Clogged Fuel Pickup Tube Filter

Hello, After twice having engine power loss while motoring, I found that there is a mesh fuel filter located in the top of the pickup tube that was clogged. This mesh filter had not been cleaned in at least 10 years; I did not know that it was there. I decided not to reinstall it having two RACOR filters (30 and 10 micron) plus the engine mounted filter. There is also a filter in the electric fuel pump. I've posted a photo of the pickup tube in Photo's. Tim Odom 1984 Cal 35 Whisper the Wind

Hi Tim, I just returned from a charter trip in Australia, we chartered a 440 Lagoon in the Whitsundays that was 3 years old and we had lots of fuel problems. Apparently the tropics have no mercy on diesel fuel and they get a black algea that is hard to keep up with. Our trip started with a clogged pick up screen, then they removed the screen. Next time the tube clogged up, and we had to force the gunk out with a hanger. The third time we had to replace a filter, then the charter company decided it was time to polish the fuel and replace all the filters. We made it through the rest of the trip with no worries. It was a nice trip, it is monsoon season, lots of rain and wind this time of year. We got hit with Cyclone Carlos, that was down graded to a tropical storm. 10-15 is great. 15-20 I can have some fun with. But 35plus is not a lot of fun. The rain just hurts to much. It was 35 C/96 F. Very uncomfortable with out any breeze. You have to go to the Whitsunday Sailing Club in Airlie beach. It is a fun little club. We did a burgee exchange with them. Randy From: jtodom85 <jt… [at] yahoo.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Fri, February 11, 2011 8:30:51 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Clogged Fuel Pickup Tube Filter Hello, After twice having engine power loss while motoring, I found that there is a mesh fuel filter located in the top of the pickup tube that was clogged. This mesh filter had not been cleaned in at least 10 years; I did not know that it was there. I decided not to reinstall it having two RACOR filters (30 and 10 micron) plus the engine mounted filter. There is also a filter in the electric fuel pump. I've posted a photo of the pickup tube in Photo's. Tim Odom 1984 Cal 35 Whisper the Wind