Am I A Bad Boater?

[menzies]

Proper gauges have a max reading hold indicator so that you can read it later with engines off

Mine's do not have the drag needles. Looks like around $100 each so might be worth swapping out.

 

[Jeff F]

I put very little attention into monitoring fuel filter condition in my last boat. It was always on the move, and I started with a clean fuel system and ended that way. I had a single Racor with no guage. Went through four filters in five years, ~2,500 gallons of fuel. None were significantly clogged to my eye.

But that said, I was almost always in sheltered waters and prepared to deal with routine fuel delivery problems. The consequences of failure were generally low. I always had good ground tackle ready to deploy. The only time I pre-emptively put a new filter in was when running the lower Mississippi where a power failure would have been potentially very dangerous.

My routine check usually consisted regular high power operation. I was running a 250 hp motor at 30 hp typically, but would run up close to full power periodically on the assumption that fuel delivery or cooling system problems would show themselves then, and could be addressed without drama. Maybe that's a bad assumption, but it seemed to me to be a good way to avoid unexpected failure at my low cruising speed.

I did regularly check the separation bowl with a light, particularly after refueling. I always worried more about water than sediment.

My new boat has both a fancy dual filter unit with guage and lots of crud in the tank. So I'm paying close attention to the situation and happy for the ability to monitor and hot switch. But when I eventually get to a clean fuel system I'm not sure I'll give it much thought. Dirt doesn't just suddenly appear in these systems, does it? It hardly seems like something that requires a dash guage.

How does a clogged filter ultimately shut things down? Wouldn't there be evidence of fuel starvation that would give warning? Fluxuating RPMs? Won't there be opportunities to throttle back and have a look without shutting down?

Obviously passage making has its own set of rules, but for most of us I think it's a non-issue if you've got a known good starting point.

 

[O C Diver]

How does a clogged filter ultimately shut things down? Wouldn't there be evidence of fuel starvation that would give warning? Fluxuating RPMs? Won't there be opportunities to throttle back and have a look without shutting down?

Obviously passage making has its own set of rules, but for most of us I think it's a non-issue if you've got a known good starting point.

Normally with a high consumption engine you loose maximum RPM do to fuel flow loss. At slower speeds with low GPH, it may run rough and then quit. A bad load of fuel with particulate as opposed to water, can shut you down quickly. Usually there is some warning unless you're not paying attention.

Ted

 

[bligh]

Just buy some vacuum gauges with lazy hands and mount them on the top of each filter. I bet 2 of them would be less tha 100 bucks .

These are ours. 75/1000 rated at 360gph.

PO's mechanic was great at labeling every change, me/mine not so much!

 

[Lepke]

If you have clean tanks and buy clean fuel, Racor elements last a long time. I run 2 micron in my Racor 900s and change them at 500 hours.

 

[catalinajack]

Sir, there are many models of boats that going into the engine room is actually a pleasure. For others, not so much. I do agree that, for example, boats that require pulling up floor hatches to access the engine room are a temptation to skip daily tasks.

The placement of important instruments in a dark bilge or cramped engine space makes little sense. Sure, some owners crawl down there with ear protectors on and check such things on a regular basis, but it's simple human nature that such an unpleasant and difficult thing is going to be skipped. There's a reason that so much energy is expended talking about and installing cameras in the engine spaces...because it's awful to go down there while underway!

Of course, it's easy to open everything up and run the engines at the dock every now and then, poking around down there, checking the gauges, belts, hoses, etc. That might be enough, with no need to monitor them while underway. On the other hand, my experience tells me that rough weather can really stir up bad loads of fuel, quickly loading the filter and reducing engine performance when you need it most.

It's really simple to put a tee fitting down there and run ordinary flexible fuel hose up to the helm for a remote vacuum gauge. It's part of my regular instrument scan when at the wheel, and I am reassured by having this extra piece of information readily at hand.

 

[catalinajack]

I know this filter. Doesn't it have a clear bowl that threads onto the bottom? If so, is it ABYC compliant as to flame resistance? I ask because Steve D'Antonio just pointed out to me that my Fleetguard/Davco filter housing with clear bowl is not ABYC approved. Do you even care? In my opinion, which means nothing to the ABYC, the standard (2.5 minutes of direct flame) is silly. Any engine room fire intense enough to melt my Davco housing would long before have become so fully involved that the boat would have been doomed anyway. Oh, and let's see, the clear bowl melts and supplies eight ounces of diesel fuel to an already intensely burning fire. Really? I would have long since abandoned ship.

I use dual R60S 2Micron Racors sans gage but easily accessed for inspection.

I think if I had concerns, I'd put a camera on the gages or new gages with tell tails.

 

[FF]

The gauge on top of a filter checks the suction from the tank pickup to the filter, a high reading could be a dirt chunk in the tank pickup, a crushed hose or any obstruction.

To know how a filter is doing requires a DP gauge (differential pressure) that measures the blockage across the filter.

This takes 2 hoses , one before and one just after the filter body.

Murphy and other sources have them,

https://www.fwmurphy.com/products/gages/pressure

 

[jleonard]

The first 2 or 3 years that I owned my Albin I checked the vacuum gages often. After that since they never moved I never bothered much. Maybe once a season for the last 10-11 years I owned the boat.
I had confidence in my filtration system.

 

[dhays]

Mine's do not have the drag needles. Looks like around $100 each so might be worth swapping out.

I think a gauge with a drag needle is definitely worth it.

 

[rslifkin]

I know this filter. Doesn't it have a clear bowl that threads onto the bottom? If so, is it ABYC compliant as to flame resistance? I ask because Steve D'Antonio just pointed out to me that my Fleetguard/Davco filter housing with clear bowl is not ABYC approved. Do you even care? In my opinion, which means nothing to the ABYC, the standard (2.5 minutes of direct flame) is silly. Any engine room fire intense enough to melt my Davco housing would long before have become so fully involved that the boat would have been doomed anyway. Oh, and let's see, the clear bowl melts and supplies eight ounces of diesel fuel to an already intensely burning fire. Really? I would have long since abandoned ship.

I know this is the case for gas spin ons, but I think it's the case for diesel ones as well. Racor makes 2 different bowls. 1 clear, 1 metal with a drain plug. The clear one is for non-enclosed spaces, the metal one is for use in engine rooms, etc. as it meets the fire resistance spec.

 

[HiDHo]

Racor also makes a metal flame shield that can be added to make it ABYC compliant for about $85.
One thing to beware of, China is selling knock off Racor filter elements.

 

[HiDHo]

Take your pick.

 

[SeaMaster101]

I posted that originally few days ago on other tread. My setup always tells me if the negative pressure is going lower. It is not necessary only bad fuel indicator, it is also "time to change the filter" indicator. With multiple sensor in my engine room, pressure, temperature, flow, etc. I don't need to go and stick my head in the engine room once every hour. My vessel monitoring system checks everything once per second and lets me know if anything starts to drift from normal. Complete game changer!

The bottom line is that no matter what filter you use and how clean your tanks are, or if you have single or twins, the last fuel fill-up might be the one that leaves you "dead on the water".
I personally had mechanical gauge installed on the exit of my Racor filter where it connects to the engine lift pump. The downside of this mechanical gauge is that you have to go check it, on regular bases, or even if it has max vacuum achieved indication needle, you can still be surprised by faulty batch of fuel.

I replaced that system with VSM - Vessel Systems' Monitor that monitors many other parameters of different subsystems on my vessel and NMEA 2000 vacuum gauge that constantly monitors the status of my dual RACORs, actually the one of them that is being active at the moment. I have it setup to get warning and -4 PSI and alarm ant -5 PSI. I have tested that my engine will runs with vacuum on the gauge in excess of -8 PSI, so I know I have some time in case I can not attend to the filter switch right away (and please don't grill me because I'm referring to vacuum in negative PSI, I know it is not technically correct, but it makes the example easier to understand).
As soon I get warning on my Vessel Systems Monitor, I will switch to the standby filter, and I will plan my filter replacement for when the weather/sea conditions permits, or do it right away if I believe that the stand-by filter will get contaminated fast due to bad batch of fuel. This solution had worked great for me logging 10,000+ miles across the pacific and fuelling-up at all kinds of not that reliable feeling stations....

Here is what I use:
http://www.acrossoceansystems .com

I think this is my "peace of mind" that is well worth it!

 

[Tony sundeck 40]

All talking about vacuum, when do you change your filter if you change it If you change when there is to much vacuum

 

[HiDHo]

Tony, I usually change the filter if my gauge reads near 5hg. I have a single 280 gallon stainless steel fuel tank that I fuel polish with a large Gulf Coast filter. Most changes are at about 300 hours with the gauge reading well below 4hg. Racor rates the filters for 500 hours but I feel safer changing the filter at least every other year.

 

[Dreamersjohnlinda]

All gauges should be like this

All vacuum gauges should have a tell tale like this. So that when you are shut down you can see how high the vacuum got while operating.

https://www.parker.com/static_content/parkerimages/Racor/7700%20(11-1676E%20Vacuum%20Gage).pdf

 

[FlyWright]

I know this filter. Doesn't it have a clear bowl that threads onto the bottom? If so, is it ABYC compliant as to flame resistance? I ask because Steve D'Antonio just pointed out to me that my Fleetguard/Davco filter housing with clear bowl is not ABYC approved. Do you even care? In my opinion, which means nothing to the ABYC, the standard (2.5 minutes of direct flame) is silly. Any engine room fire intense enough to melt my Davco housing would long before have become so fully involved that the boat would have been doomed anyway. Oh, and let's see, the clear bowl melts and supplies eight ounces of diesel fuel to an already intensely burning fire. Really? I would have long since abandoned ship.

I know this is the case for gas spin ons, but I think it's the case for diesel ones as well. Racor makes 2 different bowls. 1 clear, 1 metal with a drain plug. The clear one is for non-enclosed spaces, the metal one is for use in engine rooms, etc. as it meets the fire resistance spec.

Yes, mine are plastic. It wasn't a problem in my survey when purchased but I could always mount small SS mixing bowls under them to serve the purpose at time of sale. Who knows if I'll ever sell!!

Until then, I probably won't worry about it too much. They get inspected regularly and I've got more fun things to expend my time, toil and treasure on besides some ABYC 'guideline' that doesn't make much of a real world difference.

Thanks for pointing it out, though. Always good to have the standards as a rough guide...kinda like highway speed limits.

 

[BrianSmith]

With a single engine, and several occasions where we are way out of sight of land for hours (days on one occasion) at a time, I'm PARANOID about my Racor filter gauge. To the extent that I have installed an electronic sensor into the base of the analog gauge so that I can get a reading of it from the flybridge at a glance, any time.

 

[rgano]

IMHO, the flame shields on a Racor are more trouble than they are worth. The Coast Guard will require them on commercial vessels.

 

[FlyWright]

IMHO, the flame shields on a Racor are more trouble than they are worth. The Coast Guard will require them on commercial vessels.

...and that'll never be me.

 

[HiDHo]

With a single engine, and several occasions where we are way out of sight of land for hours (days on one occasion) at a time, I'm PARANOID about my Racor filter gauge. To the extent that I have installed an electronic sensor into the base of the analog gauge so that I can get a reading of it from the flybridge at a glance, any time.

Can you provide information on the sensor, ordering information and how it links to your fly bridge, i-phone app or repeater.

 

[HiDHo]

Flyweight, I also thought of making my own Racor bowl flame shields from a stainless steel mixing bowl. I would over size it so the bowl can still be inspected, it also would be handy catching any fuel drips when changing the filter.
A worse case scenario is fuel injector lines which can spray atomized fuel if one starts leaking. Reminds me of my time in Navy engine rooms installing spray shields on any piping carrying flammable liquids. The clothe shields contained a pressurized leak for repairs and prevented a possible fire.

 

[BrianSmith]

Can you provide information on the sensor, ordering information and how it links to your fly bridge, i-phone app or repeater.

Here's the sensor: http://www.transducersdirect.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/TDH31-8.19.pdf

Here's how you get it to your flybridge, via the boat's wifi: https://github.com/SignalK/SensESP

If you're at all interested in DIY electronics (hardware and software), this is a really fun project to be involved in!

 

[SeaMaster101]

I just realized the post I made above did not turnout as expected. The link was invalid and the image of the sensor did not show.
This sensor connects NMEA2000 backbone and can be displayed on any MFD that supports pressure transducer PGN.
I use it with this Vessel Monitoring System, which allows me to setup warning or alarm at pressure levels as I see fit:


www.acrossoceansystems.com

 

[FF]

OF COURSE if the filters are mounted outside the engine space , monitoring , or changing the filters becomes a much simpler and perhaps safer task.


If they can be mounted low enough , and still be easily changed , gravity feed night be possible solving another set of problems.

 

[O C Diver]

All talking about vacuum, when do you change your filter if you change it If you change when there is to much vacuum

I change all my fuel filters on engine, generator, and fuel polisher annually. Around $75 in total for peace of mind.

Ted

 

[FF]

The Davco truck diesel filters have some advantages.

By glancing at the bulb the degree of contamination of the filter can be see,the higher the fuel level , the worse the filter element.

After a filter change the unit will self prime , no operator work is needed.


http://www.davco.com/