Electric fuel pump use with a carburetor - educate me

Gents,

The 'why' of this question is a separate story that's coming soon, but due to some recent events I'm curious about using an electric fuel pump for a carburetor. That carburetor will likely be a Summit 500CFM unit, linked below...which I guess was a Holley carb before it was a Summit, and maybe an Autolite? before it was a Holley. Anyway...curious about electric fuel pump use. Any good brand or model recommendations? No heavy HP requirements or anything, I'm mainly interested in reliability.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-m08500vs

From what little I understand there are two types of pumps - those for carbs and those for EFI.  And that could also be broken into "low pressure" and "high pressure" pumps.  You can use an EFI pump for a carb, but it takes quite a bit of pressure regulation.  In my case it took a return-style regulator then a dead-head regulator.

So if you are later going with EFI you should consider that approach.  Otherwise I'd go with a low-pressure pump.  But, even though it might be considered "low pressure" there are pumps with pressures all over the map.

Edelbrocks don't like over 6 psi, but Holleys and probably the Summit carb are ok at a bit more.  Still, there's no need for more pressure, so I'd look for a pump that puts out no more than 6 psi or plan to use a regulator on it.

As for brands, I'm using in-tank pumps from Spectra and they've been fine.

The only electric pumps I have used is the Holley Blue pump with regulator.
All used with Holley carbs and all in racing not street use so cant be much help there.

Now I have seen it posted on the other site of the little square Facet pumps with no issues.
https://www.google.com/search?q=napa+facet+fuel+pump&rlz=1C1KMZB_enUS571US571&oq=fauset+fuel+&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i10i13j0i10i22i30l3j0i22i30l5.10407j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Just wire it up with all the safety steps installed.
Dave ----

I’m in the process now and hope to turn the key in a week or so. I’ll post my results at that time.

My two reasons for going to an electric pump are because I’m changing out from the 16 gal side tank to the 33 gal Bronco rear tank,
And
I’ll start out with my YFA/ stock intake and run with that until I move to the Sniper TBI on an Offenhauser C.

The pressure concerns that Gary mentioned I hope to have handled by a Holley FPR that has interchangeable springs for different pressure spreads. The pump I’m using is the stock replacement FDM from Bosch.

My understanding of pumps is that “generally speaking” most pumps are capable of a very wide range of pressures. The flow rate is simply inverse proportional. Therefore when making a selection one must consider both ratings so that you can supply fuel at the needed rate AND pressure.

Look for a happy post in the new year!
Cheers

Thanks for the replies guys. The reasoning behind this is that I just bought a short block yesterday that is already all buttoned up with an EFI timing cover (and therefore no provision for a mechanical fuel pump that I had intended to run). I was thinking of a pump like this one below:

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/fuel_pumps_regulators_and_filters/fuel_pumps/carbureted_fuel_pumps/carbureted_electric_fuel_pumps/parts/12-427

Dave got me thinking about Holley, so when I searched there they had all kinds of options. Below is another one...slightly less flow and pressure.

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/fuel_pumps_regulators_and_filters/fuel_pumps/carbureted_fuel_pumps/carbureted_electric_fuel_pumps/parts/12-426

Would 4 or 7 psi psi be preferred? More of a carburetor question than a pump question.

This is for my '52 Mercury pickup, so the current fuel tank is in the cab and will be by default above the pump. In the pump business we call this a "flooded suction". (I am in the pump business...but not really these kind of pumps). Positive suction pressure is a good thing.

I could be way off base here, but for some reason I have it in my head that aftermarket external electric fuel pumps are not very reliable. I must have read this or heard it by word of mouth over the years, I'm not sure...because I don't remember why I was thinking this.

I guess I'm kind of curious as to why even the little pumps above have such a high flow rating. A small block Ford would never be able to use 32 GPH of fuel...heck, it couldn't even use HALF of that. I guess if those little pumps are happy to run at 5 GPH, then all is good. They just need to be able to move enough fuel to keep themselves cool.

At the end of the day, maybe I just need to order two pumps and keep a spare in the glovebox to ease my worry...lol.

just giving an opinion. my experience has taught me that internal and external can be both reliable and unreliable. it's their situation that causes their state or reputation.
1986 f150 ,efi, twin tanks:
     front tank pump is low-pressure in tank. rear tank pump is low-pressure in tank and boat feed a high-pressure pump mounted externally on the frame rail near the fuel filter.  eventually ford did move to two high pressure pumps in the tanks which eliminated the rail mounted pump.
     the in-tank pumps are inherently flooded therefore are always primed and cooled. that is the key! in line externally mounted pumps work very well when mounted as close to the tank as possible and lower than the tank and engine. (flooded) another tip when using an in-tank pump is to use one withe the built-in reservoir
whenever possible. It's worth a few extra bucks. mainly available for efi with return line but it keeps the pump cooled. unless you run out of gas of course. any " hard driving" or "incline action" can momentarily starve a pump without a reservoir

I ran a Carter high volume electric pump on my 1966 Shelby GT350. I had it back next to the tank with a toggle switch under the dash. Normal driving the Holley high performance mechanical pump was adequate and since the Carter was a vane type pump the Holley would pull through it.

Racing, either legal (high speed road course type events, one car at a time) or to embarrass street squirrels as we called them, the electric boost pump was needed as the mechanical could handle the dual Holley 4 barrels, but the 5/16" line really couldn't on sustained running. This is when the boost pump was engaged.

BTW, engine was a .030 over 289 probably pushing 375 hp at 7000, red line 7500.

Rembrant wrote

....  I could be way off base here, but for some reason I have it in my head that aftermarket external electric fuel pumps are not very reliable. I must have read this or heard it by word of mouth over the years, I'm not sure...because I don't remember why I was thinking this....

I had electric fuel pumps on my Bronco for a while.  I don't know what brand(s) I've had, but I had two fail, so I went to the effort to switch back to a mechanical fuel pump (I had already switched from an EFI timing cover back to one with provision for a mechanical pump, so that effort was expended before I decided t go back to mechanical).

In my case the pump was in-line, not in the tank.  It wasn't below the bottom of the tanks but it was below the tops, so not as good as it might be, but not terrible either.  I did have a switching valve between the tanks and the pump, so that probably didn't help me either.

Anyway, I can't say that an electric pump won't hold up for you, because you have a better situation.  But that was my experience.

Rembrant wrote

....  At the end of the day, maybe I just need to order two pumps and keep a spare in the glovebox to ease my worry...lol.

That's not a bad plan!

Thanks for all the replies guys. I think rather than trying to redo everything to accept a mechanical pump, I am going to try an electric one for better or worse...lol.