Primary Fuel Filters

Comodave said:

I mounted a small LED light behind the Racor bowl so I can see what is in the bowl more easily. They come on with the other LED lights in the engine room.

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Another project to add to the list.

Ted

Ok back to basics. Jeez lights vacuum monitors ! sheesh. Whatever next ?
Irrespective of the engine, it depends on your throttle setting how much you will 'return' as your lift pump capacity must be able to cope with your engine full throttle needs.
Why you guys bother yourself with all that mental masturbation really amazes me ?
Diesels are simple. Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow. Clean lubricant, clean fuel and clean air, job done !
Why oh why the constant 'opinions', facts are fact, end of story, why you feel you need to add expensive Racors is completely beyond me.
EVERY diesel manufacturer specifies the microns of their fuel filters and their engines go on to perform thousands of hours perfect service.
I don't need to massage your ego's but sometimes you guys need some straight talking.Get the facts.
Apologies but I'm an old fashioned hands on guy.

Irish Rambler said:

Apologies but I'm an old fashioned hands on guy.

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Glad simplicity works for you. I prefer PM (Preventative Maintenance) over repair. I prefer gauges over failure alarms. Were you the one who said, " Cruising is boat repair in exotic locations"?

Ted

Besides, I like working on my boat, so if I can add something as simple and cheap as 3 LED lights so it makes it easier to check the Racors, why not. It also gives me something to do over the winter. I was adding some LED lighting to the engine room so a few more isn’t a big deal.

My problem will be when I can’t find anything else to do on my boat is when I usually sell the boat and start on another one. But my deal here is I cannot go any bigger or heavier due to the travel lift is maxed out with our current boat. And I have already talked to the yard owner and he won’t buy a bigger lift just so I can buy a bigger boat. Hmm...

The big 1000 filters hold 2x more than the 900 and cost little more.

Just bought 3 Racor 1000 30 micron elements with the newer water block material. Under $12 a piece delivered. Wish everything in boating was this cheap.

Ted

Old school diesel engines generally had very low return flow rates. I recall in general that the Detroit 2 stroke engines ( like all 53, 71, 92 series) had a lot more flow than a typical 4 stroke in those days. The Cummins PT fuel systems also flowed a lot more back to tank which created a lot more heat in the fuel tanks. That flow was designed in to those unit injectors, which was for cooling the injector, along with the usual function of purging air from the system. With most of those older engines, many naturally aspirated, cooling was not a big deal as they only produced 120 hp from a 400ish cu in engine. I know the OP was talking about a 120 hp FL but there is a huge difference in return flow between those and say a high hp 6-71, and an even bigger difference when talking about newer high pressure common rail engines, intercooled and aftercooled, that are producing 350 - 400 hp from a similar cid engine. The hpcr engine returns a lot of fuel, partly because it can burn 20+ gallons per hour and needs a steady supply, but it also needs to cool the injectors with high rates of return fuel.

The best thing about Racor filters is being able to see if any water or solids get into the clear bowl if you have enough light. Great idea to add a little light behind the bowl! In the truck and heavy equipment world, a lot of these "bowl" style filters are being removed from systems because they are so prone to leaking air into the fuel and since they are designed as a "suction" filter it does happen. Not a problem on a polishing system. I would lean toward a 1 or 2 or both selector using a pair of Fleetguard FS1000 with water drain. So much quicker and easier to change on a rocking boat which is when you will have to do the emergency change. Read Tony Athens articles.

Irish Rambler said:

why you feel you need to add expensive Racors is completely beyond me.

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See below.

Irish Rambler said:

Clean lubricant, clean fuel and clean air, job done !

Click to expand...

See above.

Irish Rambler said:

EVERY diesel manufacturer specifies the microns of their fuel filters and their engines go on to perform thousands of hours perfect service.

Click to expand...

Yes, and that fuel filter is very hard to monitor, and if it starts to clog, one doesn't know until there is a performance problem, e.g. slow start, surging, etc.

Hours aren't necessarily a good gauge when fuel quality as it exists in the tanks is variable.

It also doesn't filter water or indicate the presence of water -- which I think we can all agree is bad.

O-rings can go bad and leak water into tanks. Condensation in humid environments can add water to tanks. It is rare, but blowing wind or breaking waves can force air in through vents, even with loops.

Recreational vessels don't always use fuel at a rate aligned with their fuel tank capacities, so owners often leave relatively little fuel to try to keep it fresh -- leaving air for condensation. Or, they try to keep it full to keep the air minimal -- leading the fuel to get old and things grow in it. Neither is optimal.

A primary fuel filter with water separator and glass bowl with vacuum gauge provides an easy way of monitoring for water, monitoring filter status, improving the service interval, improving confidence, and changing filters more rapidly while underway.

I have operated hundreds of boats both as a commercial operator and as a captain for a major boat dealership.


I have come across small amounts of water in Racors through the years in many Racor filters....


How it got there....I have no clue...


But the point is it WAS there and alerted me to be careful .... as lots more may follow. It was many time easier shining a flashlight to the clear bowl from on deck while underway than going into the engineroom and draining a metal bowl...


Hmmmm....maybe that's the whole concept of Racor clear bowls versus others.

Irish Rambler said:

Ok back to basics. Jeez lights vacuum monitors ! sheesh. Whatever next ?
Irrespective of the engine, it depends on your throttle setting how much you will 'return' as your lift pump capacity must be able to cope with your engine full throttle needs.
Why you guys bother yourself with all that mental masturbation really amazes me ?
Diesels are simple. Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow. Clean lubricant, clean fuel and clean air, job done !
Why oh why the constant 'opinions', facts are fact, end of story, why you feel you need to add expensive Racors is completely beyond me.
EVERY diesel manufacturer specifies the microns of their fuel filters and their engines go on to perform thousands of hours perfect service.
I don't need to massage your ego's but sometimes you guys need some straight talking.Get the facts.
Apologies but I'm an old fashioned hands on guy.

Click to expand...

+1 Irish on the Racors. Some guys like to be able to see the fuel bowl to see water and debris. Not I. I gave away my Racors and installed Davco truck filter assemblies. The clear bowl on top tells me when it is time to change the filter. No guesswork. No vacuum gauge needed. Bad load of fuel? I would see it in the filter getting used up more quickly. I don't have a polisher, don't want one, don't need one. Just got back from our first spring outing here in Galesville, just south of Annapolis, MD. I drained a bit of fuel from the metal, non see through bowls before leaving. No water, no debris. Why would there be. I'm still working on a fill-up in Norfolk from a year ago. No debris, no filters plugged up. Why would I need to check the bowls every time out. Where would all that water come from? Each to his own. Do you need Racors? Do you need to polish fuel? Do you need day tanks? I say no. Doesn't hurt anything, however. Perhaps it helps that my fuel feed is from the bottom of the tanks. Just another opinion. Not right, not wrong.

"Davco truck filter assemblies."

Great items ,super to live with, but some insurance surveys will gig them for nor having a marine fire rating.

Our work around was a pull cable to shut off fuel at the tank.

Comodave said:

I mounted a small LED light behind the Racor bowl so I can see what is in the bowl more easily. They come on with the other LED lights in the engine room.

Click to expand...

Now that's what I call "mood lighting".

I am aware that some surveyors will cite a Davco because of the clear plastic (very thick) bowl. It's ironic because Racors have clear plastic bowls also. Yes, there is that hokey heat shield at the bottom but one wonders, in case of a fire hot enough to melt through the Davco bowl, why that same fire would not also melt the Racor bowl just as readily. And, with any fire intense enough to melt either will already have doomed the boat, just another example of ABYC nonsense, in my opinion. The Racors I removed and replaced with the Davco product did not have the bottom metal bowl and it passed survey. When it comes time to sell the boat, I will deal with it, if it comes up.

FF said:

"Davco truck filter assemblies."

Great items ,super to live with, but some insurance surveys will gig them for nor having a marine fire rating.

Our work around was a pull cable to shut off fuel at the tank.

Click to expand...

Comodave said:

I mounted a small LED light behind the Racor bowl so I can see what is in the bowl more easily. They come on with the other LED lights in the engine room.

Click to expand...

Any chance you might have a photo or 2 of those LEDs?