Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Pingel Power-Flo Petcock - Any users?

Any of you guys who have installed the Pingel fuel tap have a chance to asses it's performance?

My interest is mostly what it does to your gas mileage? Is there a noticable difference?

Also, did you install it yourself? How did that go?

Thanks!

Wow, here's an old can o worms reopened!!
I have one and compared to the stock petcock it's like night and day. No idea on gas mileage, because frankly, I don't care any more.... 120-130 miles and I look for a station.
There should be a slew of articles in the archives about these - the only problem mentioned was the installation. A gasket and some blue hypergoo was furnished at one time and the gasket would tear and smush out from under the mount plate. I fixed mine by making a thinner gasket out of Garlock paper and doping it up real good with Seal-All, a gas resistant sealer made by Goop. Hasn't leaked a drop since. I think it's a worthwhile mod......

So Grump, you don't care anymore because it's so much batter than the stock one or you've had it for so long it doesn't matter anymore?

I'll check out the archives too.

how the heck could a petcock affect gas mileage?

(unless it leaked!)

bill

if your petcock is not feeding all the gas it can to your carbs it will make the bike starve for gas and make the motor work harder and not run very well..makeing your gas mileage very bad..

biker

maybe but it seems pretty unlikely.

I can believe that a petcock could starve the engine under extreme load but almost by definition if you're sucking gas out of your tank so fast that the petcock is the limiting factor your mileage is pretty much going to suck! Maybe down in the sub-10mpg area.

Grump
You decribed the installation procedure perfectly. I guess it should be in the instructions that you must first be covered in toxic goo and torn gaskets before you can begin to clean everthing off and start over again with homemade gaskets.

Grump's words speak volumns. Most of us had it off at least once to replace that supplied gasket.

I had my gasket leak ,tried all different sealers seal-all was the only one that worked and was the cheapest.You can get it at Auto Zone.

Well Bill, being new to the bike game when I read that the petcock was rated at 90 ounces/minute compared to the stock one which rated at 30 ounces per minute I assumed that this meant a greater gas flow than normal which in my mind would mean faster gas usage which would mean lower gas mileage.

Obviously I'm wrong, what's wrong with my logic?

It's all in the jets, Mark.

They are the gating factor...

(and the floats)

Mark,
You can have a 1" gas hose connected to the carbs but they will still only draw as much gas as they need at any given throttle position. It's not like a hose where more flow=more usage, the carbs suck gas and the greater flow petcock allows them to reach this maximum flow the carbs desires, but it can't exceed the demand. The floats and their bowls fill with gas, then the float shuts down the flow, when it needs more gas, the floats lower allowing gas to flow into the bowls again. So you see, it's actually the floats that control the flow.

Hey thanks Pat, ok it's a closed system so it can't just flow. I appreciate the knowledge guys.

Hi guys I have used a product called STAG here in OZ many times over the years to seal many different liguids/gases/greases and it works a treat. I think it is a USA product and is suitable for many applications, I was first put onto this product as a young motor mechanic when I was having trouble sealing a tripple fuel block ( one fuel line into a fuel block with a three fuel lines out ) for a set of tripple carbies I was playing around with at the time anyway I had tried all types off sealant ( could not afford a quality fuel block as carbies had cleaned the wallet out and had to make do with cheapo fuel block ) anyway that was about 24 years ago and I still use Stag to this day. Have only ever had 2 tubes of stag the current tube is about 10 years old. This stuff is recommended for all types off sealing jobs Hi preasure steam/petrolium based liquids. It has never failed me and I have used it to seal anything you can name. ( must check to see if it is still avaliable here in oz) Anyone else out there used this product I would love to here from you. not many people hear in oz have ever heard of it. As you can tell I am a huge fan of this product. As for the pet cock/fuel econmy thing you can have all the fuel flow you want,its the jets / needles/ air flow plus the right wrist that control how much fuel you burn
Cheers Muzza

Reading this and it struck me odd...why would anyone need 90 oz (3/4 of a gallon), let alone the stock 30 (1/4 of a gallon) per MINUTE?

So let's say for argument that you needed 30 onces per minute running at 90mph...that would equal 6 mpg? The stock seems more than adaquate...don't you think?

I meant I don't even check my gas mileage anymore. It varies so much from tank to tank of the same gas (Sunoco)I just fill up when I get between 120 and 130 miles. Sometimes, I hit reserve before the 120 mark, so it is a moot point....
As for the increased fuel flow, this is a gravity system. The carb bowls empty as you ride and the tank allows them to refill.... the Pingel makes them refill a whole lot faster than the stock petcock due to the increased fuel flow. Other than that it is just a more better constructed valve. - and it's chrome!-

gregzilla,
I just got dellivery on a pingel have not attempted to install it yet (too cold). I didn't buy it for the increase in flow. I wanted it because my stock valve is very stiff and hard to turn. and as grump says "it's chrome".
kennymc

Mark, Not to bring the old can opener out but.... Unless you remove the secondary fuel filter at the T first....I believe that 50% of the fuel starvage posts was because of this. This includes the fuel valve also. Sure, this valve will stick sometimes & need replaced but on a design note it lets in more than enough fuel that engine will ever need.
Our founding fathers might not agree with this but...just my opinion