Best fuel polishing system for a 365 pearson?

[Orrjames]

We have a westerbeke 43 in our Pearson 365, is there a good , inexpensive polishier out there?

[Sailmonkey]

As a service or are you looking to add on a filter and pump?

If the 2nd route, buy another fuel filter identical to your primary, an electric pump, two three way valves and away you go.

[DeepFrz]

Here is a link to the simplest one I have come across.
FPM 60, 90 & 180 | Diesel Fuel Polishing Systems | Racor Dual Filter System | FilterBoss

The system should be large enough to move a full tank of fuel 3 times through the filter in an hour. The pickup tube and return tube should both extend to near the bottom of the tank, 3/4" clearance or so. All fuel lines and pickup/return tubes should be dedicated to the fuel polisher and completely separate from the engine fuel lines.

Do clean your tank manually before installing a system though. It probably wont remove all the crud from the walls of your tank, especially if the tank is 20 or so yrs. old.

[Orrjames]

AH yes Thank you both!

[Sumner]

I just ordered parts to make a system like what was shown in Good Old Boat recently. Basically a filter mounted on a board, an elect. pump and a wand to go down into the tank and a discharge hose to pump into another container.

I plan on pumping out of the tank through a 14 micron filter with a water separator into some of the cheap 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot. Then I'll clean the tank out the best I can by hand. Next pump from the buckets back into the tank through a 6 micron filter using the same filter mount, just switching out the filters.

I looked for inexpensive filters for this as they are likely to plug and below is what I found. You can even find them for a little less on ebay, but I just got everything from the same place.

For the pump I got a 12 volt low pressure marine pump from Rock Island...



RockAuto Parts Catalog Fuel Pump

...for $38. Part number E8251.

I'm also hoping that this pump will work between the first filter in the fuel system going to the engine and the lift pump for priming and as a backup pump if the lift pump were to fail. If it does I'll buy a second and use it for the polishing, but it could be a spare for the one used in the fuel system. I'm not sure that it will lift enough since the fuel tank on the Endeavour is pretty low in the bilge.

I ordered this filter mount...



from here...

Wix 24770 & Napa 4770 Base: FleetFilter Secure Online Store

and also bought the two filters from them (got extras)...



Wix 33405 & Napa 3405 Fuel Filter: FleetFilter Secure Online Store

... the 14 micron filter above with the water separator and ...



Wix 33374 & Napa 3374 Fuel Filter: FleetFilter Secure Online Store

... and the second 6 micron return filter for the second pass back into the tank.

I'll put the system together at home, but won't be able to try it until we return to the boat,

Sum

[DeepFrz]

Sum, I recommend you add a vacuum gauge to your system so you can see when the filter starts to load up.

[PhilDuhs]

DeepFrz, why do you recommend such a high-capacity system - "The system should be large enough to move a full tank of fuel 3 times through the filter in an hour"?

I have 2 x 235 litre (2 x 62 gallon) fuel tanks and figured compared to most power boats that's not much fuel - and so the 60 GPH FilterBoss Commander would be adequate. This means running it for 2 hours to polish all the fuel (although I guess a couple of cycles is really necessary). To me the space the unit will take up is more important than the amount of time it will be running for - or am I on the wrong track!!?

On your second recommendation "All fuel lines and pickup/return tubes should be dedicated to the fuel polisher and completely separate from the engine fuel lines" does that mean you don't run the fuel about to be used by the engine through the unit? I thought this was another benefit of installing a fuel polisher - it further filters the fuel just before it gets to the engine ...but perhaps I'm wrong.

Thanks for your input on this - really appreciate it!

Phil
S/Y 37 Rocks

[Allan S]

It was easy enough to build our own system from a scavenge hunt in a boat wrecking yard. A Chris Craft yeilded two (2) fuel pumps and a barn had two (2) filter assmblies, one spin on (10 micron), and a racor (2 micron) fuel/water separator. Of course we had to buy new elements for them. I can't load pictures he, it is beyond my abilities.

The pumps are from the 70's and works like a charm. It pulls the fuel through the 10 micron, then the 2 micron. A vacuum guage is not really necessary as the pump changes pitch when the filters are clogged, I mean it is very noticable.

The second fuel pump will be hooked up to the boats main fuel system, plumbed in to supply the engine in case the mechanical pump gives up the ghost.

To see a picture, go to my link here; Carpe Diem, a Seafarer 38C

The only thing missing from the picture is an electrical box with an on/off toggle switch, inline 6 amp fuse inside, and a cigarette lighter socket or power. this was located under the racor housing.

Locating an electrical box under a filter housing is a pretty dumb idea. I will move it above the pump, between the filter housings this weekend.

I thought about pumping the dirty fuel into pails, but the sample I took showed pristine fuel so I bought four (4) jerrry cans and pumped it there.

The wife then mucked out the tank.

[PhilDuhs]

Great blog - I'm learning lots ...step #1: find a wife to do the worst jobs

[poiu]

Originally Posted by Orrjames

We have a westerbeke 43 in our Pearson 365, is there a good , inexpensive polishier out there?

I assembled my own from a Racor 500 and I fitted downstream of it two facet cube fuel pumps (in parallel) giving 60 gals/hr. It matches the max throughput of the filter. I have clamp crocodile connectors onto the battery terminals and a switch next to the unit so I can stop it to drain off the water and change the filters. I let it run for hours until it comes through clear, ideally at sea so the sloshing helps clean the tanks. It is bolted it to the side of the engine room and let it run and run either feeding the same tank or into the second.

When I finish the job, the hoses are pulled out and connected with a joiner to stop fuel dripping and to keep the diesel in the unit to minimize corrosion. There are always a few drips so it gets stored in its own plastic box.

I picked the Racor filter for several reasons - it is firstly a very good filter. with good capacity. I already have one on the boat, so now I have a spare. I have a large stock of filters anyway,so don't need more. Another advantage with the system is that I now have in effect a back up fuel transfer pump also.

All in all, an excellent set-up. I have relied on it twice. Necessary equipment in my view. Even if you test the fuel first and look after it so it doesn't get the fuel bug, sooner or later things will go wrong. Maybe your own silly mistake or maybe you will suck up some dregs from even a good fuel supplier and get contamination.

If you wanted to clean whilst not using the engine you could possibly fit a pump using T sections and valves in line with your existing primary fuel filter and achieve a good result.

[rognvald]

OrrJames,
From a believer in the KISS mentality, begin by a thorough cleaning of your tank. Most access ports in a vessel of your size, and mine, allow you to clean your tank manually. This can easily be done by using a long handled soft bristled nylon brush (through your access port) in a 1/2 filled tank (25 gallons on your vessel) and scrub the walls and bottom of your tank(where accessbile). Then, draining your tank with a inexpensive fuel pump mounted on a board that transfers the diesel from your tank through a Baja Filter into a series of 6 gallon jerry cans. Then, wiping the visible areas of your tank with a smooth diesel soaked cotton rag (no nubs) to remove any visible contamination. After cleaning the tank, refilter the diesel from your jerry cans back into your main tank and fill to a quarter tank (10 to 12 gallons). Agitate the bottom with the brush and then drain and refilter the fuel back into the jerry cans. Then, a final refill and filter of all your fuel back into your tank. If you have a simple primary and secondary filter mounted on your engine, there's no need for an additional filtration system. This is definitely an advantage smaller vessels have over our larger brothers who have cavernous tanks and cannot take the time to prefilter their fuel at the dock through a Baja or similar filter or clean their tanks manually. By doing this yourself, you will never be held hostage by a dirty tank that requires a major cost to clean. We have never had a fuel issue in 24 years of sailing. Cost to you: 1-2 hours of your time plus an inexpensive reusable fuel pump (Facet Posi-flow fuel pump psi 1.5-4.0 gpm--$40.00 on Ebay). Cost to you for a fuel tank cleaning by a marine contractor and a fuel polishing system: several hundred dollars or more. Good luck and good sailing.