Installing Parallel Primary Fuel Filters

[Gary Wyngarden]

One of my winter projects is to install a parallel primary fuel filter with an either/or switch so my engine can keep running if the initial filter clogs as it did on me out on the ocean last summer. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions including design and componentry from anyone who has done this. (I've already checked the archives but didn't find whaat I was looking for.)Thanks for your help.Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust h37.5

 

[larry w]

dual filters

I have a dual filter set-up on my boat, a '94 Beneteau OC400. I didn't install it, tho, the PO did, when the factory Perkins filter began to leak like Swiss cheese at the rolled seam. (It amazes me still that Perkins used a rolled seam in a steel filter case. Didn't they learn anything from the Germans in the war) Anyway, if you like I could take a pic of it tomorrow and post it. Basically it's a fuel line coming from the tank, into a T, plumbed to two Racor filters, whose outputs are valved to another T, which goes to the engine lift pump.

 

[Ahansom]

Racor

Check Ebay for one of these. I got one that was new for under $200 last year. The filter elements cost less than the spin on type and are esier to change. It also lets you change filters with the engine running if needed

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Might I suggest something a bit different

the set up I'm going to install on Anthem is also dual Racor 500s except that they'll be mounted in series with a day tank between. I'l increase my tankage (by a little) and also insure that if I take on a bad load I'll still be able to move a bit with what I've got "pre-filtered" in the day tank. If I've got a 20 gallon day tank that I always keep at least half full then I'll always have ten gallons to motor on when I realize I've got a problem. I'll also mount a vacuum gauge and pump just downstream of each filter so I can monitor each at will. I can graduate the filtration specs which will spread the filtration load between three rather than one or two. I'll keep the engine filter as a very fine third (tertiary?) filter.Just a thought.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Oh yeah, one more thing

with a return line plumbed between the two tanks I gain the ability to polish my fuel any time I wish whether the engine's running or not. Pretty cool, huh?... anyway ... I'm just up WAY too late listening to jazz on the headphones, drinking good coffee and thinking of WAY too many ways to spend money I don't have...

 

[RichH]

Rick ----

A return line simply doest have the flow capacity to 'polish' the fuel. A recirculation system is dependent on high flow rate (1-3 gal. per MINUTE) 'turnover' of a tank. If you are intending to polish via a 'return line' it would be infinitely better / cheaper to just add LARGER (surface area) filters to your primary/secondary filter set. For Dual parallel primary / secondary delivery line filters its better to avoid three-way valves. Three way valve will prevent the 'changed' filter to be properly bled AND will prevent BOTH filters to be used simultaneously. Better to use such filters BOTH on-line and simply lock out the filter that you are changing -- greatlly reduces the velocity through each filter (so you dont extrude 'deformables'/gels, etc.) and results in longer total on stream life .... by about 30-50%. Use a simple cock-valve upstream and downstream of each filter - 2 per filter. ;-)

 

[Rick Sylvester]

So high flow capabilities on the tank return

with a honkin' pump if necessary. There'd be no three-way valves in the series I'm thinking of. Just thinking and writing out loud.

 

[Gary Wyngarden]

RichH

I like the idea of having a shutoff capability both upstream and downstream of each filter. However, I don't understand why the use of a cock valve will permit "proper" bleeding and a three-way valve will not. It seems to me when you change a clogged filter and open up that leg of the filtration system to the fuel pump, you're going to introduce air to the engine and that's going to require bleeding in either case--hopefully after you've made it comfortably back to the dock or an anchorage.Am I missing something?Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust h37.5

 

[Gregg18039]

Space and heat concerns

I just finished upgrading my fuel system on my 35’ Oday to a parallel switchable system using tee valves. Space and heat were my major concerns. Not only will you need enough room to accommodate your filters but you will need working room to spin off the filters and to drain the water out the bottom. The Racor filters I selected allow the use of a ¼” hose for drainage which works extremely well. Also, consider room above the filter to allow use of the primer pump on the top or the filter. Heat is also a concern. The manufacturers specify metal casings with no see through bowls if located in the engine compartment. So, the relative location of your filter system should be examined.Additionally, I plumbed in a check valve with a petcock (post fuel pump) for extracting filtered fuel for other uses. In my case, I will be installing a diesel furnace, but it could also be used to prime a filter if need be.Good luck. You’ll be standing on your head while working on this but it’s worth the effort.B KRAZY

 

[Stu Jackson]

Gary, do you get Latitude 38?

Just saw an ad in the December issue for a company that makes pre-assembled fittings, see page 139, Filterboss, www.ktisystems.com

 

[RAD]

Stu,

Great site!, wish I knew about it last year before I spent the time building my set up, price for some of the equipment is reasonable compared to the time I spent getting the materials and then figuring out how to put it all together and I still haven't installed the labels on the valve handles so when I go and look at it I have to stare at for a moment and follow hose's to figure out what valve does what (I think I'll go look for the Brother P touch)

 

[Buck2796]

Gary

Are you just looking for a less expensive way than Racor's 75500Max ??http://www.marinefilters.com/productdetails.php?number=1&modelnumber=W75500MAX

 

[Cap'n Ron]

Wix ~ Fix

Parallel circuits for fuel-filters is a good idea, especially if you incorperate a day/topper tank that is gravity feed.Get Wix housings or crossvers, as they are every bit as good as Racor, less expensive by a long shot, and easy to come by in other countries, espec South Pacific.Most fishermen have the parallel circuit so they can continue to power as they change filters on the fly; mount in the safest place you can on a bulkhead away from batteries as per ABYC standards and USCG CFR regs.BTW Mr Jackson, you do not have to register a dink with an engine on, not if it is a tender for your mother ship or sailboat.

 

[Gary Wyngarden]

Stu

Yes I do subscribe to Latitude 38, but I'm too cheap to pay for first class postage so I don't have my December issue yet. That said, thanks for the web site reference. It looks like a good source, though I'm not sure a want to spend the money on a Filterboss.Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust h37.5

 

[Cap'n Ron]

The 'day' tank

Fer all youse fellas that are afraid to ask ~A topper-tank, say 12 to 25 gallons, don't want TOO much weight up high. Gives you more USABLE fuel.When running in a sea, you can EASILY suck air in a diesel engine, has happened to me twice with half a tank (forget baffels) this fuel gets AIRBORNE and the pick-up pull air, blup no engine then you have to bleed injectors not fun in a trough is where you ALWAYS end up.With the topper, you keep it full or pretty full by the flick of a switch and so will not suck air.This lets you suck the tanks dry as you could in a truck cruising down I-5...;-)

 

[Gary Wyngarden]

Buck

Thanks for the suggestion. I do hope to get by less expensively than that, but we'll see.Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust h37.5

 

[Stu Jackson]

Not cheap, Gary

Just being a frugal sailor! I haven't even looked at the website, just noticed it in relation to your question, hope it helps. Geez, you guys must be getting some really dirty fuel given your stories and concerns. Are you sure you're not really hanging out in Baja and not the PNW?Capt Ron - Hmm, about the dinghy registration. I was under the impression, perhaps incorrect, that any boat with a motor on it in CA had to be separately registered. If you're right, then how come almost everyone I see with dinghies have registration numbers on their motorized dinghies? Can we ALL be that willing to pony up unnecessarily to Sacramento?

 

[Gary Wyngarden]

Stu II

Stu,I don't think the fuel is terribly dirty. The only time I've had a problem is out on the ocean last summer when we were pounding into a nasty chop. I think we just stirred up 15 years of accumulated crud off the bottom of the tank and it really messed with the Racor and the engine rpm's.As previously reported, we got in ok. I just want to have an easy option to switch out to if this recurs.Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust h37.5