Diesel Tank

[hpeer]

There is a third option, a Day tank. I pump through a Racor into a day tank, then out of the day tank to the engine, the day tank fuel is cycled through this second filter.

If I get a bunch of junk in the fuel the transfer filter should deal with it. And I can change that out without shutting the engine.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Fuel cleaning systems can polish at rates from 100 GPH to upwards of 6,0000 GPH.
The fuel pump, on a typical small diesel engine, delivers something on the order of 2 to 3 times the rate of consumption - so perhaps 2 GPH to upwards of 4 GPH.
As Ken says, there's a big difference.

Ie: The Reverso DIY Fuel Polishing Module has a flow rate of 150 GPH.
☞ Fuel Polishing Module

Kenomac: What is your polishing system's flow rate?

Gord,

Our Reverso polishing system can pump 150 gallons per hour through the large Separ SWK 2000/10 fuel filter which is entirely separate from the double Racor filters servicing the engine. Our fuel tank capacity on the 53 is 225 gallons, and 550 gallons on the 62.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

See that is the issue right there, do we need to spend $1,000+ to fix a problem that doesn’t exist, unless of course you buy nasty fuel.
For that I carry at least a dozen filters, that I’ve never had to use.
Actually now that I think about it, I didn’t change filters last year, so I’m on year two now, but I do have a vacuum gauge.
I have the dual Racor filter, which was probably another $1,000 I didn’t need to spend. I don’t remember what it cost to be honest, just remember it wasn’t cheap.

I just don’t like it when we tell people that they need spend big chunks of money on things, that maybe they don’t really need.

Now as I said in the beginning a polisher doesn’t hurt, I mean the fuel can’t be too clean, just I think the majority of people don’t need one.

Eventually, your luck will run out, probably on the same day you notice there were no clean out ports installed on your Island Packet fuel tanks.... then you’ll understand.

Meanwhile, It was a beautiful day here cruising down the coast of Croatia burning extremely clean diesel fuel..

[sailah]

I agree on the polishing. I built mine from eBay parts and a 75 GPH fuel pump, maybe $200. The 2 filters I use are 5x bigger than the Racor and cost $5 from McMaster. My initial filter is 10 micron and my final is 5 micron. Then I have a 3 way valve to supply 5 micron fuel to engine in case I have either A) a failed Facet lift pump or B) a clogged Racor.

Since installing the polisher my Racor comes out looking like brand new after a season.

I wired my system to run any time the engine is running and I figure after frictional losses I turn over my 40 gal tank 1/hour.

Probably overkill but I have had exactly 0 fuel related issues.

[Simi 60]

A proper fuel tank and zero deck fillers are the correct answer IMHO.

A proper fuel tank has a sump at the bottom where any contaminants drain to and a tap to drain them off.
We check ours every couple of months, drain off a litre and tip that clean, contaminant free fuel back in.

Deck fillers are prone to leakage due to decks having water running across them, so moving them to a higher spot well above water (ours are in the cabin sides 1 metre above the deck) as well as checking and replacing o rings solves problems before they start.

Basing this on our 2 x 3500litre tankage and zero additives, zero fuel polishing systems and zero pressure showing on racor gauges.

Of course all of the above is easy to do when building and I am surprised its rarely done but not so easy to remedy after its been done.

Add: we burn little fuel compared to what gets pumped through the 1000fg racors by the engine, so in effect we have a built in polishing system of sorts.

[laika]

To my mind, the best and simplest system is an inspection port and a rag. That's not always feasible. Its not on our boat. We filter to 3 microns with our polishing system and usually just have it running in tandem with the engine.

Our injection pump and injectors are probably more than happy to only see ultra clean fuel.

[DeepFrz]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

So what is the advantage of “polishing” the fuel quickly?
What micron level are you polishing to?
I don’t polish my fuel and change filters yearly as a scheduled maintenance item, and haven’t clogged a filter in years.
Why polish?

If you ever have a clogged fuel line in a seaway you will have the answer to your question and it will likely make you a believer, or perhaps dead.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

If you ever have a clogged fuel line in a seaway you will have the answer to your question and it will likely make you a believer, or perhaps dead.

You have to be kidding me, yes I have many times a clogged fuel line when we first bought the boat on delivery, got to where I could clear it pretty quick, dead bugs looked like tofu, none of it ever got into the filter, chunks would clog the line at the elbow.
A polisher would have done nothing as nothing ever got to a filter.
Why on the world would anyone ever put themselves into a situation with a single engine boat that if the engine failed they would die?
I’ve flown thousands of hours in single engine airplanes and would never put myself in that situation, why would I on a boat?

I think your being a little dramatic aren’t you?

[laika]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Why on the world would anyone ever put themselves into a situation with a single engine boat that if the engine failed they would die?
I’ve flown thousands of hours in single engine airplanes and would never put myself in that situation, why would I on a boat?

I 97% agree. I finally installed a fuel polisher after the engine quit coming in at Norfolk as the boat spent about 10 minutes drifting nefariously towards an aircraft carrier. I also removed the tank and cleaned that out too, so more considered fuel polishing icing on the cake.

But there are times, whether it be mountain flying or entering a tricky cut, where it's really nice to know that I can trust the engine 100%. At least for me on the water, that came to mean installing a fuel polishing system.