I'll be replacing the 72 gl fuel tank in my Albin 27 and am exploring different options. Also plan on replacing the engine with a Beta 38, 43 or 50. Clean fuel is a key concern and one interesting option to this learner is to have 2 tanks, drawing from a "day tank" (perhaps 20 gl) and periodically transfering fuel from another tank (perhaps 50 gl) through a filter. Probable overkill, but worth exploring.
Question with the Beta engines - if generally run around 1800-2000 rpm for stretches of 4-8 hours - should heated return fuel be a concern in a tank of approx 20 gl?
Good move to install a Beta. Our 4 year old one is far superior to the previous volvo
Our approach to clean fuel is a twin Racor filter (spendy at $750 or so) which is large, allows very fine filters for a small engine and is easy to change elements since they lift out from top
We have two tanks, and try to run one empty each year, then check it via the inspection cover and clean if necessary. We have found up to a few spoonfuls of paint flakes and sand (from a vendor in Russia) to zero in the tanks
The Beta will draw several times as much fuel from the tanks as it needs, returning the excess. Thus we are constantly polishing the fuel.
BTW a Beta 50 seems huge to me for a 27 foot boat. We have a 60 in our 15 ton 47 footer, and it is plenty. We rarely run much over 2/3 max rpm
