SOOTY "Stopping the ice build-up in the FOHE is IMHO addressing the symptoms, not the disease. If there is sufficient incipient ice in the fuel flow, when the holes in the cheese line up it will find somewhere to accumulate"
KEEL BEAM
From 6th Sept 2008
"I am surprised this has not been more in the forefront of thoughts. I cannot say specifically for the B747SP, but certainly for the "classic" B747 and going back a few more years, the B707, they had dedicated fuel heaters. these were switched on by the flight engineer if he had a Fuel Filter Block warning light. After a set period of time, the fuel heater was switched off.
Looking at the diagrams on this thread, fuel heating is only supplied by the Fuel/Oil heat exchanger.
Just a thought ...."
How much money would need to be spent on having fuel that does not hold water and to have some sort of system on the fuel tanks to prevent water ingress through condensation etc.?
The Fuel Heater would be a simpler solution to the accumulation of ice.
Now the argument would be, where do you place the Fuel Heater, on the engine? At the front spar? In the tank? (I would go for the engine!)