hard water line???

[ap67et10]

I'm putting together my sanger mini cruiser and am pretty sure i want to run ALL hard line. originally i was just going to do fuel because 1.it looks so pretty when its done nice 2. i'm running fuel injection so 50+ psi and hard line just has that peace of mind knowing its....well....hard. But now i've been thinking i want to do the water in hard line also. im definately going stainless but was wondering what some of you have done with the diameter when running hard line. i've seen some of you (that have hard line) run 1/2 and it seems like a good idea to me cause its substantially cheaper than 5/8 but also seems quite a bit easier to work with.
my question is.
1. do you think 1/2 hard line is sufficient for proper water volume to the engine?
2. does anyone know the actual flow comparisons of water through hard line vs. rubber? i know hard line flows substatially better than any soft line but don't know the exact numbers. This would seem to be a sure fire way to know if 1/2 hard is sufficient or not, however there may be way too many variables that i do not know to determine with this manner of thinking. (the reason the 1st question is asking for your opinion) :D
any other extra thoughts, concerns or comments are welcome i've never done this much with hard line so the more i know the better cause i know its quite time consuming.
one other thing...have any of you had problems with the hard lines comming loose? vibration problems? things like that?
THANKS! AP

[YeLLowBoaT]

I think superdave might know.

[Taylorman]

I used 1/2 ss tubing on mine as well. No problems at all. As for vibration problems, you will only have problems if you have 3 point motor mounts which allow your engine to move from rotational torque of the engine. I mounted a hard line to my fuel pump which attached to the floor and the movement of my engine broke the fuel pump. My dumb mistake in the way i mounted the lines. If you have a rail kit or rigid engine mount you should not have any problems. I fixed that problems and have had no other problems. You will need a tubing bender to bend ss line. I use 1/2 .035 thick tubing i get in 20 ft joints. If you are gonna use flared fittings like -AN hose ends use, you will need a Rigid brand flaring tool. Home depot plumbing flare tools will not work.
Hey RIO, i'd like to see your engine plumbing, i dont think ive ever seen it.

[superdave013]

most jets I see are using -8 or -10 for thier water lines. Well when using braided that is. So lets look at some inside diameters.
-8 Braided hose - 0.43"
-10 Braided hose - 0.56”
1/2 s.s. hardline with an 0.035" wall - .043"
The easy way to remember the - numbers for the AN stuff is always the -# over 16. So I always get asked why a -8 hose (8/16") won't fit over a 1/2" hose barb. Well the above should show why. -8 is 8/16 or 1/2". That's the od of the hard line tube. As we can see the braided hose has the same i.d. as the tube. I guess it's good for airplanes but it sure screws the guy who want's to slip that stuff over a barbed fittings like the heater core in his car.

[superdave013]

If you are gonna use flared fittings like -AN hose ends use, you will need a Rigid brand flaring tool. Home depot plumbing flare tools will not work.
be sure to get the 37 degree one. Ridged has both 37 and 45. The 45 is the most common. I like the Parker flaring tool because they will do a shorter back to back flare.
You will also need a good bender.

[ap67et10]

I used 1/2 ss tubing for the entire boat both fuel and water. Blown, injected, intercooled BBC. You won't have any volume problems with either but you could have pressure problems depending upon what other mods you've made to the pump and whatnot.
Waterflow through the hard line is actually useless information you don't need as the flow will vary depending upon the pressure coming from the pump which varies with the engine rpm and a few other factors that I'm not going to get into as you can do your own search and find about 100 pages on this subject.
Just do it if you like the looks, it'll work just fine.
Rio
i am definately going to run a bypass regulator for it cause i was thinking i would end up creating pressure issues with the smaller line...if i didn't already have them.
and i'm definately running the hard line just making sure 1/2 is good instead of jumping to the 5/8 cause at a given pressure (say 15lbs) the volume will be less. just making sure its not too much less that any problems arise.
thanks for your input, its appreciated

[ap67et10]

be sure to get the 37 degree one. Ridged has both 37 and 45. The 45 is the most common. I like the Parker flaring tool because they will do a shorter back to back flare.
You will also need a good bender.
I knew about the 37 degrees, but didn't really know who made them...thank for the info on that. what bender would you recommend? or anyone else that has done it?
thanks again

[Taylorman]

You will get plenty flow to feed the engine with 1/2 line. With a 1/2 exit dump line, you will most likely have to much block pressure. You could solve that by putting two dump lines or one larger dump line. Or, the pressure regulator would be the best option. I just ordered one. Ive posted these pictures 1000 times but in case you wanted ideas, heres a picture of mine.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6817.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6816.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6809.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6808.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6807.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6806.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6805.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/vidrinek/Boat/DCP_6804.jpg

[centerhill condor]

very nicely done sir!