Electric Diesel bleed pump advice...

[Christian Van H]

HI All! I have twin Racor MA500 filters and would like to add an electric pump for bleeding and possibly some fuel scrubbing thru a third filter. I am leaning toward the Walbro FRB series. The earlier Walbro pump that was common is discontinued. Has anyone used one pump for BOTH purposes? Any experience out there? Thanks, Chris

[forsailbyowner]

I have a cheap discount auto parts installed on mine. cost about $30 works great. Didnt even bother to prime racor last time the pump had it filled very quickly and I have the big one. Works great with switch on a leash so you can watch the bleeders on opposite side of engine and still control. 4 yrs after installation no problems, installed between racor and lift pump.

[Christian Van H]

So, you installed pump AFTER the Racor? The pump draws a vacuum that fills the filter, thereby eliminating the need to bleed the filter. Thats smart! Have I got this right? BTW, does the bleed pump need much in the way of PSI in order to bleed?

[Badsanta]

from my understanding, racors dont like to be pressurized but need a vacuum

[S/V Antares]

Put it in front of the racor. Push the fuel into the racor. Otherwise it might pull a vacuum and pump air into the engine. Racors have there own issues but they are the only game around.

[AnchorageGuy]

Bad idea to put the pump in between the tank and the Racor. First and foremost you will foul the pump with nothing filtering the fuel. Second, if you discuss this with Racor they will tell you they don't want their filter housings under pressure. The fuel needs to be pulled through the Racor.

[Chief Engineer]

Pulling the fuel thru a Racor will not remove the air in the filter.

Pressurizing a Racor is not recommended. It won't remove the air.

However I have seen some piping setups that allow you to fill the racor, with the lid off. The keeps you from having to try to top off the Racor manually. (As some installations/instalers don't follow the guidelines for above filter access.)

[forsailbyowner]

The automotive pump I have runs around 6 psi and it makes quick work of the bleeding. It did a fine job of filling the racor using vacuum In a couple of minutes it had fuel flowing out of the engine mounted filter outlet ,which is the first bleed point on the perkins.

[Pete the Cat]

Been pushing fuel into a Racor (nice to get the air out of it when filter changed and helps with bleeding) with a cheap electric diesel transfer pump for the last 15 years and 3000 hours on engine. Nothing but satisfaction with the system. I have a bypass for the pump so that all fuel does not go through it--only when I am pumping to fill or bleed. I guess I could see that there is a potention for it to get clogged, but wouldn't that be possible with any fitting in the line? The major problem with clogging is those #@%& screens they used to put in the pickup tubes of tanks of production boats in the 80's.

[Christian Van H]

OK, so I put up a poll. So far I am leaning toward installing the pump AFTER the Racors, and really cant find much wrong with this. BTW, the new Walbro pumps have some neat options, like a clear bowl with drain, etc.

[r.furborough]

Racor recommend after the primary filter and if mounted before the pump should not be rated to exceed the pressure rating for the filter as it can inhibit the coalescing properties of the filter.

Mounting the pump after the filter also protect the pump from water and crud which extend pump life and reliability.

[AnchorageGuy]

Christian, A poll will give you the "opinion" of different folks but won't give you the proper way to do something. Look around on a lot of boats and you will see things done wrong. That does not mean you should do it wrong just because someone else does.When installing these things correctly, go with manufacturers recommendations and check ABYS standards if they apply.

[Christian Van H]

Hi Chuck. I know ya dont know me, but let me assure you I wouldn't do ANYTHING based on a poll. I was just trying to learn more about what works for cruisers on this forum. I was able to turn up this: http://www.usna.edu/sailing/training...uals/racor.pdf

Which pretty much sums up what you were saying earlier. It really makes sense to me, but you must admit that rarely is anything in cruising black and white. Thanks for your input, Chris

[irwinsailor]

My electric pumps are placed after the filters and there have been no problems.

[Chief Engineer]

Follow the intructions from Racor.

or if you just want to fill up the filters...plan out your piping

It could be something like this


Fuel tank........two way valve...................two way valve............Racor


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxInline Filter Electric Pump

the x's are used for spacing only