Fuel Polishing / Filtration

[DHeckrotte]

Weigh in, please, on fuel polishing services.

I don't have access to the tops of the tanks - hidden by the ceiling tile in this Taiwanese trawler. I presume a jobber can pump the fuel out of the tanks through the fill.

I presume the job is pump the fuel out, filter/clean/polish, and after the tanks are cleaned out, put it back in.

The tanks have large access covers on their sides which appear to never have been opened. I presume one could remove the covers, shovel out the sludge - after having figured out how to deal with the baffles; I presume I have baffles - , and reseal the covers.

I have Racor 500FG filters which are mounted where I cannot reach. The guru who got us going recommended that I buy Racor 900s and use one of the 500s for the genset. At the very least, the existing filters have to be moved, and while out, cleaned before remounting.

 

[dhays]

Weigh in, please, on fuel polishing services.

I don't have access to the tops of the tanks - hidden by the ceiling tile in this Taiwanese trawler. I presume a jobber can pump the fuel out of the tanks through the fill.

I presume the job is pump the fuel out, filter/clean/polish, and after the tanks are cleaned out, put it back in.

The tanks have large access covers on their sides which appear to never have been opened. I presume one could remove the covers, shovel out the sludge - after having figured out how to deal with the baffles; I presume I have baffles - , and reseal the covers.

I have Racor 500FG filters which are mounted where I cannot reach. The guru who got us going recommended that I buy Racor 900s and use one of the 500s for the genset. At the very least, the existing filters have to be moved, and while out, cleaned before remounting.

I have never used a fuel polishing service but your description above sounds about right.

500s seem too small for the filters. I would be happiest with Parallel 900s. That way if one clogs you can easily switch to the other while you are replacing the clogged filter. The filters definitely need to be moved to a place where they are easily serviced.

Since I am both cheap and lazy... I might even consider installing the dual 900s, along with a vacuum gauge on the filters, and then just watch it to see what happens. My engine sends a lot of diesel back to the tanks, which means that I'm running a lot of diesel through the filters just by running the engine. Just using the boat will filter your fuel over time and if you keep an eye on the vacuum gauge and change out the filters as needed, you may get by without polishing. Not that I am recommending that, but given my nature, it is something I would consider for myself.

 

[Donsan]

I have Racor 500FG filters which are mounted where I cannot reach. The guru who got us going recommended that I buy Racor 900s and use one of the 500s for the genset. At the very least, the existing filters have to be moved, and while out, cleaned before remounting.

One of the reasons we sold our Fu Hwa 38' is because I could not reach the Racor 500 filters. The back end of the ER was just a terrible location. I thought about buying the dual 900's but other things came up so we sold the boat.

 

[Tom.B]

My opinion is that for slow sucking engines, Raycor 500's are fine, but definitely move them to a very accessible point!

Regarding your polishing question. If you do have access panels, find a fuel service in your area and have them come out and clean your tanks. It will be the best money you spend this year. NOT a fuel polishing service only... Find a tank guy.

Below is the report of when we had it done on our old boat. The very first thing we did when we bought the new bat was to call Craig again and have him clean an inch of gunk out of our relatively young tanks.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s31/skinny-dippins-tank-cleaning-trip-report-6551.html

 

[O C Diver]

Bigger is better. If you choose to upgrade filters to the 900 series, go to the 1000 series. The unit is about 5" taller, the cost is $40 to $50 more, the replacement filters are $2 more, and there is twice the filter capacity. If you have twin engines, the single filter per engine would be fine. If you have a single engine, I would go with the dual filter system.

Ted