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Old 10-20-2014, 04:48 PM   #1
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Question Fuel Fixers-Fuel Filter Gage

Has anyone used these on your Racor filters? I am thinking of getting a couple.

Fuel Fixers Inc. : R2D2 -T - HANDLE FILTER CHANGE GAUGE [R2D2] - $80.33
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Old 10-20-2014, 05:08 PM   #2
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Always a good idea to monitor your filter condition but I like to see actual numbers. You can find these that will fit your filter housing or an equivalent at eBay or on line.

http://www.parker.com/literature/Rac...structions.pdf
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Old 10-20-2014, 05:14 PM   #3
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Always a good idea to monitor your filter condition but I like to see actual numbers. You can find these that will fit your filter housing or an equivalent at eBay or on line.

http://www.parker.com/literature/Rac...structions.pdf
Yep, these are the gages that got me going. But they are anywhere from $129-$165.

The fuel fixers has a "T" handle and are $80.

Do these type of gages work? Any concerns?
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Old 10-20-2014, 05:32 PM   #4
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No no no no no ... these are your men, why pay more?

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Old 10-21-2014, 04:47 AM   #5
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For $80 you can get a Murphy gauge that monitors the suction at the filter and is readable at the instrument cluster.

Can sound an alarm too ,if desired.
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Old 10-21-2014, 07:48 AM   #6
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I installed a pair, they are instant gratification. They replace the t-handle so there is no cobbling together fittings of varying thread pitches, no wires, no circuit breakers, no mounting buzzers.
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Old 10-21-2014, 09:31 AM   #7
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av8r wrote;
"I installed a pair, they are instant gratification. They replace the t-handle so there is no cobbling together fittings of varying thread pitches, no wires, no circuit breakers, no mounting buzzers."

That appeals to me. The darn boat is complicated enough as it is. I reduced the complexity of my fuel manifold to reduce the number of fittings and hoses so this fuel vacuum gauge will allow me to stay on the KISS side of complexity.
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Old 10-21-2014, 11:14 AM   #8
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I've used them on high flow engines. On low flow engines I've found that your filters have to get very dirty before you see much of any chance on any of the different kinds of vacuum gauges. I'd rather spend my money on the water alarms and probes for Racors than the vacuum gauges. Filter elements are cheap. Just chance them on a regular basis before they get to dirty.
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Old 10-21-2014, 11:24 AM   #9
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I have one and it works. Rather than blindly replacing filters on a fixed schedule, it allows me to monitor the restriction of the filter and only replace it as necessary.

I have the dual filter setup with a lever to switch from one to the other so I had to install a "T" in the fuel line to install this. No problem.
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Old 10-21-2014, 11:57 AM   #10
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I installed a pair, they are instant gratification. They replace the t-handle so there is no cobbling together fittings of varying thread pitches, no wires, no circuit breakers, no mounting buzzers.
Ditto. I had no idea of the condition of the fuel or tanks when I bought the boat, and had to make a 200NM transit home. They gave me peace of mind. (Along with a box of spare filters.)

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I might have gone that route had I known about them then.
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Old 10-21-2014, 12:59 PM   #11
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Ditto. I had no idea of the condition of the fuel or tanks when I bought the boat, and had to make a 200NM transit home. They gave me peace of mind. (Along with a box of spare filters.)

I might have gone that route had I known about them then.
They gave you piece of mind because they never show a vacuum.
I have them on the two racors, in addition to a real vacuum gage on the center housing for the racors.

On mind, if you shut off the fuel at the racors, the real gage instantly starts showing a vacuum, while the $80 piece of minds, just sit there giving you piece of mind.

Thank you Capt. Tom for letting me get so poetic.
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Old 10-21-2014, 01:28 PM   #12
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Make sure what you get records the highest reading. Instantaneous gauges will only show the reading when you are looking at them.
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Old 10-21-2014, 03:21 PM   #13
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They gave you piece of mind because they never show a vacuum.
I have them on the two racors, in addition to a real vacuum gage on the center housing for the racors.

On mind, if you shut off the fuel at the racors, the real gage instantly starts showing a vacuum, while the $80 piece of minds, just sit there giving you piece of mind.

Thank you Capt. Tom for letting me get so poetic.
LOL, glad to oblige

Seriously, I have seen them get steadily farther down out of the "green" and even start into the "yellow", then back to the top of the green after a filter change. Even then, they do move a little, and snap back when reset. So I do tend to believe that they're telling me something about the state of the filter. Which is a whole lot better than having no clue at all.
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Old 10-21-2014, 05:55 PM   #14
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.Seriously, I have seen them get steadily farther down out of the "green" and even start into the "yellow", then back to the top of the green after a filter change. Even then, they do move a little, and snap back when reset. So I do tend to believe that they're telling me something about the state of the filter. Which is a whole lot better than having no clue at all.
That's what they are designed to do. I don't regret installing mine and it's saved changing a few filters needlessly.
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Old 10-21-2014, 06:57 PM   #15
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On mind, if you shut off the fuel at the racors, the real gage instantly starts showing a vacuum, while the $80 piece of minds, just sit there giving you piece of mind.
What would you expect the T handle gauges to show in that case?
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Old 10-21-2014, 08:59 PM   #16
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When I installed mine I shut the tank valve off on one just to see if it really worked. It did. It shows increasing vacuum just like a round-dial vacuum gage does. It retains the reading until a release button is pushed.
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Old 10-21-2014, 09:45 PM   #17
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The difference I believe is your shut off valve is up stream of your gauge. So if you turn it off the T handle gauge reads the vacuum.

While Rodger's dial type vacuum gauge is I believe just down stream of the filter mounted shut off valve so it shows the vacuum, the T handle mounted gauges are I believe up stream of the valve. So when the valve is shut off they would not show any vacuum because there is no vacuum on them.
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Old 10-22-2014, 03:57 AM   #18
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What would you expect the T handle gauges to show in that case?
Some people on this forum who shall remain nameless, capt Bill, need to lighten up before they blow a head gasket.
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Old 10-22-2014, 06:41 AM   #19
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Some people on this forum who shall remain nameless, capt Bill, need to lighten up before they blow a head gasket.
I asked you a simple question. You seemed to indicate that you thought your T handle mounted vacuum gauges should show vacuum when the valve on the dual filter body is turned off. As I recall you have a dual Racor system (correct me if I am wrong).

I was just pointing out that if that is true, I believe the T handle gauges that you noted did not show vacuum could/should not show vacuum with the filter body mounted fuel valve turned off. While the filter body mounted dial gauge still would (as you noted). Due to the fact that one gauge is down stream of the shut off valve and the others are up stream of the shut off valve. And that would explain why you only saw a vacuum on the dial gauge and not the T handle mounted ones.
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Old 10-22-2014, 09:18 AM   #20
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For some reason, people on boat forums this morning seem to be in a pretty crappy mood.
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