Practical method to polish diesel / stable door after horse gone.

[BelleSerene]

Dammit - one thing I should have asked, the copy filter unit looks like it comes with 10mm hose tails, which is a bit big for my 5/16 pipe (8mm) - does any of you fine folks know what the thread size is in the unit so that I can order some 8mm hose tails for it?

Damn. I’m sorry, I forgot that detail. I recall I had a similar problem and ASAP Supplies (happen to be in Hamble where our boat is) came to the rescue. I think (please don’t trust me on this) they were a 3/4” screw thread.

[EDIT:] I find a file note from the time in which I had written: Inlet and outlet threads: M14*1.5mm. Don't know if that was correct. Suggest using a marine fittings outfit when the filter arrives.​

There’s a loctite product I used to seal the threads. NB you want the version that doesn’t degrade in diesel. It’s on board and I don’t recall but someone on here, or your local chandlery, will advise.

Good luck. The ease of filter changing, and the centrifugal water separator, and the ability to see any crud that’s collected, made it a rewarding change.

BTW, the priming instructions are here: http://www.parker.com/Literature/Racor/Tech_Install/15332_500FG_Turbine_Series.pdf

 

[SteveGorst]

Dammit - one thing I should have asked, the copy filter unit looks like it comes with 10mm hose tails, which is a bit big for my 5/16 pipe (8mm) - does any of you fine folks know what the thread size is in the unit so that I can order some 8mm hose tails for it?

Good news on managing to source one. The one I got quoted "Inlet and outlet threads: M14*1.5mm (M14 bolts are supplied)" I kept the ones supplied and changed my pipes to 10mm. I'm currently running on the original filter element supplied but have got the genuine ones now ready to put in. When you use the filter element supplied you have to put the o rings above and below it to make a good seal.

Having cleaned out the tank by hand as I have a good access panel I agree with the other posters that said a little DIY pump is not going to do much in the way of cleaning. You need vacuum cleaner type suction. My problem wasn't bug though it was rust which you have already fixed by going plastic. I will be following you soon. Good luck with it all.

 

[BelleSerene]

Good news on managing to source one. The one I got quoted "Inlet and outlet threads: M14*1.5mm (M14 bolts are supplied)" I kept the ones supplied and changed my pipes to 10mm. I'm currently running on the original filter element supplied but have got the genuine ones now ready to put in. When you use the filter element supplied you have to put the o rings above and below it to make a good seal.

Don't use the filter element supplied: it's a lousy fit, and doubtless not the best filter anyway.

Use an original Racor one: Racor 2010TM:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Parker-Racor-Filter-2010TM-Replacement-Marine-Element/161823837813

 

[SiteSurfer]

Yep, I heeded the collective and have ordered 2 x new original ones. One to do the initial polish (all 25 litres of it) and then another to have as the in-use one.
I'm almost all there - Amazon and EBay have been delivering fuel hoses, taps, fuel clips, splitters, fuel pump and replacement hose tails all week, only the filter body and filters to come and I almost have a solution!

 

[geem]

The cost is likely to be more than the deisel but why not install a fuel polishing system into the fuel system. All you need is a pipe back to the tank (bypassing the engine) and a pump. You can then circulate the fuel through a filter. Get a double filter system so that you can run off one and have a spare and you then have a permanent fuel polishing system and a spare filter you can simply switch to if one gets blocked.
In the end of the day though it might be easier just giving everything a good clean, discarding the diesel and starting again with a strong anti-bug dose and new filter. I use a racor filter because it is very easy to change but more expensive than the standard Cav types.

Many cars have spin on fuel filter heads. Normally a search on Ebay can find a spin on filter head and filter that is a far cheaper option to Racor. I was buying spin on filters for £4 each. Buy them by the dozen for the same price as a single Racor filter.?

 

[SiteSurfer]

The filter has arrived and I'm checking it out, does anyone know if the plastic ring in the viewing bowl is supposed to be there?

 

[BelleSerene]

The filter has arrived and I'm checking it out, does anyone know if the plastic ring in the viewing bowl is supposed to be there?

View attachment 71630

How odd. No, there was none in mine and there's not supposed to be a loose part in the viewing bowl. But I see that ring exists in some of the images here: https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-racor-500fg-filter.html Presumably they're storing it in there for safe keeping, whatever it is?!

[Edit:] There seems no sign of it in Racor's seal kit for the 500FG here: http://www.parker.com/literature/Racor/15212_Rev_B_500_Seal_Service_Kit.pdf
nor in someone's disassembly pics here: http://www.marshmarine.net/index_17.htm I'd take it out!


BTW, this is a great article on how the things actually work: http://www.racornews.com/single-post/2016/1/25/Mythbusters-Fuel-Filters

 

[Hadenough]

The filter has arrived and I'm checking it out, does anyone know if the plastic ring in the viewing bowl is supposed to be there?

View attachment 71630

Be careful, they are very badly made. I know some people on here have used them with success but the ones I received were so badly engineered I sent them straight back. I know of someone who had a pair that were so badly cast that they were drawing in air though the casting.

 

[BelleSerene]

Be careful, they are very badly made. I know some people on here have used them with success but the ones I received were so badly engineered I sent them straight back. I know of someone who had a pair that were so badly cast that they were drawing in air though the casting.

It's a risk to be managed. I followed this forumite's experience [ http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?463929-Facor-fuel-filter-recommendation-(fake-Racor-500FG) ]and smoothed off the rough edges of the filter top so it seated well, and replaced the filter and O rings. BTW, his pic shows no red ring either!

 

[SiteSurfer]

Installation in progress and its going ok, however - I narrowed the issue down to a blocked fuel line, removed the pipe from the pickup tube - all clear down the tube, checked tank - squeaky clean - no deposits in the bottom nothing, however ... i then checked the actual fuel line and found a really really odd squidgy object blocking the pipe!

Any idea what this is - I certainly don't think its diesel bug, looks very weird - mind you, my knowledge of diesel bug is very limited so if it is that - at least I have my answer.

 

[SiteSurfer]

On closer inspection I found crap in the bottom of the tank which I suspect is water, polishing circuit built - will try it out tomorrow, have got the big lumps out with a manual pump and dosed with Marine 16

 

[SiteSurfer]

Well, that went rather well.
Thanks for all the advice, the Chinese Wacor Filter was perfect, a small amount of tidying up required and a change of hose tails (found some metric -> 8mm on eBay) and built in the polishing circuit too.

The little 12V fuel pump was powerful enough to hoover the bottom of the tank and remove all the water (of which there was about a quarter cup full) within an hour, did not appear to be any other residue - but seemingly quite a lot of what looked like dust particles though.

After an hour or so of polishing, changing the Racor Filter for a brand new one, changing the engine filter - the moment of truth. Fired up first time YAY! And for some reason sounds an awful lot happier (and quieter which is odd) than it has sounded for quite a while.

One thing I noticed was that the diesel was quite cloudy, polishing it for a bit seemed to clear the cloudy look and it went nice and clear - so I wonder if I've been feeding the donk sub standard fuel for a while and thats been one of the reasons its been down on power, I can hope

Here's what I got out in the first 30 mins. The end result was about another quarter of this. All water and what can only be described as 'debris'!

 

[BelleSerene]

Congratulations! Great result.

 

[Pavalijo]

I bought one of these to create a polishing system but have yet to install it. It has a filter medium that can be washed in clean diesel and re-used. It was demonstrated at the boat show as a pre filter that can be cleaned and reused, but also as a polishing system. The guy was separating water from diesel and drinking the water!
https://www.fuel-guard.co.uk/marine...minator-water-separator-fgd1120.html?___SID=U

3 years ago I opened the tank for the first time in Calypso’s 17 years. We’d had no problems but the primary filter had the odd blob of what looked like bug.
I filtered most of the remaining 50L of fuel through one of these types of filter funnel with very fine filter
https://www.force4.co.uk/force-4-8-yacht-fuel-filter-funnel.html

Not sure of the exact model, but the filter element is similar to that of the Fuel Guard (green).

It certainly cleared the cloudiness. After cleaning and discarding the sludge (not vast amounts, but glad I did it), the cleaned fuel was put back into the tank through the same filter for a second time.

No bug on the primary filter on the two changes since, but I must get around to fitting the polishing system!

Sorry if the links have to be copied and pasted but can’t see how to insert link on iPhone. (Edit - I see that this is done automatically!)

 

[Birdseye]

I have had diesel bug three times now, in each case on a boat that I had just bought. After treatment none of them has ever happened again, and in the last case its some 9 years ago.

In all cases the tank has been emptied and cleaned within. On one occasion, a Moody which had a top inspection hatch, I used Gunk and a pressure washer to clean, then pumping out any remnant water and using SWMBO's hair dryer to dry the inside. The dirty diesel was decanted into 5 gallon containers, treated with bug stuff and left to settle for a month. The clean diesel that came to the top was reused on the boat.

If filling from an emergency back up container, I always syphon rather than pour.

 

[SiteSurfer]

All this advice is great!

One thing I am taking away with me is that I can't entirely trust the diesel I purchase and that leaving it in a can isn't doing me any favours.
Having said that - the new filter seems to be the way ahead and after watching it gather the water out of the fuel in front of my eyes - I'm a convert.

Still can not work out what the foreign object was, perhaps I don't want to know.