Fuel polishing

For a while I have been searching for a solution to polish my fuel on the sailboat.  My motivation stemmed from one harrowing sail which I wrote about where dirt caused the engine to fail, and two other times where I’ve had to deal with the fuel filter at inopportune times – just when you need the engine the most as it always seems!
Most of the systems I’ve looked at before are far too complicated, or require a huge amount of space.  One I’ve always admired is the Filter Boss from KTI Systems – it allows you to switch fuel filters on the fly with the engine still running.  While it’s primary purpose is to have filter redundancy, there are also ways of configuring it to provide fuel polishing.

Besides the space required, many of the other systems require a separate fuel polishing loop, which I also wanted to avoid.  Due to space constraints when my engine was redone, the filter was placed on the opposite side of the boat from the fuel tank.  Adding another fuel filter and loop just for polishing has never really been an option due to space and connections into my existing tank.

Recently I was reading online and found Parker Fuel Polishing.  After reviewing various sources online and reading a lot of material about their systems, I ordered their FPM-050 Fuel Polishing Module, and Programmable Timer.  Their system is much smaller (one small pump) and it can be used in-line.  I liked this approach since by default it’s left in an open state, allowing fuel to flow through, when it’s not in use.

Combine that with the Programmable Timer, and you have a really good system that will pull fuel through while you’re not using the engine, and keep it in good shape for when you need it.

I think this system will be good to keep the fuel clean and usable while using the existing filter and system, and not requiring a huge amount of new equipment and space.

More after it’s installed…