Cleaning the Fuel Tank
Our fuel tank is in a really inconvenient spot: under the V-berth. These old ’70s Taiwan boats are notorious for having a rusty, black iron fuel tank and we’ve never looked inside ours. And there’s no way to replace it without cutting it into pieces since it was installed before the deck was put on over it. Ours has around 80-90 gallon capacity and has three baffled chambers, but only one access hatch. The chamber under the access hatch is reasonably accessible. The chamber on the starboard side has limited access through the limber hole and the forward chamber is completely inaccessible without cutting new access holes. We probably should have cut new access hatches, but we decided to do our best just scraping out the two aft chambers. Then we ran the fuel through a polishing contraption Rich made several times until it looked relatively clean.
Fuel Filters
Along with a clean tank, we wanted to install a way to keep it clean. There were two fuel filters already installed, but they were a little undersized. One was a solid canister, so it was impossible to view the condition of the fuel or filter media. We chose to install dual-Racor R20-series spin-on filters with clear fuel bowls. Both filters are run in parallel with shut-off valves in order to be able to change one filter while the engine is running through the other filter. We wanted them to be easily accessible so we put them under the floorboards near the compression post about midway between the fuel tank and the engine.
Electric Fuel Pump
In addition to the dual-Racor primary filters, the Perkins engine also has a secondary fuel filter located on the engine block. This filter is very difficult to change and bleed due to its location. By adding an electric fuel pump it should be easier to bleed the system, especially in a hectic situation.
