Racors Filters, real or fake

Apparently there are knock off Racor filters available. Both the housings and the actual filters are showing up on Amazon, Ebay, etc.

Does anyone know how to distinguish real from "not so real", other than buying directly from a known source? The housings are pretty obvious, but the filters are harder to distinguish.

I have found the filters to be cheaper at the marine store than Amazon and I know the marine store has a great reputation.

One genuine Racor replacement filter is $80 here. I imported a box from a certain marine store way cheaper.

I have seen some housing clones china made. I guess that for housing it does not matter so much but for filter elements I would go genuine.

L

I bought one of the 500 knock offs to see exactly how it would compare to a genuine Racor. The inlet & outlet fitting threads were severely mismatched causing me to tighten them so much to make a seal that I was worried something would break. I wasn't comfortable using it as a fuel filter on the boat so I built a stand & am using it as a portable fuel polisher.

I looked at them a couple of years ago. The decal on the Racor says Racor. The knockoff was marketed under several brand names. Ultimately I decided the risk of it breaking wasn't worth the savings.

Ted

boomerang said:

I bought one of the 500 knock offs to see exactly how it would compare to a genuine Racor. The inlet & outlet fitting threads were severely mismatched causing me to tighten them so much to make a seal that I was worried something would break. I wasn't comfortable using it as a fuel filter on the boat so I built a stand & am using it as a portable fuel polisher.

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It is not unusual to run into generic filters inserts or generic drugs. Sometimes one just has to have a little faith in society. A very well marine store sells knock offs. I am not happy but, the knock offs might be the only option.

Well some swear by toilet paper or paper towel filters. There is no shortage of ways to nickel and dime on filters.

But if one uses one or two hundred gallons a year of fuel, relies upon tow boat and is always within easy cell phone range of help, does it really matter?

Then there are those that stray far from a home port to remote places and go through many tanks of fuel ----- , different story on using the real deal.

Fuel filters and filter elements are the last place I would consider knock-offs. Plus, I am so sick of total crap products who's only value is to waste my time and fill our land fills. The apparent savings is usually a false economy over all.

Who knows, someday generic Racos style filters may actually be better like many products became through the years.

But chances are, cheap ones now dont meet that criteria.

twistedtree said:

Plus, I am so sick of total crap products who's only value is to waste my time and fill our land fills. The apparent savings is usually a false economy over all.

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Amen

Hi,

Genuine Racor turbine filter filters 100% from water as the filter material is apparently special vs cheap duplicates, I believe this and because I have a common rail which nirso for bad fuel, the liver a little bit more here about $ 5 more expensive than the x brand. Orginal racor filter 10 microns pay 12,23$ my 75/900 Why Save 5$?

And racor say...

What is Aquabloc? Why is it important?
The actual "filtering" part of the element, the Aquabloc® media, is a complex, multi-layered blend of high-grade cellulose compounded with synthetic nano-fibers for filtering increasingly smaller particles as the fuel approaches the center of the element. This is combined with a unique, permanent waterproofing chemical treatment applied to the fibers.
Water will not cling to or get absorbed into the filter media as the Aquabloc® totally repels it.
The result is near 100% water separation and particulate filtering.

Fuel contaminated with water and dirt is the number one cause of diesel engine failure.
Make certain that you replace your Turbine Series filter elements only with genuine Racor Aquabloc® elements.
While many others try to imitate the construction and performance of Aquabloc filters, only the genuine article delivers the fit and performance specified by engine manufacturers, and guarantees that your Racor filter and water separator will deliver the protection you count on.

All this is especially important with modern diesel engines which inject fuel at 25,000 to 30,000 psi instead of 3,000 psi like the diesel on your grandfather's boat.
Water and contaminants in high pressure fuel systems can easily damage expensive injector pumps and injectors.

Competing, poorly constructed filter elements using low quality media, will perform poorly and can get blocked 70% sooner than Aquabloc media. When this happens, they can allow internal bypassing - permitting dirty fuel and water to pass through.
Poor quality elements are especially susceptible to damage from biodiesel fuel blends - which are becoming increasingly common. The animal fats and enzymes in biodiesel require a sophisticated pore size sequence in the media and can also destroy the element's seals within the service period.
Surprisingly, very few of competing copycat filter elements actually meet OEM specifications - allowing damaging water and smaller particles to reach the engine.

With an Aquabloc replacement filter, you get a complete kit with all the biodiesel-resistant seals you need.

Believe it or not, you decide!

NBs

I've been a heavy equipment mechanic for over 40 years and have often seen the costly damage done by contaminated fuel. Especially on Caterpiller, Cummins and Volvo engines built within the past 25 years. I wholeheartedly agree with Balic Sea's post

To be clear, we are speaking of "pre" filters not the on engine which best be OEM. Much of the Racor marketing material is hype regarding Aqua bloc, or at least not verifiable after a filter has aged a six months or more. But best to use the real deal as they fit right, have the right plastic and right O rings.

If I were to start over with my filter system I'd not use any of the old style (check their website to see the many filtering options they offer) Racors. Just two stages of spin ons (30u followed by 10u) and then the on engine. Look under the hood of a dozer or big haul truck, this is close to what you see. Cat, Fleetguard and Parker Hannifin dominate this market

As oft repeated here, read what Tony Athens says about marine fuel filtering. His Seaboard site is loaded with all sorts of good marine info on many subjects.