goeasy123
Well-Known Member
Either way, you have all that hard line and special armoured hose between the tank and engine and then you decide to put a piece of cheap chineseum in it??
Fuel filter/water separator choice
- Thread starter MikeBz
- Start date
Either way, you have all that hard line and special armoured hose between the tank and engine and then you decide to put a piece of cheap chineseum in it??
xyachtdave
Well-Known Member
I’ve binned off the CAV with glass bowl, too many o-rings and spilled diesel for my liking, even with a cut down water bottle under it to drop the contents into. Chances of success of doing it in a hurry approximately zero!
I bought the one linked above from ASAP supplies, the Baldwin filters are about £6 each elsewhere online.
Just wanted to add a word of warning, the ASAP site isn’t great for searching and the UNF fittings weren’t easy to find. I think I ended up buying male to male adaptors to 3/8 BSP, UNF blank plugs plus bleed screw, a new fuel tap and BSP elbows.
Sadly the dream of a straight swap was shattered once the old set up was removed!
Edit to add I would have fitted the Racor set up but it was too large unfortunately
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GEM43
Well-Known Member
I agree that acquiring the correct fittings is a minefield. However I’ve found that if you ask ASAP to supply the fittings they’re very good at putting together a ready made fitting solution (valves, hosetails, filter connections etc).
doug748
Well-Known Member
I forgot to add earlier, one of the key reasons I went for the Racor copy is the alternative barbed connectors they throw into the deal. I think screwed fittings to solid pipework are well worth avoiding if you want a simple fix.
xyachtdave
Well-Known Member
Yes I suffered in silence ordering a variety of bits via their website until I gave in and phoned, as you say very helpful.
Moodysailor
Well-Known Member
It’s not armoured hose or hard lines on a leisure boat, and if you have a 296 type filter, it’s an improvement.
PabloPicasso
Well-Known Member
I am replacing the cav setup which is located low down behind the engine. Very awkward.
If I extend the fuel lines I can mount the new filter assesmbly at the front of the engine bay where it is easy to reach.
Is there any issue with the height? I would like to mount it higher up so it'll be higher than the tank. Perhaps I'll fit an inline priming bulb also.
If I extend the fuel lines I can mount the new filter assesmbly at the front of the engine bay where it is easy to reach.
Is there any issue with the height? I would like to mount it higher up so it'll be higher than the tank. Perhaps I'll fit an inline priming bulb also.
Sea Change
Well-Known Member
If you put it higher than the tank, you'll have a lovely mess free filter change.
But it'll be a PITA to bleed, and vulnerable to the slightest air leak.
An inline priming bulb will help but IMHO it's best to put the filter at the lowest point and put up with a bit of mess when you change filters.
Curious to see what others say.
PabloPicasso
Well-Known Member
I guess its all a compromise between ease of access and ease of use.
And I'd fit an on/off valve on the side of the filter housing. Then I won't have to crawl under the aft berth to reach the fuel shut off valve on the tank.
All making the task easier.
Moodysailor
Well-Known Member
No issue with placing the filter (slightly) above the tank, it does make for mess-free filter replacement. The issue, as identified, is bleeding due to the small priming/lift pumps on yacht engines.
An inline bulb will help with this, as will pre-filling the filter after replacing prior to bleeding.
TBH, when I was working on these daily, if the bowl was clean I wouldn't drain the filter housing - just lift out the filter and insert the new one. It's one of the main advantages of the Racor/Separ type over the 296 style filter. If done carefully there is next to no mess, bleeding is quick & easy and there is next to no chance of airlocks.
If draining the housing to clean the bowl, I would normally pre-fill the housing before closing the lid and bleeding. This is easier when the tank is full, if the fuel tank was very low, sometimes it can be tricky to bleed a high filter due to the increased head.
In summary, I would go for it with no concerns at all. Make sure to keep the fuel hoses neatly run to avoid high spots where air can be trapped.
An inline bulb will help with this, as will pre-filling the filter after replacing prior to bleeding.
TBH, when I was working on these daily, if the bowl was clean I wouldn't drain the filter housing - just lift out the filter and insert the new one. It's one of the main advantages of the Racor/Separ type over the 296 style filter. If done carefully there is next to no mess, bleeding is quick & easy and there is next to no chance of airlocks.
If draining the housing to clean the bowl, I would normally pre-fill the housing before closing the lid and bleeding. This is easier when the tank is full, if the fuel tank was very low, sometimes it can be tricky to bleed a high filter due to the increased head.
In summary, I would go for it with no concerns at all. Make sure to keep the fuel hoses neatly run to avoid high spots where air can be trapped.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Or go to a car breaker, who will have plenty of cheap 12v diesel pumps.
If you do go electric, I'd have a switch somewhere handy for the various bleeding points. If you go squeezy, mount the pump somewhere handy. I didn't, and bleeding the injector pump gets messy.
Moodysailor
Well-Known Member
Yep, good idea.
I had the opportunity!! to make an electrical system for our new (second hand) boat engine and went with a two electric pump setup. I configured them in series and wired them so one is used for priming and one is running when the engine is on. The wiring is easily switched over if a pump dies, and the priming switch is located on the engine control box so is in easy reach when servicing. I’m pretty pleased with it all in all.
PabloPicasso
Well-Known Member
If one fits a pump do you need a filter between it and the tank?
Does it switch on when the engine starts to turn? So would need a solanoid controlled by the alternator charging circuit? Or just off the engine control panel on/off switch so it'd be running all the time the power was on before start and after shut down?
Does it switch on when the engine starts to turn? So would need a solanoid controlled by the alternator charging circuit? Or just off the engine control panel on/off switch so it'd be running all the time the power was on before start and after shut down?
Moodysailor
Well-Known Member
The pump can be before or after the filter, before means it will prime the filter easier, after means the filter will be under vacuum and you won't get diesel everywhere if a seal goes or the pump is activated before the filter lid goes on (learnt the hard way
)On mine, I have wired the pump to come on when the ignition/panel is switched on. It needs to run before the engine is cranked to ensure there is sufficient fuel delivery as I don't have a mechanical lift pump. I have a secondary pump inline just in case one fails on quick-connect wiring, and a momentary switch in the engine room that fires the pump without the ignition needing to be on for priming, testing or maintenance.
Yngmar
Well-Known Member
The Chinese Facor 500 FG are absolutely fine. In fact, the quality has improved since I bought the previous one for the boat, where I still had to file some casting errors off. Just got another one to make a fuel polishing system for all the ancient diesel we found in our barn.
The turbine separator works fine too and caught all the water (well, you have to drain it before it gets to the top). Was €35 plus a few coins per filter insert (the included one is for testing only).
Pump should go on the suction side of the filter.
The turbine separator works fine too and caught all the water (well, you have to drain it before it gets to the top). Was €35 plus a few coins per filter insert (the included one is for testing only).
Pump should go on the suction side of the filter.
MikeBz
Well-Known Member
Funnily enough I'm just finishing my installation. I replaced the supplied 30micron filter insert with a 10micron one from Parts4Engines. The only problem I've had is a slight weep from the connections to the filter body itself. The shop which made up my fuel hoses agreed with me that the rubber or plastic washers supplied with the unit were not a great idea and that copper washers would be better - but despite tightening as much as I dare they weep very slightly. So I've reassembled with Loctite 577 and will see what happens - failing that I'll try fibre washers. I suspect the side of the body just isn't quite flat enough.
pawelg
Member
Very interesting thread.
My Volvo Penta D2-55 has a fuel pre-filter, but unfortunately it doesn't have a glass which would indicate if there is a water in a filter. I'm thinking about adding a Chinese equivalent of 500FG before the pre-filter.
Does it even make sense to have a dedicated water separator filter, or the default one is more than enough? Won't it affect a pressure of fuel as it would be just another filter in a row?
My Volvo Penta D2-55 has a fuel pre-filter, but unfortunately it doesn't have a glass which would indicate if there is a water in a filter. I'm thinking about adding a Chinese equivalent of 500FG before the pre-filter.
Does it even make sense to have a dedicated water separator filter, or the default one is more than enough? Won't it affect a pressure of fuel as it would be just another filter in a row?
dunedin
Well-Known Member
I would - and did on our D2-55 - replace the original prefilter with a Racor 500. Only wish had done sooner.
A third filter is unnecessary and just more filters to replace and more potential points of failure in the system.
pawelg
Member
Thanks for advice, it seems you’re happy about it. What make you think it’s better than orginal from Volvo?
MikeBz
Well-Known Member
I also replaced the existing pre-filter with the 500FG copy - it was a leaky old CAV type, hard to access (virtually no space to put anything under it for an exploratory drain) and messy to change the filter.