Deprecated: Function set_magic_quotes_runtime() is deprecated in /var/www/vhosts/tartan37.com/httpdocs/t37forum/common.php on line 88 Tartan37.com • View topic - Bleeding with electric fuel pump

Tartan37.com

Tartan 37 Owner's Forum - Ride the wind, but look good doing it!
The time is 28 Mar 2024 09:42

All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 Posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 05 Mar 2017 20:31 
Offline
Rail Meat

Joined: 25 Oct 2016 15:22
Posts: 10
Hull #179 is coming out of hibernation. She is new to me and I am dreading the filter changes and subsequent bleeding. I was told Westerbeke 50s are very difficult. I have read about adding an electric fuel pump to make the process easy. Do any of you have an added electric fuel pump and if you do what brand. Also, where did you install the pump. Any guidance on this would be great.
Thanks - John


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 06 Mar 2017 07:26 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 16 May 2009 08:06
Posts: 236
Esprit (#324) has 2 electric fuel pumps installed. One is located in the engine compartment and takes the place of the mechanical pump that is stock with the engine. Working from memory, I bought that pump from an auto parts store in Easton, MD for about $40 and it it a generic diesel motor fuel pump. It it plumbed after the Racor fuel filter so it pulls fuel through that filter. The other is a diaphragm fuel pump (the kind that looks like a cylinder about 1.5" diameter maybe 3"-4" long. That pump is mounted in the quarterberth locker and is connected to a switch under the nav station seat. That pump is plumbed to push fuel through the Racor filter. I can use it to fill the filter after changing the element and I suppose I can use it to help bleed the engine but I don't recall if I ever have. It is nice to be able to turn it on and off without going up and turning on the key. I think its real value is fuel cleaning. If I get a load of dirty fuel, I can put a 30 micron cartridge in the Racor and run that pump for an hour or so (repeat as needed). Then switch to the 2 micron and repeat. I don't miss the old engine mounted mechanical pump at all.


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 06 Mar 2017 14:20 
Offline
Rail Meat

Joined: 25 Oct 2016 15:22
Posts: 10
Thanks for the quick reply. Do you completely bypass the mechanical pump or does the fuel flow through it?


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 06 Mar 2017 16:20 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 14 Jul 2012 20:36
Posts: 495
Location: Norfolk, Va
Another, how is it wired and if it was before the Racor, you could get by with one. Bleeding the W50 is a pain.

_________________
Hull #208, Puff Card
Southern Chesapeake Bay


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 06 Mar 2017 20:03 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 16 May 2009 08:06
Posts: 236
First, I took the mechanical pump off the engine and made a steel plate cover for the opening in the block. I ran the plumbing that went through that pump over to the diesel truck pump on the other side of the engine compartment. That pump is wired to the key switch (I replaced the fuel pressure switch with a key switch). Running the stock wiring, you would connect that pump to the fuel pressure switch on the high pressure injector pump. That pump will pull fuel through the system but it will not bleed the engine. The other pump is plumbed from the fuel tank into the system at the beginning (IIRC). It pushes the fuel through so it will still work with the lid off the Racor. It is wired directly to the electric panel so it can run with the engine and the ignition off. The two pumps serve different functions and I would not try and do both with either one by itself. In any event, you cannot bleed the engine with the electric pump (either of them). You can "prime" the system so that bleeding is a bit easier (much easier then trying to hand prime with the mechanical pump) but you still have to open the high pressure side at the injectors to get the engine running.


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 07 Mar 2017 17:58 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 21 Oct 2006 15:36
Posts: 268
I have an electric pump I use for bleeding the system. I have also retained the original mechanical lift pump, which functions as originally designed. The electric pump is installed upstream of the racor filter and has its own power switch. The pump was installed by a previous owner. When I got the boat, I installed a bypass line around the pump so I could bypass fuel flow around the pump when not in use. I did this because there is a small filter in the electric pump and I was afraid that filter could easily get clogged since it was up steam of the racor.

The electric pump makes it much easier to fill and vent the filters when changing. Not sure it makes it any easier to bleed the fuel injection pump.

My mechanical lift pump failed once. The electric pump also served well as an installed spare.

_________________
Jim Voelxen
Odyssey #191
Home Port: Osterville, MA


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 08 Mar 2017 14:12 
Offline
Rail Meat

Joined: 25 Oct 2016 15:22
Posts: 10
Jim, do you keep the electric fuel pump running as you make your way through the bleeding process?


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 09 Mar 2017 18:54 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 16 May 2009 08:06
Posts: 236
There is also a small filter on my secondary fuel pump but it is a screen so if it clogs, the fuel is really bad. I'm not sure but I think the screen is more to protect the pump than anything. My pump is inline and fuel is always running through it. 18 years so far (of course now that I have posted that, it will fail this spring!) without a hitch.


 
 Profile Email  
 
 Post subject: Re: Bleeding with electric fuel pump
PostPosted: 10 Mar 2017 10:59 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 29 Dec 2006 09:38
Posts: 656
Just a comment about the need for bleeding.....I never had a real problem with bleeding the W50. If I filled the filters before installing them, as I recall, the thing would start. Maybe once or twice I had to loosen the collar on an injector if the air got that far and the engine was running rough, but I do not recall regularly having to go through the bleeding procedure to change filters. You do have to bleed when you remove the pump or somehow empty the whole line and pumps of fuel. Remember to first turn off the fuel at the tank before changing filters or in any way opening the fuel system--otherwise the fuel will empty back into the tank and it is a pisser to pump all that fuel up through the lines and back into the system. The engine will expell a little air itself, but not completely empty fuel feed.

I think turning off the fuel at the tank when changing filters is important for any engine you want to start without rebleeding.

Ray Durkee
T37 #373


 
 Profile Email  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 Posts ] 

All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Googlebot and 8 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Powered by phpBB © 2002, 2006 phpBB Group