Wet exhaust lift

IF the boat is common GRP a hull fire is almost impossible to to put out.

Grab the Ditch Bag and GO!

FF said:

IF the boat is common GRP a hull fire is almost impossible to to put out.

Grab the Ditch Bag and GO!

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Unless you think you can fight a fire in bare feet!

There is legitimate science behind the shield/deflector design. I've been to the plant where every one of the Turbine series filters is made in Modesto CA, I've spoken with the engineers there and watched a video of the fire test. In the test, which is described in ABYC H-33, the flame is directly beneath the filter, which of course will not always be the case. The engineers at Parker told me the plastic bowl can actually endure the flame exposure in most tests, but it wasn't 100% reliable so the heat shield had to be used.

The shield is not a "fire preventer". The shield simply buys time, 2.5 min is all that's needed to meet the standard. The plastic drain melts and leaks fuel very quickly in the test btw. All Racor turbine series filters that are MA designated are shipped with heat shields, metal drain plugs and a blue label. Removing the shield really makes no sense to me, and it may cause an issue with your insurer, I've encountered insurers who required the shield, among other things, to be installed as a condition of insuring the vessel.

ABYC doesn't prohibit plastic for use with fuel systems per se, instead they simply call for any material that's used to be able to withstand exposure to 2.5 mins of flame. This is why type A fuel hose is required, if the vessel is to be compliant with this standard. Needless to say, plastic fittings, or tubing should not be used for fuel. The once common Racor diesel fuel liquid tank vent traps are plastic, and they are non-compliant.

EU standards don't allow any plastic bowls, in those cases the bowl must be entirely metal (a Racor option, used on military vessels as well), which is a shame because that negates a lot the advantages of this filter. FG series filters can be easily updated for non-inspected vessels, and personally I don't think the shield hinders visual inspections very much, if there's water in the bowl you can see it. The shield does not hinder draining. Inspected vessels must use a MA series filter, not an updated FG series. I once asked a CG MSO why this was the case, he said, "because when they sift through the ashes, they will find the filter housing and its serial number will tell the investigators if it was equipped with a heat shield".

Granted, fires are uncommon on recreational diesel vessels, and how much of a difference the shield will make is debatable, but for the cost it's cheap insurance, and your insurer may insist it be present.

"The plastic drain melts and leaks fuel very quickly in the test btw"


A switch to a metal plug would seem to be a very low cost upgrade for folks .

FF said:

"The plastic drain melts and leaks fuel very quickly in the test btw"


A switch to a metal plug would seem to be a very low cost upgrade for folks .

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At least switch to a metal valve. The metal plug makes it a PITA to drain the bowl.

Or just - GASP - get rid of your Racors and join the tens of millions of diesel powered setups that use spin on filters. PH makes these with drain valves on the bottom of filter for those looking for water in their fuel.

sunchaser said:

Or just - GASP - get rid of your Racors and join the tens of millions of diesel powered setups that use spin on filters. PH makes these with drain valves on the bottom of filter for those looking for water in their fuel.

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Well there's that.

Remove perfectly good filters to replace them with perfectly good filters.

For boats that operate with questionable fuel sources , the old style large glass jar with a fine cotton mesh for water seperiation is about as good as it gets.

THe water is simply emptied , no replacement is required , and away you go.

Your boat insurer may have problems tho.