Avoid Engine Fuel Starvation Failures Using Fuel Surge Tanks

Avoid Engine Fuel Starvation Failures Using Fuel Surge Tanks

Aaron U Smith writes on automotive fuel delivery systems including fuel pump problems and fuel pump replacement

Surge tanks are generally recommended to fit on the race or drift cars that run at full throttle or have high horsepower engines. It is also a good option for the vehicles that have converted from carburetor to fuel injection engines. The fuel requirement of engine is not same for every vehicle. Some might need more fuel flow than the normal capacity when the engine is running at full throttle. In order to meet the requirements of additional fuel or supply fuel when the flow from the main tank is interrupted, surge tanks are installed to ensure continuous supply of fuel to the engine. Surge tanks are typically mounted near the main fuel tank or in the engine compartment. The main purpose of using them is to protect the vehicle engine from fuel related starvation failures and minimize the risk of fuel losses.

Surge tanks are fitted inline in the middle of factory fuel tank and the fuel rail with several pumps installed in between to draw fuel from the main tank to the surge tank and then to the fuel lines. Fuel surge tanks usually have three fittings – one for low pressure pump to draw fuel from the main tank, another is for inline high pressure pump to push the fuel into fuel lines and into the injectors and the third is to return any used fuel into the surge tank. There is also a connection from the low pressure outlet of surge tank to the inlet port of the main fuel tank to return the excess fuel from surge tank when it is at full capacity.

How It Works?

The fuel from the main fuel tank is drawn into surge tank via a low pressure lift pump and is pushed towards the engine through inline high pressure electric fuel pump and past the fuel pressure regulator. Any left out fuel from the fuel pressure regulator is returned back to the surge tank and then into the factory fuel tank when the surge tank is full. So the engine continues to run with the help of the fuel flowing from the surge tank, even when there is an interruption in the fuel flow from the main tank. Surge tanks have low fuel holding capacity and typically are fed by low pressure feeder pumps.

Benefits Of Using Surge Tanks Apart from ensuring constant supply of fuel to the engine, it reduces the stress on main fuel pump. Since surge tanks have several internal fuel pumps, the burden of pushing the fuel all the way to the fuel rails and through the pressure regulator into the fuel injectors is no longer the job of fuel pump alone. The low pressure lift pumps of surge tanks also share the load and thus decreases the stress on the main pump. This will increase the service life of the fuel pump and reduces engine failure issues due to fuel supply breakdowns.

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