Replacing Racor Fuel Filters

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. HW. I honestly can't remember where I got the CAV filters. Might be they were on board when we bought the boat. PO had at LEAST 2 of everything spare (AC control board, lighting fixtures, plumbing faucets etc.) A veritable shat-load of spares. Thanks Beau.

Won't be back on board until late fall probably.

 

[RickyD]

I had Lehman SP 375's and was told by the local repair facility to run 10's for the Racors and 2's on the engines. At least that is how I remember it. Now with my Cats I do the same and my new Cat mechanic agrees.

 

[clyde]

yrs ago, i discouvered a filter system known as the the GULF COAST OIL AND FUEl filters, each uses a bounty 6" paper towell, and filter down to 1, to 1.5 microns! the averaage screw on oil filter is about 28 to 32 microns, racor has several fuel filters, the brown one is 4 micron i think. i started using the gulf coast oil/fuel filters in the middle 90`s, and never looked back! there is a person in nanaimo, bc that handles them. i changed the oil/fuel once a year, 350 hours, for the first 3 years i sent samples in for testing, and with 350 hours on the oil, it was like new, so i quit the testing! my experience with the FRANTZ toilet paper oil/fuel filters, goes back to the early sixties. the oil does`nt start turning dark till about 100+ hours! they make their own filters, but i just buy my bounty 6" paper towells at costco. my main engine is a 70B volvo, which now has 10,600 hours. they are installed as bypass filters! if one goes way back to the start of this forum, there`s a lot of really interesting things to read! i have a FRANTZ toilet paper filter on my 92 dodge/cummins, use SCOTT 1000 toilet paper, change the roll every 2500+ miles, add what`s needed, and usually change the oil at abt 16,000 miles! samples tested clean...clyde

 

[NCheaven]

Great question and responses. I chose to cut my end of season 10m Racor filter open with a hacksaw. Good proof that the spring 2018 fuel polishing, Biopor JF winter and periodic treatments and mostly Valvtech fuel have paid off. Filter paper came out as clean as a filter maker’s “best” ad picture. So, my suggestion is to cut open your first filter change, and know with a little but not complete certainty how your fuel filter system is working. Last: A preseason fuel polishing and initial early filter change (50 hour?) and hacksaw inspection on the filter are cheap insurance for a first great season on the water. Research biocides, too. BTW, I have dual Racor 10m, and a 10m on the engine. Engine is older, not common rail. Engine manual suggests 10m fuel filter on the engine. Pressure gauge is visible from helm.

 

[clyde]

clyde fernortner

NCheaven
good morning, as i said, if you go back to the beginning of this forum, there`s a ton of information! several guys that were engineers, wrote a lot of interesting things! i wrote one on a mistake he made on the description of his fuel polisher, and he got pretty hot! [but i was right!] i have 2 racor vacuum gauges, main/genset, they were always in the red, always! i was on a close friends boat, and his were working fine…when i looked close, his had an air bubble! went back to our boat, no bubble!! so i took them apart,and poured out some glycerin, till i had a good bubble, and voila, they now work correctly! [the glycerin is for vibration] does`nt take me long! we were in Alaska in the early 80`s, and the napa store in petersburg said to use 10 micron, 4 would plug up!
diesel was $1.00 a gallon! we had a westsail 32 then, and that trip told me to get a power boat! so we bought a 41 skookum, single volvo, no flying bridge, custom built locally.big oil stove, 400 water, and 600 fuel! we`ve had her for 30+ years! couple more yrs, and she`ll go on the 'for sale' block! age is catching up!...clyde