I remember reading somewhere that the Racor 500 was designed to handle 500 gallons before changing. I burn 20 gallons a season at most and changed my fuel filters after 7 years and found they had caught some debris, but were still serviceable. I installed new filters, dated them, and keep a spare set on board.
When I first got my boat, the fuel quality was a worry, especially when the engine was hard to start and I knew some of the fuel was over two years old. My engine has an electric fuel booster pump so it was easy to pump as much fuel as possible from the tank into gerry cans and replace it with fresh. I waited till the tank was below half and removed two 5 gallon jerry cans of fuel, I poured into a heating oil tank where I work. The fuel level sensor was bad, so I removed it to inspect the bottom of the tank, and used a squeeze bulb fuel line to suck up sediment from the tank bottom. I worry less now about fuel because it is fresher, treated regularly with SeaFoam during the summer and BioFlor before winter. I try to buy fuel from a busy trucking fuel station, filling my 5 gallon jerry cans and pour them into the boat's tank using a funnel with a screen to catch sediment. Chuck Resolute 1990 C&C 34R Broad Creek, Magothy River, Md ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joel Aronson via CnC-List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: "Joel Aronson" <joel.aron...@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 5, 2015 10:18:33 AM Subject: Re: Stus-List filters Mine get changed when the engine is winterized. We did a lot of motorsailing in sloppy seas coming back from Newport, and were low on fuel pulling into Cape May. I decided to have an oil change and asked my mechanic to change the fuel filters as well. He said they were disgusting! The tank was drained, but not cleaned 3 years ago. I use a bio-cide, but no other additives. It is common for boats that stay in the Chesapeake to have problems when they go offshore and stuff gets shaken up. The Delmarva Rally now requires boats to have their fuel polished after a rash of clogged filters several years ago. Joel 35/3 Annapolis On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 10:09 AM, robert via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com > wrote: I have changed my Racor and Yanmar filters twice in 10 sailing seasons and have never cleaned my fuel tank. When the old filters were removed, they looked perfectly fine. Last Wednesday evening, a fellow club mate with a Tartan 34 and I were motoring side by side back to our moorings when his engine suddenly stopped. I towed him to his mooring. The next day, he changed his fuel filters and all was well again. He had his fuel tank cleaned about 6 years ago and he changes his filters every year before launch which he did again this Spring. Should have been my engine that suddenly stopped and not his......go figure! Rob Abbott AZURA C&C32- 84 Halifax, N.S. <blockquote> ------ Original message------ From: Bev Parslow via CnC-List Date: Tue, Aug 4, 2015 12:05 To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com ; Cc: Bev Parslow; Subject: Stus-List filters Last year after we changed both fuel filters and then cleaned out the tank on the 29-2. On the weekend it appears that the filters need to be changed again. Is this normal? We have been putting in the usual additives. What is working with your fuel systems? _______________________________________________ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com _______________________________________________ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com </blockquote> -- Joel 301 541 8551 _______________________________________________ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
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