Dual Racor System?

[bigd14]

A reminder of why this project is necessary. Got all fuel hoses and filters removed today except the vent hose which I will need someone with a smaller body to reach some zip ties for me that are keeping it locked in place. Despite my best efforts I managed to get diesel everywhere, what a mess…

 

[bigd14]

FINALLY got the fuel tank access port job done and the tank is back in the boat. Took me three months of (intermittent) work and turned into a bit of a nightmare. The main issue was the top of the tank was very wavy and not at all flat, so I had to make a very robust access port in the style of the Seabuilt system. However, with so many bolts this turned into a big struggle to get them all to fit properly. When I finally got them on and pressure tested the tank the ports held pressure but the fuel gauge did not despite a new gasket.

Tightening the fuel gauge bolts stripped the threads in the tank so I had to manufacture a ring to go on the inside and oversize the bolts and then the bolts wouldn’t tighten from the top since they didn’t fit next to the dial gauge and on and on and on etc., etc, BS. Anyway, it’s done and yes the bolts will protrude a bit above the surface of the cover so I will be using a tick stick to transfer their locations to the cover to cut relief holes.

Long story short it turned into one of my typical boat projects, 3x longer (12x maybe?), 3x more expensive and 3x more complicated than originally envisioned. I’m envious of those of you who were able to do this in a weekend!

 

[N.A.]

My tank now looks the same, after installation of two ports by a (good) local yard. They cleaned the tank when they did that back in Jan.

It is June; I had a fuel tank leak (not related to the yard, I am pretty sure), and pumped it dry... and found a ton of crud. So much it temporarily clogged the cheap hand-pump I was using. This is after 5 months or so with biocide-diesel (comes mixed at the fuel dock.) I've only refilled once, so much of this fuel probably sat there the whole time.

--> My current take is that unless once takes the tank out and washes it with water/detergent more often than every 6 months, having a second Racor is actually a very good idea. I am pretty disappointed (frankly a bit shocked) re: how much crud is in the fuel after such a short time.

[It seems to have been at the top of the fuel, at the fuel/air interface, since none showed up until the tank was nearly empty. I used to charter a lot here, and on rough days the (very well maintained, I should say) charter boats would often lose their engines due to fuel issues. Basically, the floating crud gets mixed deeper into the tank when the fuel sloshes... so if you want to avoid losing your engine right when the wind/waves are high, you need to have no crud. A full tank will reduce sloshing a bit, so that can help too I imagine, though as pointed out in another thread, the E34-2 tank has a good bit (inches) of airspace above the fuel, even when full, since you cant fill above the vent line and it's recessed 1-2" down from the top of the tank in order to fit under the floorboards.]

I don't have room for the second Racor or I would definitely be adding one now. I will also be figuring out how to clean that tank much more often than I ever thought would be necessary; as someone pointed out above, with enough crud in the tank it'll plug filters fast. But I have seen it save a trip before on my friend's Catalina 34, so it can definitely help.

PS: the fuel dregs looked like this. Again, tank was cleaned < 6 months ago and fuel had biocide well mixed. Didn't see any water int he fuel, so I think this is an air-interface growth... maybe. Was floating on top anyway, I think.

 

[Christian Williams]

Really? All that crud seems unlikely in a few months, to me at least. Can you confirm that the yard "cleaned the tank"?

I would interview them and ask to talk to the port installer, and want to know who cleaned it and how, and press the foreman for specifics, and be pleasant but on the warpath.

 

[Dave G.]

Agree with Christian. No way that accumulated in that short of time. When I repaired my tank I did not see any crud after 3 years. So leaves only 2 possibilities; You got some really bad fuel along the way or they didn't clean the tank. Unless you are installing a second pick up and fuel line I don't believe a second filter will guarantee fuel flow. The pickup tube is much larger than the fuel line so the first restriction is where the fuel line connects to the tank. I've had to blow the fuel line back to the tank to clear sludge stuck at the pickup connection So a second filter would not have provided any fuel flow when blockage is up stream. Just another thought in your reasoning for a second filter