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SteelCruiser · 14-09-2015, 02:42

2nd hand yacht - owner / builder not available
There is diesel in a keel tank.
There is a header tank that feeds a 3cyl Lister.
There are fuel lines but no connection between the two.
Previous owner / builder never used fuel from the keel tank.
He had always brought a 5 gallon plastic container onboard and filled the header tank directly - by tipping fuel into it via funnel.
Awkward and messy.
When I bought the boat he said "buy an inline diesel transfer pump and plumb it in".
Okay.
What pump to buy?
I've searched this forum and found a lot of info about 2ndary pumps for bleeding, but not this particular reason for installing a diesel transfer pump.
Live in OZ /NZ region - but can order from the States.
Any suggestion for model / make of pump welcomed.

**Wotname** · 14-09-2015, 05:19

Assuming you are after an electric pump!

Pretty much any electric fuel pump for auto outlets will work for your purpose.

Choose one that is easy to fit and have suitably sized fuel line connections. If you want to get fancy, work out what head you have to pump and a rough idea of fuel rate (gph or lpm etc) that will work for you.

SteelCruiser · 14-09-2015, 05:37

Indeed - Yes
( an electric pump )

thanks

transmitterdan · 14-09-2015, 05:51

The formula for head pressure with diesel is:

Head in feet = 2.31/.88*PSI (sorry, don't have metric conversion in my head)

Edit: PSI = Head in feet * 0.88 / 2.31

Typical transfer pump rate would be about 15-30 gallons per hour. There are some Airtex pumps such as e8251 that might work depending on the height the fuel has to be pushed and lifted.

S/V Alchemy · 14-09-2015, 07:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

The formula for head pressure with diesel is:

Head in feet = 2.31/.88*PSI (sorry, don't have metric conversion in my head)

Edit: PSI = Head in feet * 0.88 / 2.31

Typical transfer pump rate would be about 15-30 gallons per hour. There are some Airtex pumps such as e8251 that might work depending on the height the fuel has to be pushed and lifted.

I just got a Walbro FRA 1-1 for this purpose. Throw in a three-way valve and you can draw from one or the other, or throw in filtering.

Scout 30 · 14-09-2015, 08:01

The Walbro FRB 13 or 20 for 12 volts or the FRB 16 for 24 volts is the way to go. Plumb this into all of your tanks so that you can use it for polishing. Be sure you return only to the tank you are pulling from when polishing.

tdoster · 14-09-2015, 08:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scout 30

The Walbro FRB 13 or 20 for 12 volts or the FRB 16 for 24 volts is the way to go. Plumb this into all of your tanks so that you can use it for polishing. Be sure you return only to the tank you are pulling from when polishing.

Why return it to the same tank when polishing?

The setup I was going after was to use the pump filtered into the day tank, then the day tank overfill back into the keel tank if polishing or forgot and left the pump on, it would circulate indefinitely.

If I am missing something, let me know now before I plump it all up that way...

Russ · 14-09-2015, 08:52

Walbro Pumps Get a Continuous duty low PSI 6-9 pump about $150. Model FBR-13 Feeds my 100 hp Yanmar. 12 or 24 V. Problem free I have two, never a problem. Russ

Russ · 14-09-2015, 08:53

TYPO Walbro FRB-13 Russ

Scout 30 · 14-09-2015, 09:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdoster

Why return it to the same tank when polishing?

The setup I was going after was to use the pump filtered into the day tank, then the day tank overfill back into the keel tank if polishing or forgot and left the pump on, it would circulate indefinitely.

If I am missing something, let me know now before I plump it all up that way...

Technically filling your day tank is not considered to be polishing. With polishing you would typically pump your fuel through your filter at a relatively high pressure for several hours, often on a timer but not necessarily. If you don't return to the same tank you are drawing from the tank you are sending the fuel to will overflow through the vent. When filling your day tank you would monitor the tank & turn the pump off before it's full. If you leave the pump on for the day tank it will also overflow through the vent unless you have an overflow valve that prevents this from happening.

Cheechako · 14-09-2015, 09:26

The Walbro is more highly touted than your typical auto parts fuel pump.

One thing to consider is; does the keel tank have any fuel in it now? If not... put a little in to test it and check your bilge the next morning. It could be a leaker and the PO's story could be just that... a story. (I've had this happen twice when I bought boats with an empty center/bilge fuel tank!)

conachair · 14-09-2015, 10:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelCruiser

Any suggestion for model / make of pump welcomed.

I went for 12v facet solid state when recently installing a day tank. With filter inline and a 3 way valve to make it easy to fill from cans. .
FACET SOLID STATE PUMPS 12v

Slow but should last forever. There's a similar one which came with the boat feeding the heater header tank, which is actually a solid lump of rust but still works.

tdoster · 14-09-2015, 11:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scout 30

Technically filling your day tank is not considered to be polishing. With polishing you would typically pump your fuel through your filter at a relatively high pressure for several hours, often on a timer but not necessarily. If you don't return to the same tank you are drawing from the tank you are sending the fuel to will overflow through the vent. When filling your day tank you would monitor the tank & turn the pump off before it's full. If you leave the pump on for the day tank it will also overflow through the vent unless you have an overflow valve that prevents this from happening.

Thus why having the day tank overfill into the keel tank is how we designed it.

Reasoning.

Polishing the fuel back into the keel tank is fine, but we wanted to ensure the day tank always had clean and fresh fuel to the engine as cleaning algae or sediment caked filters is far easier when you have the time to do so, not when having to motor down a busy ship channel. The day tank essentially has a fitting on the top that allows excess fuel in that tank to gravity feed back to the keel tank.

If the polishing filters get clogged, then we don't lose the engine, just shut the pump down when the pressure gets too high, clean it at leisure, then start pumping again, and the engine never has to be shutdown in the process unless the day tank runs dry before switching the filters.

Having had two occasions in my lifetime that scared the crud out of me from bad fuel clogging the main filters and shutting the engine down at the last opportune time, it seemed a better way than just having dual selected filtration. Can keep and store more fuel on board for a longer period of time.