Westwindpilot86

Hey everyone, I did a search and couldnt find much on what is going on. My Jersey Modeler 5 gallon system is sparking while fueling. It shows a spark right after the clear filter that mounts on top of the tank. I am running diesel with kingtech 5% oil. Im running 12 volts to the motor like i am supposed to. I also have the regulator and it does it at all speeds. I have recently replaced all the lines and the little filters inside the tank. Hope to get some answers soon as there are two big fun flys coming up that I would like to attend. Thanks in advance. Ill upload a picture of where the spark occurs. Maybe Ill also take a video. Thanks again.

Steven Cole

paulhat

Hi Steven,

I have had the same issue when running diesel. For some reason jetA1 doesn't seem to spark anywhere near as much.
I haven't really looked for a solution as yet. Will be interesting to see what comes out of this thread.

Paul.

Len Todd

Could it be static electricity? I add anti-static liquid to each refill of the jersey. Never seen any sparks. DreamworksRC used to have an article about static build up when fueling. Or could the static buildup be on the plane. A tire rubbing on the gear could cause a static buildup, etc.

mr_matt

My Feedback: (10)

It is a buildup of static electricity.

This is typically caused by non conducting matter rubbing together like the fuel and the plastic tanks, hoses etc

Add conductivity enhancer to the diesel. Available from Dreamworks. This might help a bit

Vincent

My Feedback: (61)

Andrew Bird

I quiet often just touch the pump occasionally to ground it and live with the tiny shock. A grounding strap is totally the sensible option but my finger works just as well

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

I'd try the anti-static fluid first, simple solution and will help any static that might build up on the landing gear as well.

AndyAndrews

Pour some anti static solution into your fuel. If you static in your fueler you have it in your jet too. They also sell spray cans of anti static solution. Spray it on your landing gear and around the outside of your fueler.

SECRET AGENT

My Feedback: (18)

Wow, either mine doesn't do that or I've never fueled when it was dark enough to see sparks. That's crazy, now I'm curious to see if mine sparks!

Len Todd

A lot of developing a static charge is affected by how fast you are moving the fuel. Try the anti-static fluid and running the pump slower. I also have the anti-static spray for the tires. But I only use it once a year.

CobraJet

My Feedback: (4)

Has anyone tried using static-dissipative fuel tubing? I picked up 25' of it from McMaster-Carr as a precautionary move and to try after a couple of local jet flyers were experiencing static buildup on takeoff and subsequent ECU shutdowns, then chasing the problem with anti-static spray and the fuel additive. I never had the issue so have yet to use it, however, I submerged a test piece for a couple of weeks in Diesel/Jetcat oil mix with no issues or degradation.
Static-Dissipative Polyurethane Tubing

Also agree with Len on dropping the pump speed/pressure during fueling...

gooseF22

reduce the feed to pump voltage to a 2S Lipo or so around 8v.. problem will probably go away.. using 12 volts is too much for that pump in my opinion, even with the speed controller.

I have talked to Dean about this issue as well.. I use some old Lion 2S packs in place of the nickel ones.

Westwindpilot86

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpwi...ature=youtu.be

Here is my video of it. Around the 7-8 second mark you can see it spark right after the filter. I commented that I put kingtech oil in it because they claim that they put the anti-static stuff in there oil.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Steven