Is my CAV filter plumbed the wrong way?

[prv]

I think I'll put them together, side-by-side, on a backing board that can be lifted out for the same purpose.

For what it's worth, this is how I did my filters:



The red filter is the one that would normally be on the engine - the housing just unbolts and the connections to it were hoses anyway. The two white filters are a changeover pair - if one blocks, flip the lever to switch to the other.

There is a squeeze-bulb just below the drip-tray which pumps fuel through the system to refill or bleed the filters when changing. A strap-wrench and the correct sized spanner for the bleed screws are stowed in a little pocket on the bulkhead just out of shot. There's room in the drip tray for a plastic kitchen jug, which the filter drops into when unscrewed. Any drips or dribbles obviously end up in the tray where they can be wiped up.

My engine bay doesn't smell of spilled diesel any more

Pete

 

[LittleSister]

For what it's worth, this is how I did my filters:

View attachment 91228

Very neat! (And expensive! )

 

[prv]

Very neat! (And expensive! )

The all-in-one changeover unit is far more expensive than it ought to be - fortunately I didn’t have to buy this one. But on the previous boat I made something similar with individual ball valves and copper tube - not quite as compact, but minimal cost.

Nothing else about it is notably expensive, though making the tray took some time and effort. If it didn’t have to fit into an odd-shaped space, it could probably be cut out of an existing plastic container of some type instead of custom-moulding GRP.

Pete

 

[jbweston]

Sooner or later, two people will come along and post on this thread. .No1 fastens his CAV filter in place with Blu-tack, never checks it and has had no trouble for the last 20 years . No 2 uses stainless bolts, washers, nyloc nuts and Loctite and checks it every morning because he knows it might work loose.

On a related subject, Penguin arrived new from the yard with a metal sediment bowl under the CAV filter. Straight away I changed it for a glass bowl. How else can I do a quick daily visual check to see if it's filling up with water? I know I can drain a metal bowl as a precaution but that's messy (slightly) and consumes two minutes of time that I'd rather use lashing the crew to the mast. I want to *see* any water in the fuel in a half second glance.

 

[LittleSister]

Straight away I changed it for a glass bowl. How else can I do a quick daily visual check to see if it's filling up with water?

If you've the money and the inclination, you can buy a electrical sensor for Racor (and presumably other) filters which will tell you remotely if you've any water in the bowl.

You could link it to home via the internet, and save all the trouble of going to the boat!

(But like you I prefer a glass bowl to a metal one.)

 

[shoc]

. . . so long as the line from the tank is the one that has the tap in it, not the line to the engine.

Yes its that way all right on my boat -- thanks everyone for the replies

 

[shoc]

I've always disliked the CAV filter arrangement and eventually got around to changing the setup to a Racor type filter.

The new setup (self installed) isn't as neat as the previous but it works fine and will make filter changes much easier, the double hose clips are probably over-kill. I also forgot to paint the timber to match in before heading off to the boat -- next time

Before;





After

 

[PetiteFleur]

I changed my original CAV filter to an identical housing except that the filter is now a screw on type - SO much easier to change the filter, and I have a container underneath to catch any drips. Tap on the filter bottom to drain any water(I've never found any water in the original cav filter). New housing from ASAP supplies, just make sure you get the correct ports, either UNF or Metric thread.

 

[Bilgediver]

Sorry to be that guy ...... but I've never seen a fuel filter hanging on two hooks before.

Sorry.

Richard

It helps get the angle of the dangle correct so that the leaking diesel lands in the drip tin below.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

What PRV said.

Mine is arranged the same as yours, if it's any additional reassurance:

Deleted, as I had forgotten that I had reacted to this before.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Wrong spec. They should be plastic coated to avoid electrolytic corrosion with the filter head.

There's nothing intelligent about having bits of a fuel system rattling around like that . Same for electrics and gas - it should all be properly fixed.

Hmmm! Perhaps I'll change over to wingnuts.

 

[TernVI]

. . . so long as the line from the tank is the one that has the tap in it, not the line to the engine.

The tap on the outlet of the filter prevents air entering/fuel leaving the engine side pipework while changing/bleeding the filter.
There should be a tap at the tank of course. 1/4 valves are cheap enough, you could have one both sides.

Copper pipework is a FAIL.

 

[colind3782]

Hmmm! Perhaps I'll change over to wingnuts.

That's what I did.