HPDI VST Filter Fouls Over and Over and Over

[HPDI]

Hello Rodbolt. I have a 200hp Z200Y HPDI on a 1980 22? Boston Whaler Outrage. The motor has given me four years of trouble free operation. Now, like a lot of people, I am wrestling with my VST filter. It has been replaced three times. And the canister filter above the VST has been replaced. The VST filter fouls about every ten hours. For a quick fix, I have been draining the VST tank and blowing carb cleaner at the filter through the VST tank drain plug. I know this is not exactly the correct way to fix the filter, but it seems to last about as long as replacing the filter. And I can do the quick fix in about five minutes. I?m running a 2 micron Racor filter before the engine. I have an original fuel tank. I have drained the gas in the tank and still have the same problem with the VST filter. I know you believe that old fuel lines can contaminate the gas. And you recommend replacing fuel lines. Here are my questions.

1. Which fuel lines are you referring to? The fill tube? The lines that go from the tank to my Racor filter? The lines that go from the filter to the engine? Fuel lines in the engine? Exactly which fuel lines do you recommend I replace? All of them?

2. Why would the junk from a bad fuel line fall out of solution in the VST tank?

3. Is it worth hiring someone to clean my tank, or should I bite the bullet and replace it?

4. Do you think water saturated E10 fuel has anything to do with the VST fouling?

5. Has Yamaha come out with any official recommendations for fixing this problem?

Thanks very much for your help. ?HPDI.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: HPDI VST Filter Fouls Over and Over and Over

ok
get this in your head.
contaminated fuel IS NOT a yamaha,BRP,Mercury,VOLVO or any other engine manufacturers problem.
its the boat owners.
grasp it, write your congressman, get onboard with towboat US trying to STOP this stupid taxpayer boondoggle.
in the meantime, is your tank red and mounted under the seat?
I have replaced about 60 tanks in the past 2 years.
if your tank is red fiberglass and under the seat its junk.
when you relace the tank, replace ALL fuel line, including al the lines under the hood.
it sucks but it is what or govt gave us.
the marine technician stimulous package works well.

why does it fall out in the VST, its a simple matter of 8th grade physical science.
once a solution is super saturated the solute falls out of the solvent.

infact thats what phase seperation is, the E has absorbed all the H2O it can then both the E and the H2O fall to the bottom and sit like a turd in a punch bowl.
now toss in the molecular attration factor and you get a sudden shot of several gallons of watery E sheet that can and will suddenly overwhelm all filters and shut the engine down.
with todays filtration systems on boats you simply CANNOT filter out the water that the E fuels carry.

for an analogous test.
dissolve 3 Tsp of sugar in 1 qt of boiling water.
pour it through a coffee filter.
how much surgar did you catch?
now boil another qt, dissolve 3 cups of sugar,how much did you catch?
if you continue you can make rock candy as the solute in super saturated mix falls out of solution.

and they said I did not pay attention in class.

so, how many lines do you replace? ALL that are contaminated.
remove them, let them dry.
inspect them with a good light.
if ANY discoloration is on the inner walls they are contaminated.

 

[HPDI]

Re: HPDI VST Filter Fouls Over and Over and Over

Thanks Rodbolt. My tank is aluminum and permanently mounted under the floor. Changing it out would cost over $1K and, for me, about 20 hours of work. This E10 fuel stinks.

Has anyone out there won the VST battle? How did you do it?

 

[rodbolt]

Re: HPDI VST Filter Fouls Over and Over and Over

there is no winning this battle. aint gonna happen.
some AL tanks were treated with an anti-corrosive coating that the E fuel attacks dissolves and feeds it to the fuel system.
clean the tank as best you can, change all the fuel lines, keep cleaning the VST tank and filter via the drain as best you can.
yes this marine tech govt stimulous fuel sucks.
I cant wait for E-15.