Beta 43 New Engine Questions

[zboss]

All,

I am replacing my engine with a Beta 43 - it will be arriving this week. It says in the installation manual that the lift of the manual fuel pump is only 0.25 meters... about 10 inches. My lift will no doubt exceed that and the manual states that an electric fuel pump will be required.

My question is... are there people that have installed the engine without the fuel lift pump as recommended and had it work fine?

Thanks,

Z

[Lepke]

A lot of people install an inline 12v pump before the lift pump because it makes bleeding and filter changes much easier. The pumps are only about $20 on ebay. I have a power boat with twins and 2 generators and have a 12v pump on all.
The pump can run or not run while the factory lift pump is running. Because pumps have valves like check valves and the fuel can only run toward the engine
Having an auxiliary 12v pump is also an insurance.

[Jim Cate]

I'm not sure if the Beta 43 is based on the same Kubota block that my Nanni 43 is, so this may not be relevant, but my lift pump works ok on our keel tank, and the minimum lift for that is around 2 feet and the max around 6 feet. When the level is low and the engine is not run for some while, it seems that fuel runs back down the line a bit, and it struggles to start, but then runs ok.

I wonder if the spec that you have been given is correct? It seems pretty inadequate to me...

Jim

[SailRedemption]

We have a Beta 60, not sure the specs for the lift pump off hand, but our engine fuel is more than 10" but less than 18" from tank to engine pick up. It does fine. We do have an inline fuel pump that we use only when we do filter changes. It's normally off, in other words.

[FPNC]

The mechanical lift pump on your new engine is limited in lift height. It may initially pull the fuel OK but as the rubber diaphragm ages the fuel flow and ability to lift will diminish.

Install a simple and inexpensive 12 volt electric booster pump that delivers 1.5 - 4 psi. Plumb it inline with the mechanical pump and you will have no problems. The pump can be wired to turn on and off automatically with the panel power. All of this will be covered in your new engines owners manual.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by FPNC

The mechanical lift pump on your new engine is limited in lift height. It may initially pull the fuel OK but as the rubber diaphragm ages the fuel flow and ability to lift will diminish.

Install a simple and inexpensive 12 volt electric booster pump that delivers 1.5 - 4 psi. Plumb it inline with the mechanical pump and you will have no problems. The pump can be wired to turn on and off automatically with the panel power. All of this will be covered in your new engines owners manual.

That's the problem. It's NOT covered well. I find the manual to be very inadequate... its going in the right direction but it needs to be perhaps 4 times the volume of material.

In regards to the pump the only mention is "The engine mechanical fuel lift pump will only lift fuel through 0.25m. If this is insufficient then an electric fuel lift pump must be fitted." which is fine as a "hey you may need to pay attention to this" but fails to discuss if this is an option that gets added to the engine during ordering, there is no picture of where the fuel pump is in relation to the bottom of the engine, what happens when the boat is heeling, what size pump is needed, where to wire in the 12 volts, is this a pump you can order from betamarine, how does it impact your warranty, and so on and so forth.

I guess I am spoiled by our old westerbeke engine manuals where the parts diagram breakouts alone consist of 72 pages. They also include a full 128 page technical manual, a 48 page operators manual, and a 40 page installation manual.

Maybe all these manuals come with the engine in the box?

[Stu Jackson]

Why don't you ask Beta?

[kmacdonald]

Facet lift pump.
https://pbase.com/mainecruising/face..._filter&page=1

[FPNC]

Maybe all these manuals come with the engine in the box?[/QUOTE]

The manual that is included with the engine will clear this up for you. The manual provides location of mechanical lift pump, wiring diagram for an electric booster pump and the recommendation that a booster pump be installed, if the pickup is more than .25 meters / 10" below the engine mounted mechanical fuel pump. The manual also recommends contacting Beta Marine or a Beta dealer if you have any questions.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by zboss

I guess I am spoiled by our old westerbeke engine manuals where the parts diagram breakouts alone consist of 72 pages. They also include a full 128 page technical manual, a 48 page operators manual, and a 40 page installation manual.

And you paid for that luxury many times over through the cost of Westerbeke parts.

Just call Stanley in NC. He’s the one that will be customizing and testing your engine then shipping it to you. He can answer all your questions.

[Dennis.G]

We just installed a new Beta 60. We have an existing electric lift pump, but it has not been rewired for the new engine. Fuel level is about 32" below engine fuel pump. On first start of new engine (again without elec pump running) it started right up and runs fine. I think the specs are very conservative. Note that on wiring diagrams there is a wire that can be used to energize a pump relay - I plan to wire this up to run my lift pump but have not done so yet.

[Dennis.G]

Page 103 (on line version) of owner's manual shows wiring of electric lift pump. The brown wire to energize the relay (hot when switch is in RUN position). I found the end of the brown wire tied back at the rear of the alternator (or you can splice into brown wire on panel harness if easier - it's pin 4). You do need a relay, the 1mm wire can't handle the load of a pump directly. My pump is installed between fuel tank shut off valve and the external Racor filter/separator.

https://issuu.com/betamarine/docs/he...-20031_rev-03-

[jls095]

Definitely call Beta. The team is super helpful and have provided excellent support to me.

I have a Beta 43 and use an inline lift pump to get fuel up from a tank in the keel. A few times I have forgotten to turn the lift pump on and the engine has died after 30mins to a few hours a cruising RPM.

The inline lift pump also makes changing fuel filters a breeze!

Installing it is a no brainer to me.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Why don't you ask Beta?

I have this out to Beta as well. I like to get both manufacturers data and real world data.

Originally Posted by Suijin

And you paid for that luxury many times over through the cost of Westerbeke parts.

Just call Stanley in NC. He’s the one that will be customizing and testing your engine then shipping it to you. He can answer all your questions.

No doubt there!