Day tank questions

[KandD]

here is a some-what silly question:
I'm going to switch to a portable Day tank until I get my fuel polisher online and the fuel cleaned up. Everything I have found so far is for gas engines, so they have a source line only. Do they make "Diesel" day tanks with both lines, or should I drill and fit a return line to what I can find?

Also, Is there a good way to prime the system? I feel if I hook it up, there will be air in the line and I don't want to have to bleed the system?

 

[Ed Schenck]

If you use a 6-gallon Tempo outboard tank you will not have to bleed. Cut off the outboard engine connector and connect the hose to the input of the Racor. A couple of squeezes to make the bulb hard and it will start right up.

A return line into the tank should not be difficult. http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/cart.cgi?group=71407&child=71408

 

[Steve Dion]

Instead of messing around with a day tank, why don't you just setup for polishing system on the boat.

You can purchase a Racor filter or two and put the pump in the circuit.

http://www.jthelectronics.com/produ...search&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=mm_seo

If you tee into the line coming out of the tank and then tee back into the return line you will be able to clean your own fuel.

If I were you, I would just dispose of the old fuel, clean out the tank the best you can and install the polishing system.

Two Racor 120's and the pump will run you about $600.

...or you can buy a complete kit

http://www.parkerfuelpolishing.com/parkerenergy/download/FPM_Kits.pdf

 

[Steve Dion]

Depending on which engine you have, some of them are self bleeding.

I just installed a dual filter system on my Hunter Vision 36 (3JH2E). We filled the filters with fuel by opening the fuel shut off and opened the bleed screws. Then we cranked the starter and it started and ran for over 30 minutes without a burp.

 

[KandD]

There is a thread going in the "Ask all Sailors" about fuel polishing a few days back. For my system, the pump was $40, the filter housing will be $20-$50 and filters at less then $5 each. The other thread goes into detail about design, filter size, ext.

I have two tanks, 25 and 35 gallons, and won't be going through that anytime soon. Also, there aren't access panels in the tanks. All in all, the fuel polishing system will take a good solid weekend to install, and a day tank about 20 min. So this will let me do it in stages, but take the boat out without stressing over the engine.

In addition, once I have the day tank, I can ensure that the immediate fuel supply is good and clean. This means that I can polish my large tanks, then pump it into the day tank and not worry about the main tanks getting stirred up while underway and clogging the filters before I'm able to cut in access panels to give them a good cleaning.

 

[Vinny]

So let me see if I understand. You have two tanks on a Hunter 40 right now. Where is the second tank? Now you want to add a day tank of of some size and where are you going to keep or install it?

You stated there are no inspection holes and this is true in the original tank, I can't speak for the second tank because that was installed after the boat was built. Why not just pull out the second tank, put in an inspection plate, clean it out, have a good filter system on board and then later do the original tank the same way. Although you won't be able to just pull the original tank, it is tabbed in, you can put an access hole on the side of the tank and clean your heart out. I would just pull the second tank and clean the original and be done. 38 gals is more than enough for this boat. That is two and one half days of run time. So unless you are on some trek somewhere (which can be done with Gerry cans) there is no need for another 25 gals of fuel. Non usage of fuel is the biggest problem of a sail boats fuel supply.

 

[Steve Dion]

... or why not just pump out all of the fuel and refill with new fuel.

You can suck the crap out of the bottom of the tank by removing the fuel pick up and using a suction pump to remove the crud on the bottom.

West Marine sells an inexpensive Baja filter that will clean the old fuel if you do not want to dispose of it.

If you are going to add a day tank how are you going to deal with the fuel return line?

 

[KandD]

The PO started getting into offshore racing and wanted the second tank. The second tank is in the the same compartment as the first (stern of the boat behind the aft cabin). It also is permanently affixed to the boat, so I can't remove it. I do plan to eventually add the access panels and scrub them, but I don't have the time to undertake that project right now and it has been blue skies and 70 this week, so I'm going sailing tomorrow.

The day tank is 6 gallons and going under the stairs right now, but will be moved into the aft compartment with the other tanks. The PO put in 3-way valves when installing the second tank, so I can choose between Port, Starboard, and Day. He connected short hoses to that position, so I'll run long one aft when I do the rest.

I can't throw away that much fuel and wouldn't know how to go about doing that anyways. Our marina said they can't take Diesel, only oil and bilge water. It's also a lot of money, less then the fuel polishing system I'm piecing together (about the same if you add in the day tank).