Fuel cell

[dvl]

Does anyone in the LA area or SoCal have an ATL or Fuel Safe fuel cell installed in their Seven, specifically the ATL Caterham unit or the Fuel Safe Lotus unit? If so, is it possible for me to see it and take measurement?

According to drawings from Fuel Safe, their cell is about .5 inches narrower than the mounts in my chassis (that is, it would fall out without an adaptor bracket) and ATL stated they do not have drawings or CAD models. My chassis is a new/old Arch Manufacturing unit built to modified Lotus S3 specs.

Thanks,

Dave

[dallasdude]

Craig Mitchell at ATL sold me an 8 gallon replacement bladder a couple years ago. They have my cad drawings. It fit in the aluminum can that came in the car from Caterham.

 

PM me if you need additional information.

[MoPho]

Yes, I have an ATL Fuel cell in my car (S3 superlight), you're welcome to come look at it. I am in Culver City

If wasn't going to be such a PITA to switch back to a stock tank, I would consider selling it to you

[dvl]

Thanks MoPho and dallasdude. I would have replied earlier, but I've been out tending to a cold...

MoPho,

Any evening that you are free, let me know and I'll drive out to measure it. I believe we met a few weeks back at Super Car Sunday.

Thanks,

Dave

[MoPho]

I think I am around Saturday afternoon and any day but the 16th next week. PM me when you are thinking of coming down

[blubarisax]

MoPho,

 

Why don't you like the ATL fuel cell? I was thinking about putting one in but don't know much about what it takes yet.

 

Karl

[jimrankin]

I can send you the measurements for the cell in my S2K but do not know if it is the same 8 gallon used in your car. Photos are too large to upload, keep kicking back. If you would like to see the sizes and what it looks like PM me your email and I'll send them.

[jimrankin]

Just a better idea of what I have, does it look like something that would fit?

[MoPho]

MoPho,

 

Why don't you like the ATL fuel cell? I was thinking about putting one in but don't know much about what it takes yet.

 

Karl

 

 

 

 

The PO put it in the car and it is a 55l tank so pretty much takes up the entire boot. I have room for a tool roll and a jacket that is about it. I never need that much gas in it, so would rather have the storage space.

 

Also, street gas, and especially CA street gas which has even more ethanol in it, deteriorates the foam in the tank. A short time after taking ownership of the car, the fuel filter (which was conveniently hidden inside the tank) clogged up and caused the fancy $450 fuel pump to eat itself, which then sent thousands of tiny bits of aluminum into the fuel system. It took months of cleaning out the injectors, fuel rail and fuel lines to finally get the car running right again.

Putting new foam in was a bit of a chore too, so not looking forward to having to do it every couple of years (Can I run it without the foam?).

Too add, the ATL fuel gauge is not even close to being accurate and no amount of calibration has made it any better.

 

It does look cool though :cooldude:

[dallasdude]

I have been concerned about Ethanol in fuel also, but ATL states that anything up to E85 has no effect on the life of the foam in their cells. They do make a different foam for pure alcohol racing fuel, but do not recommend it for anything other than that application. I'm still skeptical, but they insist this is the case.

 

Based on 30 years for using fuel cells, with standard gasoline the foam does deteriorate over time....foam should be replaced every few years. In competition applications the bad thing is ......it's not hard to have degraded foam result in detonation and engine damage because the fuel filter and injectors are plugged with foam sludge, causing a lean condition. Also, the ATL bladders that came from Caterham (and most other flexible cells) seem to start leaking at about 10 years. They also have some internal hoses that deteriorate, so the bladder itself probably needs to be replaced every other time you replace the foam.

 

The 8 gallon cell in the factory style can is a lot easier to deal with from a space standpoint, but in any case you can't just install and forget for ten or fifteen years like a galvanized tank. You have to budget over the life of the car, probably 200 dollars a year over a Caterham without a cell, and if you purchase a car try to reasonably determine when the foam was last serviced. If not, the prudent thing is to replace it.

[slomove]

I have a Fuel Safe cell in the car for maybe 6 years and no problems. This is one of the special builds for MSI as Birkin drop-in replacement that retains the rear filler cap. I.e. the outer dimensions are identical to the stock tank.

 

No problem with the foam and E10 so far (maybe I should not have said that...) but I have a tiny pinhole for years already that dribbles when the cell is very full.

 

Not sure which model you got but since MSI does not do Se7ens anymore I guess Fuel Safe would sell direct. That said, the price is absurd nowadays.

 

BTW, I am in Pasadena, too. some pictures

Edited November 10, 2011 by slomove

[dallasdude]

This is the factory 8 gallon setup. I think they were done by ATL in the UK, but ATL in the US now has the Cad drawings to do replacements.

[blubarisax]

The PO put it in the car and it is a 55l tank so pretty much takes up the entire boot. I have room for a tool roll and a jacket that is about it. I never need that much gas in it, so would rather have the storage space.

 

Also, street gas, and especially CA street gas which has even more ethanol in it, deteriorates the foam in the tank. A short time after taking ownership of the car, the fuel filter (which was conveniently hidden inside the tank) clogged up and caused the fancy $450 fuel pump to eat itself, which then sent thousands of tiny bits of aluminum into the fuel system. It took months of cleaning out the injectors, fuel rail and fuel lines to finally get the car running right again.

Putting new foam in was a bit of a chore too, so not looking forward to having to do it every couple of years (Can I run it without the foam?).

Too add, the ATL fuel gauge is not even close to being accurate and no amount of calibration has made it any better.

 

It does look cool though :cooldude:

 

So, I am thinking about installing an ATL fuel cell. I run 100 Octane race gas because of my high compression motor which makes a larger tank desirable. My concern is that I have a fire extinguisher in the boot that I hope would still fit with the 55 liter fuel cell.

 

I'd love to see a picture of the caterham ATL tank installed. I have a Caterham SV, so I hope that translates to more room in the boot.

 

Thanks,

 

Karl