Fuel flow diagram - this look right?

[methridg]

EDIT: I shouldn't say "does this look right", obviously you guys have no idea if it's right or not. I should have said, "Does this look reasonable? Does it make sense?"
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So I spent an hour or so crawling around down in the engine compartment (or "playpen" as my wife now calls it) mapping out the fuel flow for Satori. 34' Taiwanese trawler with a single Volvo Penta. This is my first experience with any diesel larger than a 3-cylinder Universal in a big sailboat, so I'm trying to understand how everything works together and where issues may crop up.

I'm 95% I got it all captured correctly. Can you guys take a look at this and let me know if something looks out of place or backwards? Also open to any suggestions to make things better/safer/etc.

Thanks in advance.
-Mike

 

[Heron]

Looks good to me...Not unlike my set-up.....

I don't run the pump unless balancing tanks or filtering fuel..

 

[MYTraveler]

I think you should be able to select which tank the fuel returns to. If I understand your diagram, all fuel returns to stbd and flows (or perhaps overflows) from there to port.

There should be valves on the supply side so you can select which tank to draw from.

While you are at it, you might want to put a pump between the tanks so you can move fuel from one to the other for balance.

 

[menzies]

Some questions.

Is that a vacuum gauge or a pressure gauge by the Racors?

Why the Walbro in line pump - is this a transfer pump or a fuel pump for the engine?

The line just under the check valve by the starboard tank - that seems to allow return fuel to run back to the engine rather than the tank?

You don't seem to be able to select which tank to draw from - especially if one is low to stop any sludge? They are both always on?

No generator?

 

[Lou_tribal]

Some questions.

Is that a vacuum gauge or a pressure gauge by the Racors?

Why the Walbro in line pump - is this a transfer pump or a fuel pump for the engine?

The line just under the check valve by the starboard tank - that seems to allow return fuel to run back to the engine rather than the tank?

From what I understand the pump should be used as a priming pump but I may be wrong.
I also do not understand the line below that check valve.

 

[Brooksie]

I would offer:
Show all ball valves
Balance line on tanks will increase any list your vessel already may have.
Fuel should be drawn from bottom openings so that water and junk will end up in filters instead of tank bottoms.
If you have get bad fuel, you will have it in both tanks w/ this setup
If you have a leak in one tank you will not be able to continue on one tank

 

[methridg]

Some questions.

Is that a vacuum gauge or a pressure gauge by the Racors?

Vacuum gauge, and it seems to be non-functional.

Why the Walbro in line pump - is this a transfer pump or a fuel pump for the engine?

Fuel pump for the engine. I supposed I could use this to transfer fuel from the port tank to the starboard tank by closing the appropriate valves, but I could not use it to move fuel from starboard tank to port tank.

The line just under the check valve by the starboard tank - that seems to allow return fuel to run back to the engine rather than the tank?

As far as I can tell, the line directly above the engine (and below that check valve) just siphons fuel off from the high pressure side of the fuel pump and dumps it back into the starboard tank. Thinking about it now, there must be a ball valve there that I didn't notice, otherwise there would be no high-pressure flowing into the engine. This would then allow me to run the fuel pump to transfer fuel from port to starboard tank (but not the other direction). I'll confirm tonight and hopefully update the diagram.

You don't seem to be able to select which tank to draw from - especially if one is low to stop any sludge? They are both always on?

I can select which tank fuel is drawn from. There are valves at all the lines coming from the tanks. I should have included all the ball valves on the diagram.

No generator?

Correct, no generator.

 

[methridg]

I think you should be able to select which tank the fuel returns to. If I understand your diagram, all fuel returns to stbd and flows (or perhaps overflows) from there to port.

That appears to be the case. I agree that I should be able to decide which tank fuel is returned too. I'll see what I can do about this.

There should be valves on the supply side so you can select which tank to draw from.

There are ball valves on all lines leading to/from the tanks. I'll update the diagram to capture this. To your point, I can select which tank fuel is drawn from. Port, Starboard, or both.

While you are at it, you might want to put a pump between the tanks so you can move fuel from one to the other for balance.

I think I can move from port to starboard by running the pump with the engine shut off, and closing the valve that leads directly from tank to tank. As it is now, I don't see any way to move fuel from starboard tank to port tank.

 

[MYTraveler]

I think I can move from port to starboard by running the pump with the engine shut off, and closing the valve that leads directly from tank to tank. As it is now, I don't see any way to move fuel from starboard tank to port tank.

The pump that allows you to move from port to starboard is probably bi-directional, allowing starboard to port.