Anyone use a solid state fuel pump?

[vping]

I've heard about them and seen them in the Moss catalog. Anyone have any experience with them and can you get them at a Pepboys or something rather than Moss? I'm thinking about putting one in my 74 which will be a daily driver.

What is the flow rate of a stock SU pump?

 

[Steve_S]

They're noisy so you need to insulate them. They are also quite reliable but if they do go out, they do it like all modern components - without warning. I use SUs in all my cars except the GTS which has different requirements than stock.

The stock pump for your '74 should pump roughly 2.4 pints per minute.

 

[David_DuBois]

Vince - The standard AZX 1300 series fuel pump (either points or all electronic ) for the MGBs is 2.2 pints per minute. The all electronic pump works essentially the same as as the points type pump, but uses a Hall effect circuit to trigger the pump instead of points on a throw over toggle. The advantage of the all electronic pump is that there are not points to film over during periods of disuse. If the car is used regularly, there is not real advantage of the all electronic pump over the points style pump. I have a pump on our MGB with the Burlen Fuel Systems all electronic circuit installed. I put their circuit in a pump that I had to see how well it operated and have found that it works real well. that said, my own circuit works well also. If you have an old pump, I can restore it and modify it to solid state for less than the cost of the all electronic pump through the normal source. You will not find any kind of SU fuel pump at Pepboys or any of the other discount auto parts houses. You can order on from Little British Car Co. https://www.lbcarco.com/ an get about a 15% discount, or you can order one directly from Burlen Fuel Systems in England https://www.burlen.co.uk/ but I'm not sure that the cost is any better after figuring in shipping.
Cheers - Dave

 

[aeronca65t]

Most of the noisy, square, electronic fuel pumps are made by Facet. I have one in my racer. Very reliable and noise doesn't matter when you have open exhaust and wear ear plugs and a helmet.
Facet is making new-style, quieter, round-shape pumps that are suppposed to be more suitable for street cars.
Your car should not need more than 3 psi of fuel pressure, so most aftermarket pumps require a regulator (I like the Holley regulator sold by Summit.

~Click Here~ to see some of the newer Facet pumps.

 

[Bugeye58]

Holley regulator part number 12-804.
Jeff

 

[DrEntropy]

I just installed a solid-state SU double sided one into a V12 E-Type a week ago. It seemed quieter than the POS plastic fake it had before. Not sure whether it's noisier than a points type one. Frankly I ~like~ hearing the tick-tick... reassuring AFAIC. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

[1965_MGB]

I'm not a big fan of the square pumps, but if you are going to use one, get it locally. Ordering one of those pumps from the catalogs is rather expensive compared to what can be paid locally. If you can find one cheap, buy two, and keep the spare in the car for when the first pump quits. Like is said above, make sure you get the low pressure pump, that way you won't have to mess with a pressure regulator.

I went through several of them before I rebuilt my SU pump.

 

[David_DuBois]

I just installed a solid-state SU double sided one into a V12 E-Type a week ago. It seemed quieter than the POS plastic fake it had before. Not sure whether it's noisier than a points type one. Frankly I ~like~ hearing the tick-tick... reassuring AFAIC. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

The all electronic SU fuel pumps, single or double ended are slightly quieter than the points style pumps in that they do not have the sharp tick, tick, tick sound (I don't know how to approximate the sound in writing). The familiar tick, tick, tick sound of a points style pump comes from the toggle (on which the lower contacts are attached) hitting on the top of the coil housing and the bottom of the pedestal as it transitions up and down. The all electronic pumps don't have a toggle, so that component of the characteristic sound is no longer there, just the sound of the diaphragm armature hitting against the coil core and that is soften by a thin rubber washer. The result is a slightly softer ticking. You now know more about the sounds produced by SU fuel pumps than you ever really wanted to /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
Cheers,

 

[WA1KWA]

I've had the SU solid state fuel pump in my 1974 MGB for over 10 years now, never a problem at all. perfect replacement for the standard SU pump. I highly recommend it.

Colin

 

[vping]

Dave you have a PM.

 

[David_DuBois]

Dave you have a PM.

Right back at you.

 

[vping]

and to you /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Great write up and I may go this route.

 

[Nunyas]

I had a Facet pump in my car for a while... it was one of the resin body design pumps. It was noisy as all heck! If I ran the fuel out (only happened once!), the pump sounded like a jack hammer in the boot. I did my best to isolate it with neoprene padding between it and the mounting surface, but it was always too loud IMO. Also, it did not solve the issue I thought it would (I thought I had a vapor locking issue).

This past year, after switching my ZS carb for a HS6 that Doc graciously donated to my cause, I also decided to switch back to the stock SU that came with the car. So, I purchased all the necessary components to mount the pump in the original stock location (body sticking through a hole in the trunk), rebuilt the pump, and switched over. In the stock location for my '76, the SU's ticks are almost inaudible before starting the engine.

 

[David_DuBois]

Rob - You might want to consider mounting that noisy facet on the back of the passenger side battery box as a permanently mounted back up pump, with a switch for switching power between the two pumps. See my article in the Library under Carburetors and Fuel. You can get regular sound mounts for the Facet pump that will isolate the noise completely.
Cheers,

 

[vping]

I would think you could mount the facet on grommets to cut down on some noise. Dave do you pumps make any noise so I can tell if it is working? As doc stated earlier, I too like the sound of the pump - it tells me when I'm outta gas /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[Michael Oritt]

If you can find one cheap, buy two, and keep the spare in the car for when the first pump quits.

----------------

On the Elva I have two of them installed in tandem with separate switches so I can run either or both. They are diaphragm-type pumps so the first one pumps through the second and the second pulls through the first, etc.

On my 100 I have one mounted inside the rear wheel well, again in tandem with an SU with an "On-Off-On" toggle switch so that I can select between them or shut them both off for a bit of theft prevention.

BTW according to the instructions (who reads them??) they like to be mounted on an upward angle.

 

[David_DuBois]

Vince - My modified pumps sound exactly like the original SU fuel pumps because it still uses the original toggle.

When mounting the Facet pumps the mounting screws have to be isolated from the pump or the mounting surface or they will transmit the sound of the pump right into the car. The sound mounts that are available from Pegesus Racing have studs at either end of a rubber isolator, so there is no sound short for the noise to transmit through.
Cheers,

 

[Bugeye58]

Vince, the mounts look like this. These are from Aircraft Spruce, and the studs are 8x32. Actually Cessna instrument mounts, in this case.
Jeff

 

[marinmg]

Very timely discussion.
I have positive ground electronic SU Solid State Fuel Pump I put in my MGA about 4 years ago and it works great (purchased from moss).

I am looking at converting my MGA to negative ground, (putting in an alternater) but was wondering if there is anyway to rewire the polarity of the SU solid state fuel pump I have? Or would it be easier to purchase the neg ground one and try to sell the positive ground one.

Any info you guys have on this one sure would help.

Thanks,

Liam
57 MGA

 

[David_DuBois]

Liam - The pump can be converted to negative ground. If I remember correctly, there is one connection on the circuit board that has to be moved, but without having one in front of me, I couldn't tell you which it is. If somebody has that information, I'm sure they will get back to you. If that doesn't happen, contact me at ddubois@sinclair.net and I'll see what I can do to help you.
Cheers,