On Mon, 04 Dec 2006 12:38:06 -0800, Frogwatch wrote:

In a thread a couple weeks ago, I talked about failure of my fuel pump
on my 28' sailboat. It is a Yanmar 2gm that has a mechanical pump that
I backed up with an electric pump to make bleeding the system easier.
I am replacing the mechanical pump but I also need to replace the
electric one. The electric one was from JC Whitney and I do not recall
the brand. However, i do remember that it was not specifically listed
as being for diesel. It is a simple diaphragm pump driven by a
selenoid. I am wondering if the diesel could have eaten away the
diaphragm. Can anyone suggest a good electric fuel pump fpr this
application? JC whitney no longer has it available and I do not trust
it anyway. However, the original owner had it installed when he bought
the boat so I assume it was supposed to be good. When it finally
failed 4 years ago after nearly 16 years, I simply bought an identical
one. Any ideas?

A better solution is a small day tank mounted high, for a gravity-fed
system. Then you don't have to rely on the electric pump for the engine
to run.

You can use an electric pump, or even a hand pump, to transfer
fuel from the main tank to the day tank. A 28' sailboat needs only a
small day tank -- 5 gallons is plenty.

Matt O.