VW IDI Marine engine

[morgoon]

Hello

I hope this is ok in this section.

My neighbour is building a 43' foot sailboat powered by a 1.6d factory VW marine engine.

The fuel tank is three feet  from the engine, placed below the cabin sole, with a total depth of five feet to the bottom of the tank.

There will be two racor filters with a water separator inline as well.

Will a lift pump be required to ensure the IP has adequate fuel supply and isn't straining to fuel the engine?

I hope my drawing makes sense...

Thanks for your time.

[vanbcguy]

A lift pump won't strictly be required but it would be a very good idea. Get one that's about 5-7 PSI that will pass fuel when not running. You probably will only need it during filter changes but it will make life much much easier. Plus if you loose prime for some reason out on the water it could be a life saver.

[TimpanogosSlim]

Generally speaking, the VE pump does not require a lift pump. The racor filters should flow well enough for the pump itself to pull through them.

Having a lift pump to prime the system is very nice. The 5-7 psi number is what i understand to be a good idea.

Since this is a marine application, there are further considerations. As i understand it, the general problem is that various bacteria and fungi can live and even thrive either in diesel or in the interface between diesel and water that has gotten into the tank.

The racor filters are good, but a rarely used diesel tank tends to collect a lot of gunk, and water (from condensation), and typically firing up the engine or getting into a situation you need to power out of stirs up the crud.

If your friend is well experienced with diesel engines in the water, he's probably worked out his filtering needs fairly well.

If not, he should read this article on fuel polishing systems for marine applications: http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com/howto/captnwil.html

[morgoon]

Thanks alot for all the info...

It was very well received, and confirmed some suspicions as well.

The article on fuel polishing was most welcome..

This site is the best!

Regards everyone...