Eliminating fuel pump

[J-Mech]

I hate the vacuum pump the most. Fails more often than any other, and doesn't work half as good as either the mechanical or electric. If I had a Cub with one, I'd convert it to one of the other two styles. I've replaced lots of those junk pumps. I hate them.

I've never seen the need for a carb on a Cub to be primed before starting. They always have plenty of gas in the bowl to fire up.

[twoton]

Hey kid, I think you'd be happy with that electric fuel pump that Mr Bedell linked you to.

If you're interested in the vacuum pump Gompers was talkin' 'bout, my boy Taryl made a most excellent video on the subject on the youtube;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqZGWRJ66b4

[CubDieselFan]

I like the electric ones as well.

[J-Mech]

So.... just to play along. I want to know what you guys like so much about an electric pump over the mechanical?

There are lots and lots of applications where mechanical pumps cause issues and going electric fixes the problem. For example: The old Ditch Witch trenchers had Wisconsin V4's in them. They had a mechanical pump on them, and they were TERRIBLE about vapor lock while running, especially when the machines got older, or even a newer one in the heat of the summer. Going electric stopped the vapor lock issues. There are other examples where the mechanical's aren't available anymore or other equipment that had the same issues as the Ditch Witches..... but these Kohlers don't have vapor lock issues. The fuel pumps last a very long time. Don't cost much more than an electric one, and typically outlast an electric. You don't have to mess with wiring with a mechanical, the engines don't have priming issues, they start just as fast with either....... so, why the preference? I do not understand.

[john hall]

I just want to put an inline solenoid to cut off the fuel supply. I have manual inline shutoffs that you can easily get to on everything with a twin cylinder and we do cut the fuel supply off every time we shut down--call it KT17 phobia from way back. FWIW, they are all running the style pump they can from the factory with. Talking about 2 Magnums, a KT, and an Onan.

[olds45512]

Originally Posted by john hall

I just want to put an inline solenoid to cut off the fuel supply. I have manual inline shutoffs that you can easily get to on everything with a twin cylinder and we do cut the fuel supply off every time we shut down--call it KT17 phobia from way back. FWIW, they are all running the style pump they can from the factory with. Talking about 2 Magnums, a KT, and an Onan.

I do the same thing. I have a manual shut off right before the pump on the 782 and whenever i'm done using it the fuel gets shut off, might be overkill but it gives me peace of mind.

[Gompers]

It's one less thing that can go wrong with the engine, IMO.

Those mechanical pumps can fail and leak gas into the crankcase. You won't know it's doing it until it shows up in the oil. Depending on how diligent you are in checking the oil, it's not a huge deal if it does and you catch it, but as sensitive as these engines are to oil issues, it's not something I like worrying about.

They can also fail and leak gas down the side of the engine gathering up gunk and ending up down by the starter.

I mount the electric pump up on the firewall. It's dead easy to wire on a KT. If it leaks, it's super easy to replace, and it'll just drip a bit of gas down onto the blower housing or firewall. Not a huge deal and super easy to spot. I can swap one out in maybe 5 minutes.

A new pump on a good engine? It's fine and I would be fine with it too. But if I'm going to have to replace the mechanical one with a new pump, I'll almost always go electric and cap off the old one just because, IMO, it's easier.

[DieselDoctor]

Go diesel. You get two pumps a lift pump and an injection pump!

[Mudrig150]

Originally Posted by Gompers

A new pump on a good engine? It's fine and I would be fine with it too. But if I'm going to have to replace the mechanical one with a new pump, I'll almost always go electric and cap off the old one just because, IMO, it's easier.

It's basically just a peace of mind thing, plus an electric pump can be changed for a higher flow one, whereas I've never seen a higher flow kohler pump.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by Mudrig150

It's basically just a peace of mind thing, plus an electric pump can be changed for a higher flow one, whereas I've never seen a higher flow kohler pump.

That's because you don't need a higher flow pump. You have to do a lot of work to a K series to get it where a stock pump won't flow to it. Most guys who put a high flow pump on their garden tractor puller end up.pusing the needle valve open while the float is trying to close it. Kid.... you got a lot to learn.