Proper Electric Fuel Pump Installation - Gasoline/Petrol

[dcarratt]

These pumps from https://www.spxflow.com/en/johnson-p...mpeller-pumps/

are rated for continuous use for diesel and self-prime up to 10ft...provided the impeller is lubricated with the fuel...which I guess it will be except for first use.

[Chotu]

I'll give the Facet pumps a try. I guess the one I'm using right now must be failing in a different way than the others did. The others just had the motor fail. This time, it's making all kinds of noise, but not pumping anything.

Good info. If anyone has a very high quality pump like these to suggest, I'd love to buy it as the safety of my boat depends on it.

[Bycrick]

I think the large, cylindrical Facet pumps are common on Westerbeke Gensets. Mine was installed in 1982 and is still working.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by dcarratt

These pumps from https://www.spxflow.com/en/johnson-p...mpeller-pumps/

are rated for continuous use for diesel and self-prime up to 10ft...provided the impeller is lubricated with the fuel...which I guess it will be except for first use.

Those are fuel transfer pumps, and not suitable for feeding an engine fuel.

The "continuous duty" refers to the duty cycle of the motor used. I think you'd find that a vane pump like that would not last long running 24/7 feeding fuel to an engine.

[tekdiver]

Originally Posted by Bycrick

I think the large, cylindrical Facet pumps are common on Westerbeke Gensets. Mine was installed in 1982 and is still working.

I,m thinking having one plumbed in and ready to switch over is a brillant saftey Idea!

[billknny]

Without knowing the details of your boat design... Finding a reliable, self priming fuel transfer pump is a piece of cake, there are lots of them. Tougher for gasoline than diesel, but still...

Have you considered a "day tank" set up higher that could feed the engines directly? With a little cleverness you could have an automated transfer pump turn on at a low level to refill it from the tanks lower down. The "day tank" could be pretty small, a couple hours of running.

[tekdiver]

Originally Posted by billknny

Without knowing the details of your boat design... Finding a reliable, self priming fuel transfer pump is a piece of cake, there are lots of them. Tougher for gasoline than diesel, but still...

Have you considered a "day tank" set up higher that could feed the engines directly? With a little cleverness you could have an automated transfer pump turn on at a low level to refill it from the tanks lower down. The "day tank" could be pretty small, a couple hours of running.

Now that,s Brilliant

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by billknny

Without knowing the details of your boat design... Finding a reliable, self priming fuel transfer pump is a piece of cake, there are lots of them. Tougher for gasoline than diesel, but still...

Have you considered a "day tank" set up higher that could feed the engines directly? With a little cleverness you could have an automated transfer pump turn on at a low level to refill it from the tanks lower down. The "day tank" could be pretty small, a couple hours of running.

I’m hoping to avoid clever solutions. Ha ha ha.

Straight simple, fast, reliable and dumb is what I'm looking for.

Just looking to pump gasoline up 4ft by suction.

Not looking to create a lot of extra work. I have an entire boat to do and a couple small businesses to run.

Just need to pump gasoline up a 4ft hill by suction.

Note, not to you, but in general: An earlier post with a link to that pump at spxflow said it isn't compatible with fuel.

[wsmurdoch]

The marine equivalent fuel pumps are Walbro with USCG approval. https://www.walbro.com/fr-series-fuel-pumps/

[Mr B]

I bought a couple of these pumps off Fleabay.com
They pump diesel on mine but can pump petrol,
They do work better if you prime them first,
As in wet the inside of the pump with diesel, Lubricate it,
Once primed, They will lift 2 feet on an empty line easily,
They do need a filter before the pump, Essential,
I had algy in my tanks and the stringy gloop stopped the pump from pumping with out any filters on it,
So far, I have had the pump running for 38 hours straight and never missed a beat, In the boat,
But I had one running for 3 days to polish the diesel and get the algy and water out of the diesel,

Pump was $13-00 USD, (Chinese)
The complete filter units were $26-00 USD, 10 microns, (Chinese)
Free international delivery for both,

The first filter catches all the gloop, Algy and water,
The second filter was just a back up, Just in case the first filter Allowed any crap thru,
So far, The second filter has remained clean,
My fuel goes through both filters before the pump,
This is my setup now in my cockpit locker, Easy to get at to clean the filters,

Cheers, Brian,

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Mr B

I bought a couple of these pumps off Fleabay.com
They pump diesel on mine but can pump petrol,
They do work better if you prime them first,
As in wet the inside of the pump with diesel, Lubricate it,
Once primed, They will lift 2 feet on an empty line easily,
They do need a filter before the pump, Essential,
I had algy in my tanks and the stringy gloop stopped the pump from pumping with out any filters on it,
So far, I have had the pump running for 38 hours straight and never missed a beat, In the boat,
But I had one running for 3 days to polish the diesel and get the algy and water out of the diesel,

Pump was $13-00 USD, (Chinese)
The complete filter units were $26-00 USD, 10 microns, (Chinese)
Free international delivery for both,

The first filter catches all the gloop, Algy and water,
The second filter was just a back up, Just in case the first filter Allowed any crap thru,
So far, The second filter has remained clean,
My fuel goes through both filters before the pump,
This is my setup now in my cockpit locker, Easy to get at to clean the filters,

Cheers, Brian,

That's basically what my setup looks like except my fuel pump is AFTER the filter/separators.

Are they handling being pressurized ok?

I thought that was a no no?

[Niall leslie]

- All good suggestions
- I'd check with the insurance company first though to ensure that non spark protected ( non marine rated ) electric fuel pumps are acceptable in a gasoline / petrol marine application. Ditto starter motors, alternators and solenoids or relays. Most insurance companies are very sensitive about that sort of thing.
- Facet make a very wide range of fuel pumps with different lift, pressure and flow capabilities. their products are generally good value for money.
- If using a carburetted engine then first check the acceptable fuel pressure range before choosing the pump model for obvious reasons.
- There should be little issue in finding a suitable pump.
- If too much fuel pressure and resultant leaks are an issue then fuel pressure regulator regulators are readily available.
Cheers,
Niall.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Chotu

That's basically what my setup looks like except my fuel pump is AFTER the filter/separators.

Are they handling being pressurized ok?

I thought that was a no no?

"My fuel goes through both filters before the pump"- Mr B

Sorry Mr B. I misread your post.

[Sparx]

Would a simple squeeze bulb be sufficient to prime the pump? It would take a few more squeezes to push gas through the long vertical rise. Dead simple.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Chotu

That's basically what my setup looks like except my fuel pump is AFTER the filter/separators.

Are they handling being pressurized ok?

I thought that was a no no?

My pump is after the filters, So the pump sucks thru the filters,

Its vacuum in the filters, No pressure involved,

Mine is a dead lift of two feet, Two filters, and about 6 feet of hose, Then the Pump, Feeding the Injector pump on the diesel,

I did have an emergency situation where I had to pump diesel from one tank to the other, Full tank to an empty tank,
For some reason, The full tank would not run the diesel, Maybe a blocked line, ????????? I dont know,

In a violent storm and at night,, I didnt have the time to play with it, It was critical to keep the motor running,

So I used a spare Pump (same Pump) I had and a garden hose to pump the full tank to the empty tank which was working and running the diesel, ,
My inline pump was running the diesel, So I couldnt use that one,
Im glad that I bought the spare pumps, Definately saved my Bacon,
That was a 3 foot dead lift, and about 20 feet of hose, But it was syphoning once it started pumping,