Building a 10,000 HP Top Fuel Dragster (Fuel Supply)

As Start putting this top fuel dragster back together to put it back into current competition will be going over certain systems on the car. Today will be doing the X braces and the fuel supply system including the fuel tank and lines and how and why we use what we do to make 10,000 hp! This is a great learning series on how one of these things operates can you two will be able to build one after watching these videos! 

[@Junscorolla]

I can’t get enough of your way of technical teaching i wish you were my teacher at high school .

[@FrankieD92]

As a drag race enthusiast all my life, I can’t get enough of the technical aspect of the sport…keep up the vids…

[@-ScottyT-]

Rob, I just want to thank you for taking the time to make these videos and explain everything like you do. It is a real treat to be able to see this, and learn how these amazing machines work.

[@TheMrMused]

The key to doing anything well - pay attention to every detail, no matter how small or big. It all adds up. Great content as always, Rob! Thanks!

[@ErrorAcquired]

This is my new favorite channel, i love your explanations

[@waynecammidge8851]

In the boating industry, there is also a confusion between cavitation and ventilation. Ventilation is where air is drawn from the surface down to the prop. Cavitation is where the fluid is put under such a low pressure that it physically boils, thus creating the vapour. We have issues that we call cavitation burn, where the bubbles collapse back to a liquid state, they have tremendous energy and can erode away metal. I feel that what you are describing as cavitation, should actually be called ventilation.

[@robwendland]

You are 100% correct! I should of explained that better. The ventilation causes cavitation which multiplies the amount of air entered into the fuel system. We return back to the pump which will multiply the issue.

[@Dreddip]

@@robwendland Absolutely love your videos, I also LOVE that you

[@Willardmcd]

Rob if someone like you taught a class in this in high school I would have signed up and gone down the same path. I love how everything is hand made and completely maintained the same. Just awesome stuff thank you!

[@robwendland]

Thank you for the kind words! And now there are limited paths you can take. Industry needs team members!

[@Willardmcd]

@@robwendland Thanks Rob unfortunately I am getting old myself I would have loved to do something like this 30 years ago. I also build and used to race motorcycles. Being a hardcore gearhead is in my blood from a very young age. My pops used to take me to Baylands raceway when i was very young here in Fremont Ca. and have also followed and love drag racing besides all forms of motorcycle racing. As my shop mates said Friday night building or having your hands in something and seeing it take shape it part of the journey which allot of younger kids dont realize now days.

[@Airman..]

Good to see how the Ground rocket is put together

[@vehdynam]

I really appreciate these technical videos. thank you !

[@craigbowers4047]

Great great video, thanks for sharing and taking the time to do it.

[@joannehart9624]

So interesting! Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge.

[@dawesy041972]

Loving these videos. Great to see the inner workings of these awesome machines.

[@SanjanaRanasingha]

Loving the series!

[@oliverhood574]

Awesome video man those clamps are amazing just found them will be using from now on 💪

[@bcbloc02]

Very cool! Thanks for the walk thru. I have seen huge diesel tanks imploded before from stoped up vents. What a mess!

[@lorenmorelli9249]

Excellent..

[@428eliminator3]

Great content as always, thanks!!!

[@mikef-gi2dg]

This is good stuff!

[@TomChame]

Very interesting, thanks.

[@ejohnson3837]

Great video Rob.

[@z06doc86]

Love it. You won’t see this type of content on KZbin anywhere else that I know of. Keep it coming. PS, I’ll never work on a top fuel dragster ever in my life, but I’m a car guy and race fan and I love the technical stuff the best. Also appreciate good craftsmanship, no matter the discipline: carpentry; plumbing; HVAC; masonry; landscaping; painting; drywall; welding; bodywork just to name a few.

[@jamesbarisitz4794]

The controlled explosions in the cylinders happen only when the bones of the delivery system are setup correctly. Deep dive much enjoyed! 👍

[@100ccSuperRat]

nice video, enjoyed watching it.

[@chrisrigoni]

Thank You 🙏✌️

[@danielsmith-ze3wy]

Thanks for the video

[@robwendland]

Sure appreciate it thank you!

[@josephplatania5593]

I'm a plumber. I get it. Keep up the nice work v

[@daveanderson2316]

Hey Rob, I just spent the weekend at BIR. Thanks for the insight my friend!

[@dmeemd7787]

AWESOME, keep 'em coming! When you aren't involved w/ a sport anymore, this is an AWESOME way to follow and understand this stuff :-) Besides, the fuel system isn't exactly simple, haha.. if it was, well, there'd be fee explosions and a lot more cars, LoL You rock Rob 🤘🏻

[@1320wolf]

If I didn't know better, I would think those braces were 3AL 2.5V....looking good

[@gordbarr3118]

Thanks Rob!

[@henryriehl2114]

Real nice videos keep it up🙃

[@robwendland]

Sure appreciate it thank you!

[@kstricl]

Well, this video just confirms that these things really are just a bomb waiting to go off. Preferably over a period of less than 4 seconds. I bet the track crew appreciate every little detail, like the clamp orientation, when prepping the car between rounds.

[@scotttipps8155]

Great stuff Rob, thanks for sharing. Always a pleasure to watch and look forward to your next videos. Could you possibly spend a few minutes at some point on your EM box? We run the times air regulators on a BDK but nothing like you guys. Keep it up bud

[@SC457A]

I like the vent method there! It seems to be a little more aero friendly than the "nozzle" sticking up on some cars. I always look at these cars and think of little things to improve the aero. A lot of rule controlled but little stuff adds up. Bring back Ormsby's aero package! Lol

[@dmeemd7787]

You going to talk about the entire fuel system right? 😁 I think you should do a video on the various puke can designs or the one ya prefer to run, I think that'll throw some people for a loop seeing what's inside of one of those! 🤘🏻

[@leyderness3553]

Love the welds!! That is art by itself.

[@robwendland]

Appreciate it brother thanks for watching!

[@fatcamp907]

For the life of me I can't see how brake clean would help, but you bet your ass that i'm going to try it the next time i've gotta put some hoses together :D I've always used pipe lubricant designed for plumbling. it's designed to dry out so joints dont fall apart. started using it when installing utilites with my dad, and I've been using it for all my automotive hoses since then.

[@fredygump5578]

My first thought: "Oh, so he's running his fuel lines through a piece of tubing." LOL! (For reference, all the dispensers in the typical gas station runs through a single 2" pipe. Not sure of the max gph, though. Oh, and obviously each grade of fuel is a different pipe, but it's always a 2" at the submerged pump.)

[@juansimon5802]

i think the engine will burn 14 gallons in a 1320 run.

[@stanlucas665]

Hey Rob, where do you get the hose clamps you’re using on the main fuel line?

[@theprofessorfate6184]

Please do one of these episodes on Top Fuel Hydro boats.

[@Hydrazine1000]

One minor technical gripe: Cavitation is when a local low pressure creates _gas bubbles_ in a fluid, such as directly behind blades of an impeller or prop, or when fluid flows past a severe path restriction. (And cavitation erosion is where those tiny bubbles collapse on themselves and erode the surrounding material.) What you describe as the swirl in the tank isn't cavitation, it's, well, it's a swirl, a vortex. Now, cavitation _can_ happen on a high-flow system like this, but not at the inlet. The vortex is basically the same as what you can see when a filled sink drains, the little tornado-shaped void that can form above the drain.

[@flipfloptanlines926]

Cavitation is always happening especially with an oxygenated fuel. I think a vortex is just an indication that Cavitation is excessive.

[@Hydrazine1000]

@@flipfloptanlines926 That's not how I understood the phenomenon. Cavitation can happen when a local underpressure causes tiny bubbles to form. That can either be outgassing when the fluid has a lot of dissolved gas in it, or just vapor when the local pressure drops below the vapor pressure. When it happens with ship propellers, on the low pressure side of a prop blade, vapor bubbles form. (And nastyness ensues when those vapor bubbles collapse. Look up cavitation erosion.) A vortex, or swirl, happens when a flow has a rotating component to it, so centrifugal forces pull fluid away from the center. It can happen without pressure dropping below outgas or vapor pressure.

[@billclark5943]

I'm assuming you'll cover the function of some fuel system components in the next video but is there any chance you could give us a taste in a future video of fuel volume requirements for parts of the run like how much volume or what condition are you shooting for at stage? Certainly there are many variables like CHT, timing, how long it is wet, etc. Maybe just some baseline stuff. I know that's getting in to the voodoo the Crewchief practices. I'm familiar with the blown alcohol stuff but us alcohol guys secretly fantasize about knowing how to turn the screws on a fuel motor lol.

[@gregm8262]

Hey Rob, who makes those clamps? I like that wave constant tension design and the rolled edges… best design I’ve seen for silicone hose… GregMc Found them! Murray…

[@RedHillsRancher]

I saw my sticker at 1:32!

[@johnnym1320]

I would have thought the vent tube would have to be larger than whats show here given no fuel turns to the tank, I've seen vents on top of the tanks that are more like a scoop, have they gone away from that design in favor of this style or is it just preference, thanks for these videos I love this shit

[@daltonhayhurst8501]

Wow look at the size of that fuel line.

[@Zen_Modeling]

Rob, I’ve always been curious about the Fuel Tank, I’m currently building a 1:25 Replica Top Fuel dragster (That Leah Pruitt used to drive) anyway the FUEL-TANK is setup with a “Vent Snorkel” towards the front of the Tank closet to the Frt Wheels + the Fuel Filler Cap is located at the back- 👉There is a Cover over that VENT TUBE/Snorkel & it’s actually Glassed into the body? ?? Is this just a different design, or an older design for that Vent location- (I learned something NEW with Tank in video having its Vent at the tip of the Front Wing Section pipe🤯 🙏Thank U Sir🙏 ZenModeling

[@theinsaneshecklador6598]

6:53 is that just a vent or is it using ram air to help pressurize the tank too? 7:35 I guess that answers my question.

[@andyb9767]

With that big of a fuel line and the presser on the launch can the fuel pump keep up or does it actually get in the way. Thanks for always sharing it means alot.

[@dsauce8780]

By keeping the head pressure high the gas expansion within the fluid that can occur from the vacuum of the pump pulling the fluid through the line is reduced. Meaning the fuel is in the exact state you want it to be upon entering the system.

[@rtz549]

It's amazing and competitive. But I sure would enjoy an unlimited class with no rules or restrictions on anything just to advance the state of the art.

[@dmeemd7787]

I was just thinking about maybe going over when they switched to bolting the crossover for the steering vs. welding it.. I'm just throwing out random additional video ideas (obviously, lol)

[@billclark5943]

I miss the little scoops that used to be used as the vent. They looked cool. If I recall though they used to puke some fuel after the burnout

[@crazyrat51]

TUBE!!! TUBE!!! TUBE!!! Tubeing is used on race cars, PIPE is used in plumbing!!! Drives me nuts, and I am on the edge anyway!!! ABSOLUTELY LOVE your videos! Your Pal, Gary

[@robwendland]

Our cars always run faster when you put new pipe On them! 🤣🤣🤣

[@robwendland]

Pipe😍

[@juansimon5802]

why do u have red tape on your ratchet and socket? great video as always

[@gavhirt9168]

Ever been choke holded by a pitt mom as she is giving you a eye wash. I have thank you pit mom lol

[@davelowets]

So, why does the front-end go rocketing off, with a trail of fuel, if it breaks off the car? Is it remaining pressure in the tank, from the "ram air" vent, that shoots the front-end off into the air? Or is something else at play here? I haven't seen it happen recently, only on cars of years ago, if that has anything to do with it.

[@stanlucas665]

I’ve seen what a small metal burr can do in a nitro motor. Absolutely devastating.

[@bradyknowzbest1149]

Im surprised you use worm gear style clamps there, specially such a critical area. Wouldnt tbolt clamps be more dependable/stronger?

[@robwendland]

Maybe but these are pretty good ones they overlap each other and it definitely is the higher end of that style clamp!

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

So what is the function of the shelf? Is it there so you can do the burnout with a full tank, then when you decelerate the remaining fuel trapped at the back above the shelf goes forward and under the shelf for the run? Or is it to create more fuel pressure?

[@flipfloptanlines926]

The shelf is to keep a chamber of air separate and away from the liquid outlet for the purpose of venting. Burnouts are done on a 1/4 of 1 of the 2 fuel pumps and they used to plug the vent and remove before staging. Driver activates both pumps while staging, motor loads up right before launching. And with chutes out usually the tank is empty.

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

@@flipfloptanlines926 of course, I completely forgot about the vent pipe near the filler inlet. So acting more like a typical rocker cover baffle. I didn't know they only used 1/4 of a pump during the burnout, I thought they used one pump and turned on the second just before the line when you hear it load up the engine. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the filler / vent at the front of the tank?

[@highwaymen1237]

Where can I get those full race hose clamps? Thanks.

[@bradydonnohue2183]

It looks like there called constant tension hose clamps, a company called murray makes them it looks like

[@highwaymen1237]

@@bradydonnohue2183 I will check thank you.

[@jcerullo5015]

how big the tank

[@cdnaudioguy]

It was my understanding was that cavitation was basically a liquid boiling, or at least, turning to a vapor due to it being under low pressure/vacuum.

[@colerose1634]

Yes you are mostly correct. It’s when the the static pressure drops and small bubbles form. Happens when things such as a boat propeller or centrifugal pump(fuel pump, water pump) start to spin very quickly with a lot of slip and when air is introduced it forms these bubbles which in the long run can erode away the impeller/propeller. What we care about is the fact that when the pump is cavitating the pump loses pressure and is much less efficient/can’t pump the fluid like we want it to. I think what he meant was if the fuel can not sustain enough pressure on the pump, air will be sucked through the pipe by means of that vortex and begin to cavitate the pump creating a lean condition.

[@colerose1634]

TLDR Cavitation is not the vortex he described, but rather the formation of bubbles on the fuel pump impeller that are fed by the air entering through the vortex created

[@Mrshotshell]

Thats what it is. He described a whirlpool forming and the pump sucking air that way.

[@cdnaudioguy]

@@Mrshotshell which is, of course, the concern. But I don’t think that’s technically cavitation. The pressure from the car launching still helps prevent it, though.

[@colerose1634]

The cavitation is the bubbles forming in the pump, the vortex is created from the cavitation.

[@bobdexter1029]

Sorry to nitpick, but air or a whirlpool inducing air is not cavitation. Cavitation is when a liquid changes to a vapor state due to a change in pressure, as when a pump is trying to suck in a liquid but there is a restriction, which creates collapsing voids.

[@stevenpederson1645]

If you would spend more time making these videos and less time working on getting the car done, at least one of us would be happier! Great job!

[@aaronanderson7619]

Naw steven, there's at least 2. Hope the week finds you well

[@ArthurTugwell]

So Nitro methane carries its own oxygen, as well as forcing as much oxygen through the engine as possible with the supercharger?

[@jiveturkey9993]

90 gallons a minute is insane. It's almost incomprehensible. I figure that's about 8 to 10 outputs from a washing machine going at the same time.

[@mr1o578]

Can someone point me in the direction for those hose clamps?

[@bradydonnohue2183]

It looks like there called constant tension hose clamps, a company called murray makes them, hope that helps man

[@davelowets]

Wow! My Top Sportsman car won't pass tech with any bare rubber fuel line and hose clamps. It has to be all Aeroquip style hose. I can't believe they allow this on a Nitro car... 🤔 I'm guessing it's that way, and not just TIG'ed together, so it allows for flex and doesn't crack?

[@robwendland]

No. Depends on where your fuel pump is located maybe. Anything mechanically pressurized I believe Hass to be Aeroquip style but if it’s a suction side I don’t believe it Has to be.

[@davelowets]

@@robwendland Ah, that could be. Thanks. 👍

[@Draxindustries1]

Most cars have circa 10mm ID fuel pipe. This thing uses drain pipe.. 😁

[@richjohnson3948]

Hey Rob, if you get a minute give me a call, I have some you tube questions. This stuff is cool.

[@Adrianzx]

You don't even need surface air to cavitate liquids

[@kh40yr]

Cavitation. Toilet bowl swirl,, prop blade on a boat,, The Nitro Margarita mixer. The cavitation on a boat prop can be so impactfull ,(is that a word??), That it can create,,and immediately burst,, little tiny bubbles right on the blade itself. It can be so strong that it pops little pieces/specks of metal off the blade. The same effect can happen to a TF fuel pump and its alum impellers,,Hardened or not,,taking/ripping of specs of aluminum and plugging the nozzles,,to the unscheduled rapid disassembly eventuality. Cavitation,,,bad!!. Any cavitation can froth-in bubbles and change the ratio of extra oxygen to the already oxy rich Nitro fuel. KAA-Boomer!!,,in a damn heartbeat!!,,,And Rob wets his pants,,because it was the last spare. Thanks Champ!. (Edit: The Nitro Hydro boats have to worry about the stainless steel hardened Props(2 of them) and the fuel pump cavitating all day long from the thrashing of that fuel tank and associated shit).

[@aaronanderson7619]

It is a word, only one L needed. Damn boat guys. Haha all in jest.

[@kh40yr]

@@aaronanderson7619 I try not to pin to the boats,,but it sneaks in there once in awhile. Reno National Championship Air Races mid of Sept. Ok, props again, whatever.

[@aaronanderson7619]

@@kh40yr props to yoau as well. I see what you did there

[@BustedWalletGarage]

Has anyone ever compiled the number of racers and crew members that have known health problems from prolonged exposure to nitromethane fuel and fumes ?

[@bdubz5150]

I hope Nitro racing stays forever, I would quit watching if it ever went to electric only.