Belite introduces Fuel/Water Discriminator

The FAA has long warned: Water contamination of aircraft fuel systems has been and remains a major cause of aircraft engine power failure. (AC43-16, Alert 123)

Belite RADIANT Technology has introduced a new product that alerts pilots to fuel exhaustion or water contamination.

The new RADIANT Fuel/Water Discriminator will instantly tell the pilot or vehicle operator if the fuel line is empty or if liquid water is detected in the fuel line, according to company officials.

The product, based on patent pending technology, is installed in the fuel line. It alerts a pilot to switch tanks in the event of fuel exhaustion on one tank and also provides a positive and immediate indication if liquid water is present in the fuel line.

The product is installed through the use of standard tubing barb adapters. It requires a power source and has two output lines. One line is active when normal fuel (for instance, MoGas or 100LL) is present in the line. This line reverts to inactive if fuel is no longer detected in the line. The second line only becomes active when water is detected.

A typical panel installation will have three lighted indicators for each fuel discriminator: Presence of Fuel (green LED); Absence of Fuel (red LED); Presence of Water (red LED). Belite offers a prebuilt indicator display head for ease of installation, company officials note.

The liquid never comes into physical contact with any sensors, which helps provide additional safety to the installation. The fuel sampling tube within the device is built from a material that is impervious to most known liquids and is designed to withstand temperatures from -100° to +400° fahrenheit (-70 to 200C), with a maximum pressure of 300 psi (20 bar) at 72° (22C). The normal operating range of the product is -20C to +50C.

The product carries a one year warranty, but is expected to last indefinitely in normal usage, requiring no maintenance, according to James Wiebe, Belite CEO.

“I’ve been working on new approaches to fuel measuring systems for years, and this particular safety enhancing product has been a very important goal for a long time,” he said. “Water in fuel causes accidents and deaths every year, so if pilots are given an alarm when water is present, or when fuel is exhausted, safety is clearly increased.”

Pre-orders are being accepted immediately at BeliteAircraftStore.com. First shipments are slated for the fourth quarter of 2017.

This product is priced as follows:

• Fuel/Water Discriminator with ¼” ID line (Part RFWD-030) $299.95
• Fuel/Water LED display head (for 2-1/4″ instrument hole) (Part RFWD-020) $99.95 (accepts up to 3 discriminators, with 3 discrete alarm LEDs for each discriminator)
• Fuel Only Discriminator (Part RFWD-031) $199.95 (water feature not included with this version)
• Fuel/Water Discriminator Kit: 3 discriminators with a LED display head along with a 12 foot wiring harness for each discriminator (Part RFWD-032) $999.95 (with water detection)
• Fuel Only Discriminator Kit: 3 discriminators with a LED display head along with a 12 foot wiring harness for each discriminator (Part RFWD-033) $699.95 (without water detection)

Other versions of this product will be offered for various sizes and styles of fittings types, fluid types and for other markets, including jet fuel and diesel, trucks and automobiles. Also check with Belite for custom versions for unique fluid discrimination.