Simple fuel polishing system

[Phil]

I had my share of ethanol problems last year. My filters were getting clogged white powdery substance (aluminum oxide) which some others have also reported. I actually lost a good size gbft and missed a few commercial bass days thanks to this crap...

I replaced my 10 micron Racor with a 2 micron Racor and pretty much reduced the problem. This year I’m one upping the Racor by installing a simple fuel polishing system. (I got the idea from Passage Maker magazine which showed a trawler with an onboard fuel polishing system.) The system consists of an in-line fuel pump ($52) installed on the second Racor outlet port feeding back to the tank via the second pick-up port. That's it. The only tricky part was taking out the anti-siphon fitting and drilling out the ball & spring. I plan to run it when I trailer from the ramp to my house. The bouncy ride will agitate the gas in the tank allowing the pump to pick up and filter more of the crap.

 

[John_Madison CT]

Do you have a model # for the 2 micron Racor? That's the first I heard of a filter for marine use at 2 microns. What are the flow characteristics?

 

[Bryan 2530]

Neat idea! Do you have a link to the article or maybe some part #'s of what you used?

I would think you would want to run the polisher after the boat has been sitting for a while. If it draws from the bottom of the tank then it will pick up any phase separated water first befor it goes back into suspension on the bumpy ride. Where does the polisher draw from? Is it tee'd into the main fuel line?

 

[Phil]

Here’s the links for the head and filter element. There are no 2 micron filter that will fit the 10 micron head so you have to buy the head as well. The 2 micron is for diesel but I ask the girl at Marinefilter and she said that it would work with gasoline. It is rated for 30gph and works fine with my yam 225 efi.

As for the fuel pump, I got it from a local auto parts store—just ask for an off-the-shelf inline fuel pump with 30 gph flow. There’s not much more to the system except to put a shutoff valve on the Racor outlet so it doesn’t divert flow when the engine is running. The polisher draws from the first pickup port on the tank as does the engine.

http://www.marinefilters.com/productdet ... ber=W230R2
http://www.marinefilters.com/filterelem ... ntid=WR20S

 

[TomS]

Phil,

How difficult was it to get to the fuel injector filters?

-- Tom

 

[greatcir]

Phil,

Do you know the gallons/hour on the fuel pump you purchased? Could be you may need to recirculate the contents of your fuel tank a few times to get out the bad stuff. Resaon I say is that I had a fuel polishing system on an old diesel boat to manage the algae and I found I had to run it all night in the marina on shore power to get the filter and the filter bowl to stay clean. I ended up putting a vacuum gauge in front of the filter and a timer on my system.

Looks like your polishing system draws out of the fuel tank where the second outlet is located and goes through the filter then back through the flowscan to the tank so you are a single engine boat?

Did you have the aluminum oxide in your 10 micron filter bowl before you changed to the 2 micron? Just curious to know if I might see the stuff in the bowl of my current Racor 10 micron filter. Sounds like your 10 micron Racor missed the aluminum oxide so it must be smaller than 10 microns which is very small.

Thanks for the great photos of the build up. I am also wondering if the ethanol is eating our aluminum tanks or if it is just cleaning them with the initial shock of ethanol.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Pete

 

[Phil]

>>How difficult was it to get to the fuel injector filters?

It is easier than getting to the vst filter. As I recall, you remove the black plastic air-intake, drain the fuel from the vst tank, and remove 3 bolts holding the fuel rail and remove. Then use the blade of a knife to pry the thimble filter loose.

>>Do you know the gallons/hour on the fuel pump you purchased?

30gph. I have less than 5 gals in it now. I’m going to put about 30 gals in and drive the boat on the trailer on some rough roads for a few hours with the pump on. Then I’ll replace the Racor with a new one.

>>Looks like your polishing system draws out of the fuel tank where the second outlet is located and goes through the filter then back through the flowscan to the tank so you are a single engine boat?

Single engine with kicker. The 1st pickup port goes to the Racor inlet. The Racor has 2 outlets. One outlet goes to the Main engine. The second outlet feeds the polishing pump OR the kicker via 3-way valve. The polishing pump sends the fuel back to the tank thru 2nd pickup port.

>>Did you have the aluminum oxide in your 10 micron filter bowl before you changed to the 2 micron? Just curious to know if I might see the stuff in the bowl of my current Racor 10 micron filter. Sounds like your 10 micron Racor missed the aluminum oxide so it must be smaller than 10 microns which is very small.

Yes the 10 micron filter also had the white stuff. The gas looks cloudy/milky when shaken. I think some of this stuff is dissolved in the gas and will precipitate out at the filters. The vst filter is 3 microns and some of the stuff still ended in the injector filters. If you don’t see any cloudy/milky gas in your 10 micron filter you probably don’t have this problem.

>>I am also wondering if the ethanol is eating our aluminum tanks or if it is just cleaning them with the initial shock of ethanol.

Some guy on the Hull Truth sent the stuff to a lab and found that it was sodium sulphate. Here’s the thread.


http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/thre ... 1&posts=27

 

[John_Madison CT]

I never knew that about the VST filter being 3 microns. Did you get that info from Yamaha ??

Thanks,

John

 

[Porkchunker]

>>Looks like your polishing system draws out of the fuel tank where the second outlet is located and goes through the filter then back through the flowscan to the tank so you are a single engine boat?

Single engine with kicker. The 1st pickup port goes to the Racor inlet. The Racor has 2 outlets. One outlet goes to the Main engine. The second outlet feeds the polishing pump OR the kicker via 3-way valve. The polishing pump sends the fuel back to the tank thru 2nd pickup port.

With twins, I'm out of luck...I need both pickups.

 

[TomS]

Thanks Phil - good to know about getting at the injectors.

-- Tom

 

[jpg1969]

This is becoming a real problem. I had to clean or change my VST filter twice in the last 12 months. If the screen in the VST is a 3 micron filter, why wouldn't Yamaha have the same or better on the primary filter (aka blue canister) to eliminate this issue. A VST filter is around $90 and the gasket for the VST tank is $30 plus the time to do it. Not cheap if you have to do it a couple of times per year.

 

[Phil]

I can't recall where I read about the VST filter being 3 microns but I fairly certain of it. The VST filter can be cleaned and reuse--the material is very tough. I use a tooth brush in a tub of gas to get most of the crud out then I spray it with starter fluid. I bought one new VST filter and I keep the used one as a spare. I must have cleaned the VST filter 8 to 10 times last year and I'll put the spare in and clean the dirty one later. The VST gasket can also be reused. The trick is to not get any gas on it. If you get gas on it, it will expand and will not fit. Andy from Shipyard Marine said if you do get gas on it, put it in a bag of descidents to draw out the gas--I never tried it.