Biting the bullet: Converting to electric fuel pump

[Cubey]

EDIT: Changed plan to Mr Gasket 105p pump. You can jump to the post here: https://www.oilburners.net/threads/...-electric-fuel-pump.87176/page-2#post-1047233

Afrer much consideration, I decided I want to convert the RV to an electric fueled pump. I don't want to constantly worry about a mechanical pump failing and crankcase filling. Maybe it's very rare, but still it's not something I wanna worry about, given my lifestyle with the RV.

What sealed the deal was ebay was offering a $15 statement credit on charging $150+ before the end of the month. That plus 5% back in ebay bucks. It amounts to about $22 saved. Plus someone is selling the 40223 (with the plastic connector) for $100 shipped. I bought a couple other things I was gonna buy soon anyway to get it over $150.

It's not THAT much more expensive per say, since it gives peace of mind that it can't flood the crankcase. In 6 months, I would have probably regretted not having it and would find it harder to get without paying retail prices. I'm shipping everything to my mom's house where I will reach in the next couple weeks sometime, if not sooner.

Parts ordered so far:

- Facet 40223 pump
- Spectre 42473 block off plate
- Waterproof blade in-line fuse holder
- Relay & harness

Did I miss anything? I'm pretty sure that's all I need, except for fuel hose and hose barb fittings for the filter head and pump. Gotta go digging in the archives to see what threads the filter head has.

Luckily on the van, the supply is on the side of the head, not the rear like on trucks, so it's easier to reach. The rear is the output to the IP. I guess vans got a different filter head from trucks, since that would run the fuel through the filter backwards otherwise. (See pic below)

Oh, and a $5 male connector for plugging in to the pump. I like that setup since the pump can be removed by just unplugging it. Odds are I won't ever need to mess with that, but just in case. Plus it'll make running the cable easier, no splicing while laying underneath. Napa sells the same exact pump for about $150 in their brand, so it's possible to get another in an emergency.

I think 12 gauge wire should be large enough to run from the driver's side battery down to the frame rail since the pump only pulls 1.4 amps. I want the pump down there so it's not exposed to engine heat. The pumps are rated to 180F and it gets probably that or hotter in the already cramped van engine bay. Plus there's almost no room for it. It's easy to crawl under at frame rail where the fuel lines are for strainer inspection. I don't drive in the Midwest in winter, so salt won't be a problem.

I will keep the old, apparently weepy pump as an absolute emergency spare (costs me nothing, after all) in the unlikely event the Facet doesn't last.

Whoever converted my F250 with a 12D style pump left the mechanical pump installed, but not hooked up. No idea why. Laziness I guess? I suppose it does no harm to leave it that way. It just wastes engine power, pumping a dry pump. But I will remove and block it off on the RV. I was lazy about removing it on the truck too even after I saw it, so I guess I can't fuss about them leaving it.

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[riphip]

18-16 guage wire (trailer light wire) is plenty big for running the pump.

 

[Garbage_Mechan]

Don’t want to rain on your party, just keep in mind that a number of us found that the Facet, though reliable, does not provide enough fuel volume to keep steady pressure under high load. For me it failed on a stock 6.9 and on my turbo’d 7.3 with Moose Jr injection pump. I currently have 2 Facet pumps in parrelell on the 7.3. It now runs 7 psi light load and 5.5 under heavy load/high boost. I think most of the 1.5 psi drop is from the dead band of the pressure relief valve I have installed.

 

[BeastMaster]

Doesn't having an electric fuel pump make it a lot easier when changing fuel filters or (God forbid!) running out of fuel.

The electric will repressurize and purge the air out of the fuel system without having to run the engine.

That alone swayed me. Just making it easier for me to diagnose fuel situations without having to crank.

 

[gandalf]

As much as I otherwise liked my Carrier pump, Facet 40269, I ultimately found, as Garbage_Machan stated above, that there were times when it did not provide the volume needed. I had one uphill hairpin, tight enough to require a 3 point turn, where the fuel light lit up every time. I've switched back to the mechanical lift pump for the time being.

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[Garbage_Mechan]

I’m 100% convinced electric is the way to go. It is just finding the combination of reliability, flow and pressure. And delivering fuel that isn’t aireated.

 

[Clb]

Just another future "my facett sucks" thread in The making

 

[Cubey]

Don’t want to rain on your party, just keep in mind that a number of us found that the Facet, though reliable, does not provide enough fuel volume to keep steady pressure under high load. For me it failed on a stock 6.9 and on my turbo’d 7.3 with Moose Jr injection pump. I currently have 2 Facet pumps in parrelell on the 7.3. It now runs 7 psi light load and 5.5 under heavy load/high boost. I think most of the 1.5 psi drop is from the dead band of the pressure relief valve I have installed.

Most people install it under the hood where the pump might be overheating, causing pumping to be reduced. An IDI with a tired fan clutch can see 200 on hills inside the cooling system, nevermind the heat in the engine bay. That's my theory anyway. Maybe it won't be a good fit, but we will see.

How did it "fail", fuel starving?

Do you have a relay setup where the pump gets good power? I've seen where someone wired it to the key on terminal of the 7.3 style GP controller. But they still had no complaints on the 7222/7223.

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[snicklas]

Here could be another option. It’s not cheap, but rarely is anything good, cheap. I saw them in a Gale Banks video, he is updating the fuel distribution system to his dyno cells.

Here is the pump....

https://www.holley.com/products/fue.../carbureted_electric_fuel_pumps/parts/12-1800

Here’s the regulator if one ends up being needed....

https://www.holley.com/products/fue...regulators/carbureted_regulators/parts/12-852


This is not something that I’ve personally used.... but Gale being willing to trust he’s big money development and testing engines to them says something.......


Just in case you want to see what he says about this stuff.... and some of the other parts he’s using for this...

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[Cubey]

The seller is offering free returns within 60 days (they pay return shipping) on the pump, so... at least it costs nothing to reconsider as long as I haven't installed it. I'll be out a few bucks for the block off plate is all. I will find a use for the fuse holder and relay, I'm sure.

 

[Cubey]

Eh, I canceled the pump order and got refunded. I'm only out $6 for the block off plate, unless I put it on my F250 that does kind of need it.

 

[chillman88]

How did it "fail", fuel starving?

I wasn't running a Facet, but I had a Delphi e-pump for a while. It was fine most of the time but any hard pulls or anything that I needed to be over 1800ish RPM for very long and the fuel filter light would come on. Let off the throttle and it would go back out. Kinda sucked when pulling hills in PA empty and have to keep slowing down because the pump couldn't keep up. I'd have hated to have a trailer on it at the time.

This was NA too, I'm sure it would have been worse with a turbo.

 

[Cubey]

I wasn't running a Facet, but I had a Delphi e-pump for a while. It was fine most of the time but any hard pulls or anything that I needed to be over 1800ish RPM for very long and the fuel filter light would come on. Let off the throttle and it would go back out. Kinda sucked when pulling hills in PA empty and have to keep slowing down because the pump couldn't keep up. I'd have hated to have a trailer on it at the time.

This was NA too, I'm sure it would have been worse with a turbo.

Maybe that's why towing felt lousy and not towing on steep hills drag me down to 40-45mph in my F250. But it's NA so I assumed that's why. Maybe it's the 12D pump.

The last of the throttle in the RV doesn't do much either even with mechanical, but it may just be worn out/bad since it appears to be weeping.

 

[Garbage_Mechan]

To the OP.... don’t cancel your plans just change them to a pump that has enough flow. There are many positive benifits of electric fuel.

 

[Cubey]

To the OP.... don’t cancel your plans just change them to a pump that has enough flow. There are many positive benifits of electric fuel.

I meant "for now". I will do more research. $200+ is ouch when two Carter mechanical pumps are about $47 shipped for both on Rockauto. I could stick a cheap electric pump on a toggle switch in line for priming purposes, as long as it can free flow when the pump is off.