Racor Fuel polishing

Diesel engines are very reliable and providing they are regularly serviced then they will last for years and years. One of the things that they hate however is poor quality fuel so for many years I have been a strong advocate of fuel polishing systems.

Essentially a fuel polisher draws fuel from the tank puts it through a filter or filters and then returns the fuel to either the tank that it came from, if there is only one tank aboard, or to another tank if the boat is so fitted. Fuel polishers remove water, algae and other impurities that would other wise cause damage to the injector pump and injectors. Clean fuel will also make the engines run cleaner and at peak performance with less chance of breakdown which could be potentially disastrous at sea.

Although there will be a filtration system on the engine a fuel polishing system can work at cleaning the fuel at any time even when the engine is not running as it is independent of the motor(s). Also it is worth bearing in mind that fuel passing through a polishing system will be transfered at a far greater rate than any fuel that will be picked up by the typical fuel pump on a diesel engine.

Racor are synonymous with filtration systems and they have just introduced a couple of new polishing system kits that could be installed into the engine room by the competent DIY boat owner.

Both Installation Kits include everything needed to install a dedicated fuel polishing loop, including the FPM-050 Fuel Polishing Module, a Parker Racor 500 Series Turbine Filter, a fuel hose and fittings.  The FPM-052-A Kit also comes with a stylish, black anodized FPM timer, enabling owners to program the new polishing system to run while unattended.

           

            The FPM-051 Kit from Parker Energy Systems retails for $919, while the FPM-052-A Kits costs $1,149, both seem like cheap insurance to me.

Comments

[Jim Llewellyn]

My newest sailboat came with one of these Parker FPM-052-A fuel polishing systems.
But I don't have the instructions for the programmable controller (timer).
If you or your community have a set I'd love to buy a copy.
Thanks,
Jim Llewellyn
Bainbridge Island, WA