"Jere Lull" wrote

Amending slightly: Roger's experience from lots of turnover indicates to
me that he got some gunky stuff from the supplying fuel tanks. As much as
he burned, there really wasn't that much time to breed the critters
onboard.


I strongly suspect that is the case. One of the last loads of the season
was from a looong marina hose. There was probably the half tank I put in
just in the hose alone which had been sitting out in the sun since the last
boat came along. It was late in the year and the dock attendant mentioned
that it had been a while since anyone came in for diesel.

This is exactly the situation that prompted the installation. When I get to
where fuel docks are few and far between, I might have to take on a load
even if it looks funky. Or, the sample might look good and bad stuff comes
down the hose later. With the standard filter set up, even if dual, there
is no choice but to filter it all at the engine consumption rate, burn it
immediately after it goes through the filter, and change filters through the
whole tank. People have used up enough Racor filter elements in these cases
to pay for my Shelco filter and the second pump.

The one drawback of my system is that, in an extreme case, both filters
could plug up with nothing to switch to. The Shelco has very high retention
capacity though compared to the Racor. The Racor would almost certainly
plug first in that case and I would open the bypass from the polishing
system. Extra caution right after fueling and attention to the gauges on the
filters before getting into a critical situation should be SOP with either
system.

If I do find I have a problem, it can be dealt with without having to run
fuel through the engine or even having the engine running and I can get
multiple passes through the filter before sending fuel to the engine.
That's the real beauty of the system.

--
Roger Long