No need to bleed!

[Bob 04 H260]

A friend has an older sailboat with a 40 hp Westerbeke diesel. It has an electric fuel pump between the Racor fuel filter and the engine. The fuel pump is energized off the glow plug switch. He can change his filters, press the pre-heat button until the fuel pump stops ticking and then hit the start button and the engine starts. He has never had to bleed the fuel system over many years and many filter changes.
Has anyone else had this experience with an electric fuel pump ? I assume the air gets pumped right through to the fuel tank in the return line. If the engine does not turn over then there should not be any air in the injectors so they do not need get any air in them.

Bob

 

[jimmcgee]

My 1995 Universal Westerbeke 25XP is the same. No bleeding necessary.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Re: No need to bleed !

Bob, all engines are different. The newer M35 engines are "self bleeding" just as you describe. Our older M25 series need to be manually bled, but it's child's play: just turn a small knurled knob and it's done. Electric fuel pumps are very handy. On our boat that electric pump runs all the time.

 

[Maine Sail]

A friend has an older sailboat with a 40 hp Westerbeke diesel. It has an electric fuel pump between the Racor fuel filter and the engine. The fuel pump is energized off the glow plug switch. He can change his filters, press the pre-heat button until the fuel pump stops ticking and then hit the start button and the engine starts. He has never had to bleed the fuel system over many years and many filter changes.
Has anyone else had this experience with an electric fuel pump ? I assume the air gets pumped right through to the fuel tank in the return line. If the engine does not turn over then there should not be any air in the injectors so they do not need get any air in them.

Bob

I know that it is easy to do but that is a good way to toast glow plugs....

Instead unplug the positive wire of the fuel pump and use a test lead with alligator clip to jump to the hot side of the solenoid. When the clicking of the fuel pump slows, you're done... Alternatively re-wire the switch panel so that glow is not a required prerequisite for starting....

With healthy batteries the Westy glow plugs should not require more than about 10 seconds of glow, 15 seconds max. Priming after a filter change, especially if you drained a Racor, can take longer than that and you can burn out glow plugs....

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Thanks for all the information. It sounds like a good idea if you don't toast the glow plugs. I had not seen this feature before and was wondering if it was a custom setup or from the factory. I imagine it is a nice feature if you have a clogged filter in rough weather. I've never had that experience but can imagine the fun bleeding an engine under those conditions.
Bob

 

[zeehag]

my electric assist pump USED to be on all the time..i found my lift pump had ruptured diaphragm when i removed it for repairing.... both fuel pumps were rebuilt..i will keep the electric assist, but i WILL have a shut off, as it MAY have assisted my lift pump failure........perkins 4-108.. see ka lunk....
btw..i bought one electric assist low pressure fuel pump at napa and one from auto zone.......both still work well after 3 yrs and 3000 miles of travel at average 2-3 kts per hour

no glow plugs here.

 

[Gunni]

You have a Yanmar auxiliary right? Never had a need to bleed air on a Yanmar after a fuel filter change, they just fire up.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

You have a Yanmar auxiliary right? Never had a need to bleed air on a Yanmar after a fuel filter change, they just fire up.

Yes, we have a 30GM30F. We don't have an electric pump, the Racor filter has a built in primer pump in the top. We use that to bleed the air out of the filters. So far have never had to bleed the injectors or the high pressure pump. Don't you have to bleed the filters ?

Bob

 

[Gunni]

Yes, we have a 30GM30F. We don't have an electric pump, the Racor filter has a built in primer pump in the top. We use that to bleed the air out of the filters. So far have never had to bleed the injectors or the high pressure pump. Don't you have to bleed the filters ? Bob

I don't, just put new filters in place, crank the engine and she fires right up.

 

[Genesis V]

Looks great if you have control over it so it doesn't threaten other parts. I saw a systems that has a electric fuel pump that not only assist in changing filters but pumped fuel from one tank to a second tank through a Racor filter so they can scrub fuel in case of contamination. Some people look for simpler solutions, a fellow on our dock cut his fuel line and installed a primer bulb like those found on a outboard gas tank, he says he can change his filter in 3 minutes