• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Mechanical or Electric Fuel Pump

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
I personally never have had a mechanical pump fail on me. Have had electrics go. Mechanical is easy to rebuilt. New pushrod and new diphram. Electric pump can be wired through the oil pressure switch to shut down if pressure drops, could save your engine if you lose oil pressure and dont notice. Electric pump is cheap to carry a spare. If you get electric make sure pressure is right for the A4 carb. Only need like 3 or 4 psi IIRC. Many electrics put out near 30psi which can end up ruining your carb float and causing a fuel leak. No big difference IMHO...
 

wurzner

Member III
A4 Fuel Pump

I replaced mine twice. First time around was with a Facet one the Moyer sells. It failed after less than a year, so I decided to see what else was marine rate. NAPA carries a Sierra electric pump which is very large and very heavy duty. I've had if for a few years with no problems. I did, however, install a very large RACOR fuel filter/seperator since I felt the old tank has a lot of S&^T in it that may have been influencing it. The pump and filter are both rated at over 80 GPH, so even with a little pressure, it put a strain on it. The guy at NAPA says he sends boxes of them to Alaska each year when they rebuild the fleet boats up there and has never had one returned. I know that their was a series of the Facet pumps that had a design or workmanship issue. Either way, about 180 for pump and filter and I've been real happy. When the old fuel pump failed, I did find a non marine one for 30 bucks at a local automotive place that got me home. That is the key reason I like electrical, easy to get a replacement. The NAPA one is marine approved.

A proper fuel filter is important though.

Shaun
 

Cory B

Sustaining Member
About 5 years ago I decided I would "upgrade" my mechanical fuel pump to electric. It turned out there wasn't room in my E32 due to the scupper drain hose getting in the way. So I instead ordered a rebuild kit for the mechanical (very easy) and have been a happy camper ever since. I figure the old one lasted 25 years, and was still going OK, so the rebuilt one should last until gasoline is unobtainable. :)

-Cory
 

Emerald

Moderator
Hi,


Check out this link for Boat Builder's Guides from the Coast Guard (BTW, this site in general has lots of good information on boating and safety):


http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/boatbuilder/downloads.htm


You'll find on this page a section devoted to fuel systems. There's some good information on fuel pump types and how to wire them and mounting. Something to be careful of is mounting location. A4's I have seen with electric fuel pumps have them mounted on the side of the engine. I believe that safety standards call for electric fuel pumps on gas engines to be within 12 inches of the engine. The idea is that you want to minimize the amount of fuel line you have under pressure - the less line under pressure, the less chance of a rupture of a pressurized line spraying fuel.




-David
Independence 31
Emerald
 

wurzner

Member III
Fuel Pump Part II

After reading Cory's thread, I forgot to mention that I mounted mine on the firewall to allow better access to the fuel strainer, wiring, etc. If required a short run to the carb, but opened up accesss in an already really small engine compartment.

shaun
 

stbdtack

Member III
fuel pump

Keep the mechanical pump and add an electric pump inline. If the mechanical pump ever quits turn on the electric pump. Kragen sells one for about $30. I've got one about 5 years old and another running for 3 years now. Theyre about 3psi and come with the hose barbs.
 

Dave G

Member II
A-4 Electric Fuel Pump

I installed an electric fuel pump from Moyer on my A-4 about 3 years ago. This conversion was part of my fuel system upgrade. Had a lot of crud in the original gas tank. The whole fuel system was sad. So I replaced the tank with a new aluminumn one, new fuel pump, filter, and carb. The fuel pump is wired in to an oil presure switch and is mounted on the engine compartment wall. I couldn't get good acess to the side of the engine block to mount it where the mechanical one was. I've been very happy with the whole set up. Moyer supplied a very good kit that was easy to install. One of the knocks against the mechanical one is if the diaphram fails it can fill the crank case with fuel, on the other hand I suppose if a fuel line fails on an electric system it can fill the bilge with fuel. :confused:

Dave
E-29 Spirit
 
Top