fuel filter fititng install for dummies

[metriccrescentwrench]

OK, this is one of those kind of embarassing / stupid things that I kind of hate to admit to. I'm more of an electrical / electronics type, and am merely adequate when it comes to plumbing (especially fuel system plumbing). [I'm apparently not very good at typing thread titles either ]

Last fall I felt like I may have had some issues with water in my fuel, so purchased a cartridge type fuel filter hoping to prevent that. Mounting space is very limited, so I need the barbed fitting on the inlet side to be pointing down.

To achieve the required orientation I used a 90 deg fitting on the filter housing, installed it with teflon pipe dope, and got it as tight as I felt comfortable with while stopping with it oriented as needed. Once installed I found that I had a small leak where this 90 deg fitting entered the filter housing. Disassembl clean, pipe dope on the threads again, went one more turn than previously to again get to the required orientation, and this time the filter housing cracked in the thread area.


So, where did I go wrong? (I can't afford to got through too many filter housings.) I've read multiple "experts" saying not to use teflon tape in fuel systems, but I'm thinking I could control the amount of teflon tape to give me the required 'tightness' while being careful to keep the tape off of the last couple of threads.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: fuel filter fititng install for dummies

Are you certain the 90 degree fitting you have is the right size, has the same pipe thread that the filter housing has and that you didn't cross-thread the fitting? There are straight thread fittings and pipe thread fittings. Straight threads mean there is no taper. The threads on pipe fittings taper. There are many other pipe dopes that are brushed on that are natural/propane and fuel resistant. Get it in the plumbing dept of any home improvement store. Also check the threads for burrs that would prevent sealing.