fuel lines

[legacychris]

My 1993 Hunter 40.5 has the original equipment fuel lines for the diesel engine. I inspect them regularly and they continue to look and feel to be in good condition. I am pretty sure they are not USCG Type A1 because I can't see any such designation on the llines and because they would have been installed in 1992.
My question is: Should I be at all concerned about the age of these fuel lines? Is it OK to continue to monitor their condition and have them replaced if they show any signs of deterioration or is that too late?
Thanks

 

[Warren Milberg]

While I am a big fan of, and believe in, preventive maintenance, I am also of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school. I know, these two philosophies don't mix well. Since everything on our boats has a mean-time-to-failure rate, an owner could wind up replacing everything long before whatever that time is. Not very practical. In my view, you are doing it just right: continue to be concerned, continue to monitor your lines, replace stuff when it shows signs of wearing out. Most items will "tell you" about their illness long before they die. Keep looking and listening. I think most problems occur when an owner stops listening or ignores those cries for help from the engine room.

 

[jtm]

CG approved fuel lines- You know I'd replace those lines simply for insurance reasons. Although we are talking diesel here, the gasoline lines are even more critical to be CG approved - as I've "heard" that if there's a fire on the boat, the ins. co looks at the fuel lines and if not CG approved can take the opportunity to walk away on the claim. You may want to check that out further.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Check the ends...

of your fuel lines where they are clamped down onto a fitting as they tend to deteriorate first from the compression and vibration. If the ends have become soft, it's time to cut an inch or so off and reclamp if the line's long enough to have slack enough to do that. If the line itself is feeling soft, it's time to to a complete replacement. Otherwise, go sailing!

 

[Dan Johnson]

My comment above...

doesn't apply to just fuel lines. After a four hour motor run down the NE River, across the Bay and down the Sassafras River to Georgtown yesterday (naturally what little wind there was was on the nose, contrary to the NOAH forecast), I found the engine bilge half filled with clear water. There was a steady drip from the bottom of the hose coming out of the raw water pump going up to the heat exchanger.

What I found was that the end of the hose clamped onto the raw water pump had softened and was leaking past the hose clamp. Cutting off about an inch of the end of the hose solved the problem as there was no drip on the return trip.

Moral: check all hoses and clamps periodically!