Installing a new Racor 500 on an E32

[vanilladuck]

Refitting the fuel supply system on Rumour this weekend and trying to figure out how to mount the new Racor 500 in the same location as the old Racor 220R -- behind the engine just below the sliding board in the aft quarter-berth. Here's the current layout of primary filter and pump:



Curious how others have mounted the Racor 500?

I was thinking that current mount is solid enough, maybe I can drill some holes in a 1/8" metal strip to mate the new 500 to the existing mount. I'll be replacing all the metal fuel lines with 5/16" ID (Trident 365 A1-15) fuel hoses, putting a Facet Cube electric lift pump (FAC-40106), and brass fuel fittings. From what I've gathered this is a pretty standard setup nowadays for this boat

 

[Christian Williams]

The spin-on is awkward there, and I concluded that a 500 there would be too awkward.

It's an easier filter to change, however, that's for sure.

 

[vanilladuck]

"Everything is awkward in the aft quarter-berth"

I feel like laser-engraving a placard and mounting it somewhere nearby. Christian, I saw your previous suggestion about putting the 500 somewhere above the engine like on the E381, but I couldn't find a place which would allow other common engine tasks.

I made a trip to Home Cheapo and got a 1/8" thick x 1.5" wide aluminum bar and stainless steel fasteners. Aluminum is nice as it's easy to drill and cut. I filed down the edges, corners, and holes. Visions of scraping my arm open during a filter change vanished from my mind to make room for other yet unknown injuries.



Aluminum is also rust resistant, but we know what happens when you put stainless and aluminum together. Even though this is in the engine bay, I put a drop of Tef-Gel on the threads of the bolts.



So, now the thing is mounted. As Christian noted, filter changes will be easy. But it's still problematic to drain the bowl. And now there might be a new problem: accessing the stuffing box for adjustments (yes, I'm one of those holdouts who won't move to a PSS).



So, now I'm thinking about mounting a piece of wood with L-brackets on the platform holding the water heater. I can use the quarter-berth engine cover rail to help support it. This would move the filter further aft, keeping it out of the way of the stuffing box. Still easy to change filters. Easier to drain the bowl. Fuel lines would need to be a bit longer, but wouldn't impact the elevation of the 'lift' from the tank.



Might this cause issues if I ever need to work on the water heater? Access from the starboard lazarette might help and is probably the exit path anyway. Of course this makes me wonder if adjusting the stuffing box from the lazerette is possible. Further.. down.. the rabbit hole...

 

[Christian Williams]

That works great, and I almost did it (and I have yet to need to drain the bowl on my Racor 500).

I did a lot of work on the 32-3 rudder from the lazarette, so access to the stuff box shouldn't be a problem. I often moved the water heater aside to gain contortion room. And anyhow, if the 500 ever really is an obstruction to work, you can just move it aside temporarily.

 

[Kenneth K]

What was the problem with the old Racor 220R?

 

[vanilladuck]

What was the problem with the old Racor 220R?

I noticed a few things about the entire pre-engine-block fuel supply system:

1. The spin-on filters are tough to change. I wanted easier changes.
2. Fuel lines were still solid metal. I've heard stories about these cracking and causing issues.
3. The one non-metal fuel line was pinched in a hose clamp holding the heat exchanger. Who knows how long it's been like that. Seems bad to be pinched.
4. The fuel pump, while functional, was very rusted over.

Upon disassembly, I noticed a tag on the inside of the spin-on filter that read "01/89"

 

[vanilladuck]

I went ahead and changed the location of the Racor 500. I'm not very good at fabricating things. I'm happy I got experience doing this twice this weekend -- even if it was for the same task. The mount is made of oak, stainless steel L-brackets and tee-nuts for easy wrenching from the front.



The contents of the bowl can be seen at a glance and it's easier to work on being in direct line of sight.



There's more room round the stuffing box and I think I can tuck the fuel hoses, pump and shutoff valve neatly under the quarter-berth panel rail.

 

[Kenneth K]

Yeah, I really need to put in a Racor--I still have the old Fram unit. I like the size of the Racor 220 better, but I hear people don't like them. The 500 just seems too big for the small engine compartment of the E32. Stuck in that conundrum, I continue to do nothing.

Yours is as good an installation as I've seen.

 

[vanilladuck]

Thanks Ken! Maybe this is good material for a blog post when it's finished.

It's too bad Parker/Racor doesn't make a smaller version of the 500 with the same geometry and top-loading feature.

 

[vanilladuck]

While I'm overthinking everything with this install.. wondering if it would be reasonable to run the egress fuel lines from the 500 to the starboard side of the engine bay and mount the lift pump over there as well? I'll be rewiring my engine instrument panel soon, so running a new wire is already expected.

Typically, I've seen the fuel lines and pump run back on the port side near the quarter-berth and then cross the engine block to get to the secondary filter. This usually means the lines are run near hot things: exhaust manifold, heat exchanger, etc. This would make a straight shot into the secondary filter. I know the muffler is also hot, but maybe a little cooler since it has seawater mixed in. I'm reading through ABYC standards currently.. suggestions welcome!

 

[bigd14]

Looks like a solid, well thought out install.

One thing I noticed in the second photo that has nothing to do with the fuel filter, is a line stored in the background that looks like it could slide into the prop shaft area in rough seas. I am sensitive to this because awhile back I went to have a look back there and found one of my extra fender lines draped across the prop coupler. Luckily it wasn't a hard lesson!

 

[Kenneth K]

I am sensitive to this because awhile back I went to have a look back there and found one of my extra fender lines draped across the prop coupler.

PSS shaft seals don't like being wrapped in lines tangled around the prop shaft--especially on long holiday weekends.....

 

[Kenneth K]

While I'm overthinking everything with this install.. wondering if it would be reasonable to run the egress fuel lines from the 500 to the starboard side of the engine bay and mount the lift pump over there as well? I'll be rewiring my engine instrument panel soon, so running a new wire is already expected.

Typically, I've seen the fuel lines and pump run back on the port side near the quarter-berth and then cross the engine block to get to the secondary filter. This usually means the lines are run near hot things: exhaust manifold, heat exchanger, etc. This would make a straight shot into the secondary filter. I know the muffler is also hot, but maybe a little cooler since it has seawater mixed in. I'm reading through ABYC standards currently.. suggestions welcome!

I've seen lots of engine compartment photos that look like this--with fuel pump and filter on the stbd side (although, maybe some have the fuel tank to stbd as well).



I think this was standard configuration on many boats. The facet gold pumps advertise 12-24" of dry lift, so I think they're pretty forgiving on location.

 

[vanilladuck]

Thoughts

Good call on the lines. I've been meaning to relocate them or lash them down to prohibit their mobility inboard towards the spinning things. If that photo scares you, save the next one for Halloween..



This is looking down in the starboard lazerette of the E32. I'm thinking of routing the fuel lines through this section. Red shows the Groco FV-250 shutoff valve and the blue shows fuel direction from the 500. The lift pump would be mounted just under and beyond that particle board divider which happens to be next to the electric fresh water pump from the holding tanks. Then it's a short run under the galley sink to the secondary filter.

I'm liking this location as I'd be able to shutoff the fuel supply from the cockpit if needed and without needing to remove any engine covers. The valve itself would be down out of the way of stuff and things and feet when working in the laz.

 

[Teranodon]

Like a lot of folks here, I went over to the Racor 500. Here's a heads-up. The input and output ports require a special fitting for a hose barb connection. It uses an O-ring to make the seal. It has to be ordered separately (at least from Defender).

 

[debonAir]

I also upgraded from Fram to the 500 (bought slightly used on craigslist) and yes, had to get new hose fittings for the unit. Also built a bracket arm for it and installed it on stbd side with bracket attached to the garbage can box so easy to get to the filter top from laz.

Other notes from the experience:

1 - You need to get the 500 unit with the metal can under the sight glass to meet current ABYC standards. The metal can helps divert fire-heat from melting fuel bowl in theory.

2 - I replaced all the fuel lines in the boat with rubber fuel hose during the job. Some of the copper lines I took out had actual kinks in them which quickly formed cracks when I gently bent the tube back. yikes! glad they lasted until now but I would now consider old copper fuel lines a ticking time-bomb.

3 - I had to take the banjo bolt off the high pressure fuel pump to replace the fuel line to it. There is a crush washer under the banjo that I didn't now about and it had fallen out and wasn't there when I re-assembled leading to a little fuel leak. I found the washer lying on the pump and that fixed the leak, but crush-washers are usually a use-once-only thing so you might want to order one (or get it from your local Kubota dealer) before heading to the boat with new fuel hose.

4 - The little can lift pump thing is no whimp like I thought.. it can move a LOT of fuel, I was really surprised listening to the thing clicking really fast and watching the racor fill with fuel quickly. When in slowed down, but still clicked a lot more often than "normal" was what led me to discover the leak mentioned above.. click-frequency is a great cue.

5 - The 500 unit I got was on craigslist because the installer (prof. mechanic) found it couldn't keep up with the fuel flow of the engine it was used for and they needed a larger unit!!! Made me glad to have sails . On the other hand, the mechanism these filters use to separate fuel and water (the "turbine") depends on a strong fuel flow to work which we are certainly not coming close to at the gallons-per-season rate we have vs. the gallons-per-minute rate they are designed for. That said, the water should separate just from gravity for us and changing the oversized filter is super easy and convenient and the sight glass is a nice feature, so no regrets.

6 - Between the slow leak I made and the spills from changing the secondary spin-on fuel filter at the back of the engine, and the spills from bleeding the fuel system to the pump I ended up with probably more then two cups of diesel fuel all over the engine on the stbd side. While I generally find "Simply Green" to be an OK but not really effective cleaner, that's what I had, and I poured it and sprayed it all over the engine and area, let it sit for a while, then washed off with a hose, then vacuumed up the residue (thanks Harbor Freight shop vac for giving your life to the cause!!!). It worked wonders and years of lingering diesel smell disappeared overnight. This was perhaps the highlight discovery of the whole fuel supply upgrade job.

 

[Christian Williams]

Beyond convenience, another issue of the 200-series Racor is that the cast aluminum body is subject, after all these years, to developing hairline cracks. They are almost impossible to recognize with the eye, because such a crack doesn't leak anything--it admits air.

Any original 200-series Racor is worth a close look should fuel line issues arise. It's probably at the end of its life, and they're not very expensive.

 

[vanilladuck]

Great notes @debonAir -- I had a leaky banjo bolt too, but it wound up being a piece of engine fairy dust or something. Because after I cleaned the banjo and the crush washer, it sealed back up nicely. I'm going to have try your Simple Green trick!

I finished the install of the Racor 500 yesterday and took the boat out today. I did not proceed with my plan of routing the fuel lines and shutoff to starboard. Once I really looked, there wasn't enough room to mount the Facet cube lift pump. It still turned out pretty nice.



I got some practice drilling pilot 5/64" pilot holes and 'countersinking' with a 3/8" bit to avoid cracking the gel coat when landing the #8 screws.

I also found an easy way to run the lift pump: using an alligator clip test lead I jumped the starter post to the alternator exciter (since the lift pump and alternator EXC wires are joined to the key switch in the cockpit). When I need the pump to stop I can quick pull the lead from the starter post and it's within arm's reach.

Engine is purring away and I'm now free from concern about dirty fuel [for now].

One more artifact I thought I would share. When I changed out the secondary filter, this is what it looked like:



Anyone know what the goopy rusty brown stuff is? I'm assuming it's bad. Very bad even.

 

[Loren Beach]

Regarding finding a washer to fit and seal a banjo fitting, I found a solution for a fitting on our prior engine, using a "bonded seal" washer.
Mentioned here: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/ubs/hurth-17-mm-drain-plug-washer.213/

 

[cdesopo]

The brown rusty stuff is likely diesel fuel algae/bacteria sludge. You'll probably want to check the tank. I believe it grows as a result of water getting in the fuel.