550 Fuel pipe

[beardylondon]

Hi all,

Please can some recommend the correct size and type of fuel pipe for my 550. Looks like the internal size is 5.5mm, but 6mm would probably work.

Thanks in advance.

[Nurse Julie]

5.4mm ID for the fuel pipe, 3.5mm ID for the float bowl pipe, both available from Planet Silicone on Ebay.
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[beardylondon]

Thanks Julie!

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Not 100% certain if it's the pipe that Julie recommended previously, I bought some a while back.
It's quiet soft,  mine went even softer quite quickly imho it definely needs clips.
I ended up binning it & using something different, maybe I should have bought a smaller i/d so it was a tighter fit.
It didn't leak but I was not happy with it as it seemed too soft.

It's expensive but the DS pipe is said to be good, I ended up using the Gates fuel hose that is stiff by comparson.
Might be that Nitrile pipe is like that.

I've used Planet Silicone years ago but only for vacuum hose.

[beardylondon]

Thanks Ted, yes we have some braided stuff and it kinks and hence isn’t right.

@julie, I presume this Nitrile stuff is safe for modern fuels?

[Nurse Julie]

Thanks Ted, yes we have some braided stuff and it kinks and hence isn’t right.

@julie, I presume this Nitrile stuff is safe for modern fuels?

The only issue we found was very small little cracks appeared on the outside of the pipe after 5-6 years. The pipe never leaks though, and internally it was still totally intact.

[beardylondon]

Thanks Julie for your reply!

[Charliecharlcomb]

Ditto thanks Julie. I'm continually struggling to pull off my current fuel pipes each time I try to fix those pesky carbs....