metal bowl under Racor filter

What is the purpose of these SS bowls? I had thought they were to catch drips or spills but now I see there is a small hole about 1\8" dia. in the bottom which would let any diesel just drip out anyway. In the back of my mind someting tells me it has something to do with fire?
Anyone know?

Primary Fuel Filters | PassageMaker
I hope this helps.

Good link and info!

Thanks! Here is a quote from the article that explains it.
"Many believe this is present to catch drips and minor leaks, but that’s not the case. Close examination would reveal a small drain hole that would make them unsuited for that purpose. In fact, the bowl is a heat shield that protects the filter’s clear, plastic bowl from flames for the prescribed 2-1/2 minutes."

Steve, I read the whole thing and now have to go put plugs on my valves cause I know I don't have any!

dimer2 said:

Steve, I read the whole thing and now have to go put plugs on my valves cause I know I don't have any!

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Check mine, plugs but no valves!

I see many fuel filters with clear plastic bowls (without heat shields) in engine compartments. None of the Racor filters with clear plastic bowls and without heat shields meet the CFR's for installation in an engine room or fuel tank compartment.

Ok so this caught my eye and may open pandora's box:

So this is a guideline, not a regulation. In fact aren't all ABYC recommendations exactly that a recommendation and not law?

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Ok so this caught my eye and may open pandora's box:

The guideline, set forth in the American Boat and Yacht Council’s Standards, which applies to all fuel carrying components
​

So this is a guideline, not a regulation. In fact aren't all ABYC recommendations exactly that a recommendation and not law?

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True, but in this case there does not seem to be a difference between ABYC Standards and the law (Code of Federal regulations).

Agree. CFR is the law.

boatpoker said:

I see many fuel filters with clear plastic bowls (without heat shields) in engine compartments. None of the Racor filters with clear plastic bowls and without heat shields meet the CFR's for installation in an engine room or fuel tank compartment.

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of an inspected vessel, or of a vessel of new manufacture.

av8r said:

of an inspected vessel, or of a vessel of new manufacture.

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Pleasure craft.

A reference to the specific CFR would be quite instructive.

av8r said:

A reference to the specific CFR would be quite instructive.

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Canada Shipping Act – TP1332E 7.7.1 requires every fuel filter or strainer shall meet the fire resistance requirements for fuel systems set forth in ABYC Standards for Small Craft H-24.5.7 unless the filter or strainer is inside the fuel tank.


ABYC, H-24.5.7 states All individual components of the fuel system, as installed in a boat, shall be capable of withstanding a 2 ½ minute exposure to free burning fuel (N-Heptane) without leakage as required by Title 33 CFR, Section 183.590



United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 33 183.590



Fire Test --

(a) A piece of equipment is tested under the following conditions and procedures
(1) Fuel stop valves, “USCG Type A1” or “USCG Type A2” hoses and
hose clamps are tested in a fire chamber.
(2) Fuel filters, strainers and pumps are tested in a fire chamber or as installed
on the engine in the boat.
(b) Each fire test is conducted with free burning heptane and the component must
be subjected to a flame for 2 ½ minutes.
(c) If the component is tested in a fire chamber:
(1) The temperature within one inch of the component must be at least
648° sometime during the 2 ½ minute test
(2) The surface of the heptane must be 8 to 10 inches below the component
being tested.
(3) The heptane must be in a container that is large enough to permit the
perimeter of the top of the surface of the heptane to extend beyond the
vertical projection of the perimeter of the component being tested.


Below is an email from Racor (Parker) listing their CFR compliant filters. None of the filters listed are without a heat shield.

§ 183.501
Applicability.
(a) This subpart applies to all boats that have gasoline engines, except outboard engines, for electrical generation, mechanical power, or propulsion.
(b) [Reserved]
[CGD 74-209, 42 FR 5950, Jan. 31, 1977, as amended by CGD 81-092, 48 FR 55736, Dec. 15, 1983; USCG-1999-5832, 64 FR 34716, June 29, 1999]

33 CFR 183, Subpart J - Fuel Systems

• CFR
• Updates
• Authorities (U.S. Code)

prev | next

• — General
• § 183.501 — Applicability.
• § 183.505 — Definitions.
• § 183.507 — General.
• — Equipment Standards
• § 183.510 — Fuel tanks.
• § 183.512 — Fuel tanks: Prohibited materials.
• § 183.514 — Fuel tanks: Labels.
• § 183.516 — Cellular plastic used to encase fuel tanks.
• § 183.518 — Fuel tank openings.
• § 183.520 — Fuel tank vent systems.
• § 183.524 — Fuel pumps.
• § 183.526 — Carburetors.
• § 183.528 — Fuel stop valves.
• § 183.530 — Spud, pipe, and hose fitting configuration.
• § 183.532 — Clips, straps, and hose clamps.
• § 183.534 — Fuel filters and strainers.
• § 183.536 — Seals and gaskets in fuel filters and strainers.
• § 183.538 — Metallic fuel line materials.
• § 183.540 — Hoses: Standards and markings.
• § 183.542 — Fuel systems.
• — Manufacturer Requirements
• § 183.550 — Fuel tanks: Installation.
• § 183.552 — Plastic encased fuel tanks: Installation.
• § 183.554 — Fittings, joints, and connections.
• § 183.556 — Plugs and fittings.
• § 183.558 — Hoses and connections.
• § 183.560 — Hose clamps: Installation.
• § 183.562 — Metallic fuel lines.
• § 183.564 — Fuel tank fill system.
• § 183.566 — Fuel pumps: Placement.
• § 183.568 — Anti-siphon protection.
• § 183.570 — Fuel filters and strainers: Installation.
• § 183.572 — Grounding.
• — Tests
• § 183.580 — Static pressure test for fuel tanks.
• § 183.584 — Shock test.
• § 183.586 — Pressure impulse test.
• § 183.588 — Slosh test.
• § 183.590 — Fire test.

AV8R, sorry, you are correct I have too many standards running around in my head (ABYC, SAE, ABS, UL, CSA, TP1332E, NFTA etc. )and should have reread that before I posted.

I know that based on all the engine room fires I have seen on small GRP vessels...unless the fuel filter is on the engine itself...the last thing that I'm worried about is whether my Racor has a heat shield around it.... unless by majic the fire started right under the Racor.

That's the answer. Prevent the fire from under the bowl, -- Or anywhere. Common sense is better than regulations or guidelines. - But they sometimes protect ---

A hasty repair with the wrong materials needs to be corrected ASAP. If you suspect there is a problem, there probably is -- LOCATE IT and FIX IT!

The Racor site does not list the components to make a non-compliant filter set meet the fire regs so are we expected to spend $1200 for a pair of compliant filters? I think that won't happen on my boat.

boatpoker said:

AV8R, sorry, you are correct I have too many standards running around in my head ... and should have reread that before I posted.

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That seems to be a regular event, you post some perceived interpretation of a "regulation" that either does not exist or does not apply.

Now we have readers asking if they have to spend hundreds of dollars to meet some surveyor proclaimed standard that does not apply.

How many of your clients have paid dearly for modifications or "repairs" based on the same shoot from the hip response to something you should have reread and verified before writing up a survey report?

"You" in this case doesn't mean just you personally, it applies to nearly all small boat surveyors. Most of them are woefully lacking any real expertise in maintenance or regulatory oversight or application.

Thanks for posting though, it is another of the many examples of why a survey buyer should be very very careful of the qualifications and knowledge he believes he is paying for.

Hi Steve,

The metal bowl is there to protect the plastic reservoir and is required by safety regulations. Not sure just how it protects the reservoir; from fire, from mechanical damage, etc. ?

I've always thought that the metal shield was a "silly" requirement. There are a lot more items that I would like to see protected in the ER other than a metal shield on the bottom of a Racor. We once (in Boy Scouts) learned that we could boil water in a paper bag held over an open flame. The bag never burned as the temperature it saw never exceeded 212F. I wonder how the Racor (without the shield) would stand up to a 2 &1/2 minute test ?

I work with codes and standards everyday...
Do what I do before opening my mouth.....Do a sanity check....When you realize that almost nobody is in compliance it probably is not a requirement....or a best a new requirement and those are almost never retroactive.
I must admit you had me thinking...Why does my boat not comply, Why doesn't about half my friends boats up and down the dock comply? I was think how much I could make manufacturing and selling those ss shields. Parker Racor sells them for about $70.. What a rip off.

buy a couple stainless mixing bowls and drill holes in them...then get wild and see if you can find metal stopcock drains at a big box store. Total cost should be under $25.

SeaHorse II said:

I wonder how the Racor (without the shield) would stand up to a 2 &1/2 minute test ?

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I think it would be academic because by that time there wouldn't be much left of the boat anyway.

Consider that a fire burning beneath the bowl for that long would likely have spread enough to burn the whole boat down in the next 2.5 minutes anyway.

As boats actually become safer as a result of better materials and manufacturing techiques and generally much higher quality components, the insurance underwriters and the toyboat surveyors are having to struggle to find conditions and components that might in some remote circumstance contribute to a loss.

There are two conditions that are generally found to be the source of an engine room fire, an electrical problem or a fuel spray that originates at a high pressure connection.

Electrical issues can be dealt with by enclosing all terminals and connections. There isn't a toy boat built that follows that practice. The fuel spray issue is controlled by using double-wall fuel lines with a leak-off alarm to warn of a fuel leak. I have only seen that configuration installed on very large yachts with new large engines, large commercial vessels, and retrofitted to some older commercial vessels operating in international service as required by IMO regulations.

Neither of those means to protect a boat from fire will ever see daylight in an ABYC or insurance company document. Though they are the two major causes of fires, it is easier to demand an owner spend $500 as it makes the surveyor look like he knows something and it makes the insurance company look like they are doing something to reduce losses. It is BS, pure smoke and mirrors.

RickB said:

Electrical issues can be dealt with by enclosing all terminals and connections......The fuel spray issue is controlled by using double-wall fuel lines with a leak-off alarm to warn of a fuel leak.

Neither of those means to protect a boat from fire will ever see daylight in an ABYC or insurance company document.

Though they are the two major causes of fires, it is easier to demand an owner spend $500 as it makes the surveyor look like he knows something and it makes the insurance company look like they are doing something to reduce losses.

It is BS, pure smoke and mirrors.

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Sorry for the "edit", Rick...but I just wanted to drive the message home.

Xsbank said:

The Racor site does not list the components to make a non-compliant filter set meet the fire regs so are we expected to spend $1200 for a pair of compliant filters? I think that won't happen on my boat.

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Or just scrap the Racors and join the 21st century and go with spin ons.

RickB said:

Electrical issues can be dealt with by enclosing all terminals and connections. There isn't a toy boat built that follows that practice. .

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This may well apply to the Nordhavn that just burned in England as it seems pilot house rather than ER related. That will be an interesting forensic study.

sunchaser said:

This may well apply to the Nordhavn that just burned in England as it seems pilot house rather than ER related.

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Hard to tell but this photo makes it look like flames are visible on the aft deck area while none are evident in the wheelhouse.