Racor housing

[Xsbank]

I think it's a poor solution and to make that an insurance requirement is loony. I'd tell them to pound sand and maybe slap my surveyor. Most boats have rubber hoses delivering the fuel, a gallon or two of oil in plastic containers and wood or similar compartment finishing, some have ceiling tiles out of a house for insulation; oil-soaked floorboards and maybe even some oil floating in the bilge (not my bilge!). To deny insurance because you don't have those cheesy bowls?

ABYC is somebody's attempt to get an industry started, to make boats uniform and somehow insert themselves into a regulatory framework for the insurance industry. Judging by how rapidly the cost of insurance has risen, we're being had. Same with house inspectors or boat surveyors who have a myriad of "associations" to give their members legitimacy.

Claptrap and hogwash.

 

[guy with a boat]

Just curious - I am not a fan of Racors - what is the purpose of that hose barb fitting on the bottom of the bowl?

I have added short sections of hose to those fittings on our Racors to make it easier to drain them into a container. It makes things faster and easier, especially at filter-changing time.

 

[catalinajack]

The standard of performance isn’t “general heat” for heat shields. It is:

“capable of withstanding a 2-1/2 minute exposure to free burning fuel (N-Heptane), or No. 2 diesel fuel without leakage“

There’s a difference in destructability of many materials between sticking them in an oven and pointing a torch at them- the temperature of the direct heat of the flame vs. the flame heating the air which in turn heats the material. I’d suggest that if the ER is hot enough to melt the bowl just from the heat of the air in the space, one is well beyond the point of fighting the fire or possibly even escaping. My ER fire extinguisher goes off at 175 degrees.

However, a flame directed at the bowl can be be deflected by the shield. It doesn’t necessarily have to cover the entire bowl as we know heat rises. The same phenomenon that we can stand closer to a campfire than directly over top of it. The odds of a flame shooting downward at the bowl over the top of the shield? I guess so, if there was a “torch” of burning fuel aimed right at it.

Yes sir, I realize that. But, as a practical matter that heat shield is virtually worthless in an engine room fire. That 2.5 minute standard is irrelevant in this regard and is wholly unnecessary. Damn the ABYC as far as this standard goes. There is virtually no circumstance where a direct flame to under the Racor will happen in an engine room fire so why have this standard? Just in case? Like maybe an asteroid will strike the Earth? As I have said earlier, an engine room fire will be a general conflagration and, without an extinguishing system, such a fire will already have doomed the boat.

The standard of performance isn’t “general heat” for heat shields. It is:

“capable of withstanding a 2-1/2 minute exposure to free burning fuel (N-Heptane), or No. 2 diesel fuel without leakage“

There’s a difference in destructability of many materials between sticking them in an oven and pointing a torch at them- the temperature of the direct heat of the flame vs. the flame heating the air which in turn heats the material. I’d suggest that if the ER is hot enough to melt the bowl just from the heat of the air in the space, one is well beyond the point of fighting the fire or possibly even escaping. My ER fire extinguisher goes off at 175 degrees.

However, a flame directed at the bowl can be be deflected by the shield. It doesn’t necessarily have to cover the entire bowl as we know heat rises. The same phenomenon that we can stand closer to a campfire than directly over top of it. The odds of a flame shooting downward at the bowl over the top of the shield? I guess so, if there was a “torch” of burning fuel aimed right at it.

 

[hmason]

One of the replies on Amazon says it floats when water is in the bowl. I would call Parker Filtration and ask to be sure.

 

[smitty477]

One of the replies on Amazon says it floats when water is in the bowl. I would call Parker Filtration and ask to be sure.

Is that reply an answer for the genuine Racor filter or is that reply directed at the knockoff filters with the pics that have that red ring in them?

 

[hmason]

Is that reply an answer for the genuine Racor filter or is that reply directed at the knockoff filters with the pics that have that red ring in them?

I have no idea. A phone call will solve it.

 

[bayview]

Water is obvious why would you need an indicator???

 

[smitty477]

I have no idea. A phone call will solve it.

On amazon where you were looking was it an original Racor filter?
Please provide a link to that amazon add.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

FWIW - the metal bowls were required by our surveyor which in turn was required for insurance.
YMMV

My surveyor mentioned them, but didn't include them in the modifications required for insurance. It sounded like a good idea, so I looked into them. When I found them, they weren't $3 each like I had expected. Not $10 each. $85 each and I needed four!!!! What was odd was that I had worked in restaurants and had used these little bowls before. They are about $2 each at restaurant supply houses. The Racor bowls do come with a couple parts that would be an additional $2 at the hardware store.

The stupid part (aside from the $85 price tag) is that the Racor bowls had holes drilled in the bottom of them. $85 for a little bowl with a hole drilled in the bottom? As others had noticed, as for fire protection, they cover less than half of the plastic filter bowl. Totally worthless even for half *** fire protection.

So I went with something cheaper. $3 each for one quart "pet watering buckets." (I found them 3 for $12, cheaper than this Amazon site). I believe that they are intended to hang on a chain-link fence so that Fido can get a drink of water. Whatever their intended purpose, they cover up much more of the filter bowl than the goofy Racor doodad. They can actually hold the full amount of the Racor canister if it needs to be drained. They don't leak. They don't transfer heat to the filter bowl. It is easy to see whether there is water or gunk in the bowl. And, o yeah, they are fireproof.

So, back to the purpose of the red ring in the bowl. It is because the Racor "bowl-with-a-hole" fire protection doodad covers up the bottom so that you can't immediately see that there is two tablespoons of water in the bottom. Gee, it would be nice if you could just look at it and then had a little stainless steel bucket to quickly drain that out. Maybe something with a bail so that you didn't spill it. Somebody should develop something for that application.

I'm guessing that Parker will next develop a Racor Filter LED Light system that sits down in the cup so that you can use the Racor Filter Mirror to see if there is water behind the Racor bowl-with-a-hole Fire Shield. It will be $185 each for the system.

 

[smitty477]

My surveyor mentioned them, but didn't include them in the modifications required for insurance. It sounded like a good idea, so I looked into them. When I found them, they weren't $3 each like I had expected. Not $10 each. $85 each and I needed four!!!! What was odd was that I had worked in restaurants and had used these little bowls before. They are about $2 each at restaurant supply houses. The Racor bowls do come with a couple parts that would be an additional $2 at the hardware store.

The stupid part (aside from the $85 price tag) is that the Racor bowls had holes drilled in the bottom of them. $85 for a little bowl with a hole drilled in the bottom? As others had noticed, as for fire protection, they cover less than half of the plastic filter bowl. Totally worthless even for half *** fire protection.

So I went with something cheaper. $3 each for one quart "pet watering buckets." (I found them 3 for $12, cheaper than this Amazon site). I believe that they are intended to hang on a chain-link fence so that Fido can get a drink of water. Whatever their intended purpose, they cover up much more of the filter bowl than the goofy Racor doodad. They can actually hold the full amount of the Racor canister if it needs to be drained. They don't leak. They don't transfer heat to the filter bowl. It is easy to see whether there is water or gunk in the bowl. And, o yeah, they are fireproof.

So, back to the purpose of the red ring in the bowl. It is because the Racor "bowl-with-a-hole" fire protection doodad covers up the bottom so that you can't immediately see that there is two tablespoons of water in the bottom. Gee, it would be nice if you could just look at it and then had a little stainless steel bucket to quickly drain that out. Maybe something with a bail so that you didn't spill it. Somebody should develop something for that application.

I'm guessing that Parker will next develop a Racor Filter LED Light system that sits down in the cup so that you can use the Racor Filter Mirror to see if there is water behind the Racor bowl-with-a-hole Fire Shield. It will be $185 each for the system.

That was a unique solution - everything related to the Racors is complicated and expensive. We had the metal bowls so we just replaced them and added the one 'second' hose clamp also required by the survey - about 15 minutes and we were done.
FWIW - After a bit we replaced the Racors with spin on filters which for us were better in price, capacity, and easier to replace filters.

 

[SoWhat]

A PO may have found a convenient place to store a spare o-ring, or he didn't install it. A Racor utilizes a turbulent flow, so I would suggest removing it.

The bowl has been discussed at length in prior threads. Racor claims it meets the ABYC 2 1/2 flame test. They don't mention what happens 5 seconds later.