Racor -myth busters
- Thread starter Portofino
- Start date
Mr Googler
Well-known member
Good read that ?
Paul1962
Active member
Yes - Thank You
alsedo
New member
Thanks for the article,Do any of you have a vacuum gauge on the fuel line? I went to change the primary filter on my new (to me) Merry fisher 815 with the Nanni T4.200 ehgine and it was a 10 micron filter. The replacement part was a 30 micron, the end of the steel bowl was seriously full of gunk Id imagine the last owner just fitted the new filter and never emptied it. which one would you go for the 10 or 30 micron
Greg2
Well-known member
Do any of you have a vacuum gauge on the fuel line? I went to change the primary filter on my new (to me) Merry fisher 815 with the Nanni T4.200 ehgine and it was a 10 micron filter. The replacement part was a 30 micron, the end of the steel bowl was seriously full of gunk Id imagine the last owner just fitted the new filter and never emptied it. which one would you go for the 10 or 30 micron
There appear to be two schools of thought.
The first, which I always followed previously, is that there is also a secondary fairly fine filter on the engine so the first filter is better being 30 micron to remove the larger particles and leave the next filter to remove the smaller particles. This, in theory at least, shares the work and reduces the risk of either filter becoming clogged.
The second is that putting a 10 micron filter first reduces the risk of the engine mounted filter becoming clogged and consequently having to change it at sea, which us usually a more difficult job than changing the first filter element. It does, in theory, increase the risk of the first filter becoming clogged though.
The engineer who serviced our engines this year subscribes to the second theory, saying that he would rather do the easy change of a Racor element at sea than try to do the secondary filter. I went with his view this time - I usually do my own servicing and not sure what I will do next time round, although 10 micron has worked fine this season.
The article refers to what is required for particular engines so worth checking that.
.
Portofino
Well-known member
Gregs second “ school of thought “ misses out the quote from the link ….
”That statement is partially correct in that a 30 micron filter becomes closer to a 10 micron filter as it clogs. If, however, your engine calls for a 30 micron primary filter, there is nothing wrong with a clean filter– “
I am on 30 s Not sure what the two the spin on in series on the engines are either 2 think or unlikely 5 s ?
The points I picked up on .
- The ball thingy I incorrectly thought it was to stop water rising .It’s a simple none return valve .
- Asphaltenes .Did not know about those .I have been only shinning a light mid season and visually checking for water + crud at the base of the bowl .Never seen anything, but very rarely to check the tap is not stiff / ceased I let a bit out .I will do this more often incase these Asphaltenes have settled which I presume are indistinguishable visually.Normally I do it at the annual service as the ER gets messed up anyhow with fluid spillages etc .
- Level topping off .When changing cartridges I have been opening the tank tank tap , simultaneously tightening the T bar as fuel spills out .Kinda making sure there is no air left .Using old fender socks and new nappies to collect the resultant overspill = messy job ,Sure the whole cartridge I have submersed before putting the lid back .= Any air gap just stays there apparently, no need to do this .
NB I use an industrial anti bug Tx at each fill up and dose them for the winter .The one I use is the water disperses into the fuel type FWIW . Never bother in the Med with the pre winter tank topping off .In fact leave them low incase of a leak .Bouba s scenario .
Filters get changed annually after it’s been to the yard and back for its annual lift. Rationale behind that is winter crud disturbed ???
Carry spares but never had to do any of this change at sea malarky .I have WIF s two , the sensors are about 1/2 way up the bowl .
”That statement is partially correct in that a 30 micron filter becomes closer to a 10 micron filter as it clogs. If, however, your engine calls for a 30 micron primary filter, there is nothing wrong with a clean filter– “
I am on 30 s Not sure what the two the spin on in series on the engines are either 2 think or unlikely 5 s ?
The points I picked up on .
- The ball thingy I incorrectly thought it was to stop water rising .It’s a simple none return valve .
- Asphaltenes .Did not know about those .I have been only shinning a light mid season and visually checking for water + crud at the base of the bowl .Never seen anything, but very rarely to check the tap is not stiff / ceased I let a bit out .I will do this more often incase these Asphaltenes have settled which I presume are indistinguishable visually.Normally I do it at the annual service as the ER gets messed up anyhow with fluid spillages etc .
- Level topping off .When changing cartridges I have been opening the tank tank tap , simultaneously tightening the T bar as fuel spills out .Kinda making sure there is no air left .Using old fender socks and new nappies to collect the resultant overspill = messy job ,Sure the whole cartridge I have submersed before putting the lid back .= Any air gap just stays there apparently, no need to do this .
NB I use an industrial anti bug Tx at each fill up and dose them for the winter .The one I use is the water disperses into the fuel type FWIW . Never bother in the Med with the pre winter tank topping off .In fact leave them low incase of a leak .Bouba s scenario .
Filters get changed annually after it’s been to the yard and back for its annual lift. Rationale behind that is winter crud disturbed ???
Carry spares but never had to do any of this change at sea malarky .I have WIF s two , the sensors are about 1/2 way up the bowl .
markc
Well-known member
Thanks for sharing L, a good read. I installed vacuum gauges this year - both as a guide to know when to replace the filters and I also thought it would be good in diagnosing any issues in the future.. I bought the kit that swaps the T handle for one that can accommodate the gauge.
Greg2
Well-known member
I did pick up on that but I guess my thoughts were that if there is sufficient crud to turn a 30 into a 10 then what would it turn a 10 into and would it present a greater risk of becoming blocked?
I am an amateur when it comes to this kind of stuff so applying a little logic that might be misplaced ?
Having had Racor 500 filters on three boats now, including replacing the old filters with Racors on the current boat, I was not totally clear on how they work so the article was very informative and I really appreciate you sharing it. ?
On the previous two boats we always had black crud (presumably ashphaltenes) build up in the bowls during the course of a season so it was an annual job to flush them through. It was never enough to cause any issues and I took the view that the filters were doing their job.
A season with our new Racors and we have one bowl virtually clear and one with a very small amount of black stuff so I may flush them through or I may leave them for a second season but keep a watchful eye to see if there is any worrying build up.
Whenever I change a filter I always top them up from a can of diesel I keep onboard for that very purpose so if I am very careful I can do it without any spillage.
.
Mr Googler
Well-known member
There was something from Volvopaul once about fitting too finer pre filter being a bad thing. I can’t remember what the issue was. I’ll see if I can find the thread on it but I think it was part of a random thread
julians
Well-known member
I think the correct answer is to just fit what the engine manufacturer recommends, they will have done a lot of analysis of the pros and cons to come up with their recommendation, and will have access to vastly more info than any boat owner.
Bandit
Well-known member
I am a great fan of Racor filters, with clear bowls you can see what is building up in the bowl, water crud etc. When you lift the filter to inspect you can see exactly the state of the filters.
When I bought current boat it had Fleetguard FS 1242 filters with drain bungs and water sensors with a plastic bowl at the bottom. The Bowls were always spotless, during season one I had "hunting" problems when the engine rpm's were dropping momentarily while it was starved of fuel. Bowls spotless, no water, all looked fine . We changed the filters as a precautionary matter and fitted new, just before the engineer binned the old filters we inspected them again, a little bit of rust on the steel at one end, but no sign of contamination was visible, in these filters you cant see the filter elements they are in a steel cartridge.
I asked the engineer to cu the end off with a hacksaw to examine the element, it was completely full of crud. Yes the filter was doing its job , but I had no idea of the state of my fuel and filters.
I changed to oversized Racor Filters with the long filters so double the filtration area and filtered all the fuel and dosed it with Grotamar.
I use 30 micron "Rock Stoppers " and my Volvo Penta engine mounted filters are something like 2 micron, That is the way you want it use the filters in the same way as sifting gravel coarse sieve first then gradually finer.
There is one thing worse than dirty fuel in an engine and that's when the chips are down in poor weather and your engine/s stop due to a clogged primary filter on a lee shore.
When I bought current boat it had Fleetguard FS 1242 filters with drain bungs and water sensors with a plastic bowl at the bottom. The Bowls were always spotless, during season one I had "hunting" problems when the engine rpm's were dropping momentarily while it was starved of fuel. Bowls spotless, no water, all looked fine . We changed the filters as a precautionary matter and fitted new, just before the engineer binned the old filters we inspected them again, a little bit of rust on the steel at one end, but no sign of contamination was visible, in these filters you cant see the filter elements they are in a steel cartridge.
I asked the engineer to cu the end off with a hacksaw to examine the element, it was completely full of crud. Yes the filter was doing its job , but I had no idea of the state of my fuel and filters.
I changed to oversized Racor Filters with the long filters so double the filtration area and filtered all the fuel and dosed it with Grotamar.
I use 30 micron "Rock Stoppers " and my Volvo Penta engine mounted filters are something like 2 micron, That is the way you want it use the filters in the same way as sifting gravel coarse sieve first then gradually finer.
There is one thing worse than dirty fuel in an engine and that's when the chips are down in poor weather and your engine/s stop due to a clogged primary filter on a lee shore.
petem
Well-known member
Good article ?
snowbird30ds
Well-known member
I'm thinking of swapping my crappy cav filters for racor (or facor with racor elements) at some point as my fuel lines need replacing anyway, anyone know the best model for VP TMD41's?
Jamie Dundee
Well-known member
Here I think Volvo fuel filter
Bandit
Well-known member
The Volvo Penta Fuel filters are made by Racor and the filters are interchangeable.
Your VP dealer can sell you the filters, elements and the replacement fuel hose, use 30 micron elements and carry at lease 3 sets of spare elements in case of fuel contamination while at sea.
Your VP dealer can sell you the filters, elements and the replacement fuel hose, use 30 micron elements and carry at lease 3 sets of spare elements in case of fuel contamination while at sea.
Mr Googler
Well-known member
wasnt that one ?
Greg2
Well-known member
I would have thought Racor 500 for those engines
Jamie Dundee
Well-known member
Whoever fitted mine (TAMD41P) agreed.
snowbird30ds
Well-known member
Thanks chaps, will have to have a hunt and save some pennies.
Can't do anything yet as just had a double hernia op and have no hope of getting into my engine bay let alone back out again.
Can't do anything yet as just had a double hernia op and have no hope of getting into my engine bay let alone back out again.
snowbird30ds
Well-known member
Ok chaps next questions.....
Racor 500, what threads are the ports on the facor versions?
How much higher can the filter be mounted above the engine/tank level without issues?
My filters are currently barely accessible when underway so if re-plumbing it would be daft to not find a more practicle place, I'm getting older and fatter and MS is making me less dexterous all the time so well worth considering.
I'm also at the mercy off BSS as broads based but as far as I can tell the bowl material doesn't matter if they are out of the engine bay.
Racor 500, what threads are the ports on the facor versions?
How much higher can the filter be mounted above the engine/tank level without issues?
My filters are currently barely accessible when underway so if re-plumbing it would be daft to not find a more practicle place, I'm getting older and fatter and MS is making me less dexterous all the time so well worth considering.
I'm also at the mercy off BSS as broads based but as far as I can tell the bowl material doesn't matter if they are out of the engine bay.