Adding an electric fuel lift pump on older Hunter's with Yanmar diesels,

[Scott NIelsen]

I had a similar issue with fuel starvation on a previous boat I owned. After doing all the filter changes, bleeding etc. not fixing the problem I ended up replacing all the old/original fuel hoses from fuel tank to filter to pump and problem solved. What I discovered was that the old fuel line inside wall was collapsing from the vacuum created from the fuel pump suction. Symptom was engine would run at idle with no issue. However, when throttle was increased it would stall from fuel starvation. Just sharing my past fuel experience. On my current boat, 1996 Hunter 37.5 with a 3JH2E, I built a dual fuel filter system that only requires positioning a couple of valves to switch between the unused filter and clogged filter. It allows changing filter without all the bleeding issues. it cost me about 1/3 the price of anything I found on the market that does the same thing. I included photos. I found all the parts I needed on Ebay or Amazon.

 

[Globe Pilot]

Where did you find the specs for what pressures to change filters at?

 

[jssailem]

I wrote an article about fuel filtering and polishing.

BAD FUEL can spoil your day

Here we are in the middle of winter beginning to plan our next sailing season. Maybe we are new to using a boat with an inboard engine. Some of us have years of mechanical experience so we know. Some are facing the idea of being alone in the water with a dead engine for the first time. We...

forums.sailboatowners.com

The Keenan Filter system is the whole package in a compact format.

 

[Scott NIelsen]

I do not remember exactly. What I remember doing is looking/taking a picture of a vacuum gauge on one of those expensive ones at the Annapolis sailboat show and used that as my guide for using a sharpie to color the gauge. Hasn't failed me yet. I bet you can go online and find a picture of one of the gauges to verify where the vacuum pressures are on a gauge. I have only changed one of the filters since installation. Having said that, it is rare for me to put even 50-100 hours on my engine in a year. When I bought my boat the engine hour meter had around 150 hours on it. When I changed the oil last I think it had around 400 hours, that's if memory serves. I do keep a log of boat use including maintenance and costs. Next time on boat I verify engine hours. My boat is a 1996 Hunter 37.5.

 

[Scott NIelsen]

Look what I found online. Author of the article is Steve D'Antonio. I think this may be a picture of the gauge I used for the marks on my DIY fuel filtering. And, what do you know, it's made by Racor.