my pump with the car at rest and with half a tank of fuel.

[Edited on 31/7/04 by zetec]

View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
Cita

posted on 31/7/04 at 09:18 AM Reply With Quote
Why not make two narrow vertical tanks each side of the boot connected with a T at the bottom?
The chance that both will rapture in a tailender is small.
Should cive you more bootspace too.
Just an idea

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member

New Topic New Poll New Reply


go to top






Website design and SEO by Studio Montage

All content © 2001-16 LocostBuilders. Reproduction prohibited
Opinions expressed in public posts are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the views of other users or any member of the LocostBuilders team.
Running XMB 1.8 Partagium [© 2002 XMB Group] on Apache under CentOS Linux
Founded, built and operated by ChrisW.