Building a fuel polisher-How to...

[J's Dream]

I am constantly going through racors on my 892N's, when i bought the boat there was about 300 gallons of diesel that had sat for well over a year. The fuel is black, and I treated it with PRI-D. Before I go out and burn this anymore than I have to, I would like to install permanently a fuel polisher. I know that a few of you on the forum have done this, and I would love to get your input and maybe some pictures. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys...

 

[Genesis]

Take a look at what I did with the fuel system on Gigabite.

IMHO its the best option out there. You get rid of the RACORs, but you could do this WITH Racors - but you're gonna go through a LOT of filter elements doing it that way....

There's an article on BoatDiesel about it that I wrote for the site..... I think there's also a copy of it here somewhere, but not sure where......

 

[Liquid Asset]

I did something similar to Karl. The difference is that I used an RCI filter and an algae X and then used the Fleetguard FS1000. I like the Fleetguard a lot and would do it the same way over again. I can snap a picture if you want. It cost less than $1000 for the whole deal. I mounted it on a piece of starboard that I cut to fit and then fitted everything up at the house and took it to the boat and mounted it to the bulkhead in the engine room.

 

[MikeP]

I made a portable system that could easily be permanently mounted. It simply consists of a Gulfcoast F-1 filter - a huge filter with tons of filter capacity and an 80+ ounce water sump - and a holley 87GPH elec fuel pump. I orginally made it to "vacuum" the fuel tanks in my previous boat with exactly the same problem you are describing. It did the job perfectly and I never had another problem. I still have the unit sitting in the garage mounted on a piece of plywood. Here's a pic of it, surrounded by various "junk." On the boat you would permanently mount the filter and pump wherever conveniant.

 

[J's Dream]

I made a portable system that could easily be permanently mounted. It simply consists of a Gulfcoast F-1 filter - a huge filter with tons of filter capacity and an 80+ ounce water sump - and a holley 87GPH elec fuel pump. I orginally made it to "vacuum" the fuel tanks in my previous boat with exactly the same problem you are describing. It did the job perfectly and I never had another problem. I still have the unit sitting in the garage mounted on a piece of plywood. Here's a pic of it, surrounded by various "junk." On the boat you would permanently mount the filter and pump wherever conveniant.

Mike,

Your setup is just what I am looking for. At this point, I'm not ready to tackle the entire revamp of my fuel system, although in the future I will certainly follow in Karl's footsteps. Where did you run your lines into the tanks for pickup? And did you simply return "polished fuel" back through the fill hoses? I am hoping to take what you have created and build it into the boat permanently. Thanks for the help,

Jason

 

[Genesis]

The F1 is a GREAT filter, BUT its freaking huge!

There's nowhere to put it on Gigabite. If there had been, I would have used it.

 

[J's Dream]

The F1 is a GREAT filter, BUT its freaking huge!

There's nowhere to put it on Gigabite. If there had been, I would have used it.

Karl,

Even if I run it through a racor 1000 filter, I think I can get this to clean up...What are your thoughts?

 

[Genesis]

I think you're going to buy a LOT of Racor elements. They just don't hold anything significant before they clog.

The Fleetguard is another matter. It seems to have limitless capacity by comparison. I know it doesn't, but perception is reality sometimes.

I got a full year out of ONE FS1000 Fleetguard cartridge per engine (2 total). I used to run through a CASE of Racor 1000 elements over the same time frame. Frankly, I probably didn't need to change the Fleetguards (restriction was still within spec) but I did this spring anyway.

The other thing to be aware of is that the Racor is a 30 mic element. The Fleetguard is an absolute 7 micron, which is more like the 2 micron Racor element (Racor refuses to publish ASTM-standard-testing method results for their elements.) What this means is that while it will "work", it just isn't going to get as clean as it would with another approach.

The F1, by the way, is a single-micron filter when used properly, but it has very limited flow. You CAN'T use it as a primary; its only good as a bypass (e.g. polishing, bypass oil, etc) filter as it won't flow enough to be usable as a primary inline element.

So in short, yes, the Racor will work, but I'd give consideration to fixing your filter system while you're at this since you're adding the pump anyway.

 

[REBrueckner]

Many use a Walbro pump (I think DEPCO carries them) which has been shown to have great longevity. When you set your system up, be sure any pump draws fuel thru the filter. That way the filter protects the pump from the worst of any crud that may flow with the fuel.

For a tempy polishing system at the dock, you can disconnect the supply and return lines at the tank or at the engine and make your polishing connections where convenient. Or you can remove a tank access port and stick some hoses in there...one supply, one return. But if you do that, be SURE to firmly affix both hoses in place...tie them with a cord, for example...you don't want a hose slipping out during polishing and either ruining your polishing pump or dumping all your fuel in the bilge...
You could even move the intake hose around the bottom of the tank periodically to suck up any muck on the bottom...a "shower head" type attachment would spread the suction and likely do a better "vacuum" job....