DHeckrotte
Guru
I've been obsessing about the forward end of our ER:
The two engine Racors are on the forward bulkhead but outboard of the forward ends of the engines. Fuel lines and distribution and control valves are also on the forward bulkhead. There is no Racor for the genset. That bulkhead has attracted other installations including the much-discussed macerator pump, the battery charger, and my newly-installed raw water pump and strainer for the toilet. There is roughly 1'-8" between the engines and the bulkhead and that space is crossed, at the bottom, by hoses and through-hulls; wire bundles, battery cables, engine throttle and shift cables, hang everywhere. This is a lousy place for anybody - even the young and flexible - to get into to service the front of the engines!
Since I cannot service the engine's Racors due to my size and physical condition, I've been plotting where to relocate them. Since I've been instructed that 500s are marginally small, I should replace 'em with 900s and use one of the 500s for the genset.
I had been thinking that all that fuel-related stuff might well be located on the forward bulkhead (which is what prompted the thread I started about the macerator pump; it would have to be moved). The Racors would take up about 6" of the available 20" of access space to the front of the engines, and they as well as all the other junk would not be all that comfortable to lean against. That location seems like a lousy idea!
So, looking around the ER, it seems possible that I could mount Racors on the fuel tank enclosures, above the transmissions of the engines. It would mean that I would extend hoses/tubing from the distribution setup on the bulkhead up and aft to the Racors and then forward to the bulkhead and down to the lines leading to the engines and genset. This would mean removing roughly 4' of existing hose/tubing to the existing Racors and adding roughly 10' of tubing/hoses to the new Racors.
Mounting the Racors on the fuel tank enclosures would be easiest and most accessible for service if they ended up in front of the tank cleanout covers. Seems to me that, after I get the tanks cleaned (presumably for the first time in 32 years), no one will be in there again for quite a while and the Racors could readily be dismounted.
Thoughts? Additional length of fuel hose/tubing. Engine front access. Location.
The two engine Racors are on the forward bulkhead but outboard of the forward ends of the engines. Fuel lines and distribution and control valves are also on the forward bulkhead. There is no Racor for the genset. That bulkhead has attracted other installations including the much-discussed macerator pump, the battery charger, and my newly-installed raw water pump and strainer for the toilet. There is roughly 1'-8" between the engines and the bulkhead and that space is crossed, at the bottom, by hoses and through-hulls; wire bundles, battery cables, engine throttle and shift cables, hang everywhere. This is a lousy place for anybody - even the young and flexible - to get into to service the front of the engines!
Since I cannot service the engine's Racors due to my size and physical condition, I've been plotting where to relocate them. Since I've been instructed that 500s are marginally small, I should replace 'em with 900s and use one of the 500s for the genset.
I had been thinking that all that fuel-related stuff might well be located on the forward bulkhead (which is what prompted the thread I started about the macerator pump; it would have to be moved). The Racors would take up about 6" of the available 20" of access space to the front of the engines, and they as well as all the other junk would not be all that comfortable to lean against. That location seems like a lousy idea!
So, looking around the ER, it seems possible that I could mount Racors on the fuel tank enclosures, above the transmissions of the engines. It would mean that I would extend hoses/tubing from the distribution setup on the bulkhead up and aft to the Racors and then forward to the bulkhead and down to the lines leading to the engines and genset. This would mean removing roughly 4' of existing hose/tubing to the existing Racors and adding roughly 10' of tubing/hoses to the new Racors.
Mounting the Racors on the fuel tank enclosures would be easiest and most accessible for service if they ended up in front of the tank cleanout covers. Seems to me that, after I get the tanks cleaned (presumably for the first time in 32 years), no one will be in there again for quite a while and the Racors could readily be dismounted.
Thoughts? Additional length of fuel hose/tubing. Engine front access. Location.