Diesel Racor Cleaning

Indeed they would. They would show you the cleanliness of the fuel getting to the racors. Hopefully it would always be clean because of the prefilter but it sure is a confidence builder.

When I saw the color darkening I was alerted that something had changed. In one case I realized that it was because of a particularly bumpy trip and suspected that tank bottom stuff had been stirred up. I then rans on low tank levels for a while to keep stirring the tanks and rapidly cycling the fuel through the filterss and the fuel return system. When it became clear again i knew that things had improved.
 
If I had ever seen my bowls clean I would have know there was an issue now that they are clean I can assure you I will be aware of any future issues!
 
Smitty,I have no objection to gauges or mud filters but i can't figure why you are so resistant to a visible indication of fuel quality. How else will you get an indication of water in the fuel? I know spinons are the gospel according to Tony but that is one area in which we disagree.

Your experience with commercial tanks seems to have focused you on an absolute measure of color to identify the type of problem. I dont need a spectrographic analysis of my fuel. I simply wasn't an indication that something is going on before the gauges or other effects tell me that it exists.
 
"Smitty,I have no objection to gauges or mud filters but i can't figure why you are so resistant to a visible indication of fuel quality. How else will you get an indication of water in the fuel? I know spinons are the gospel according to Tony but that is one area in which we disagree."'

For those that use color as a reference...

- I have asked people over the years now how often they have detected a problem based upon color, never had a positive answer.
- Then I have asked them what they do when they detect a color shift , never had an answer.
- Then I asked them how they determine a good color from a bad color and they never have a method, they just 'remember' from year to year what is good.
- Most often these folks do not use vacuum gages so they have no metrics to compare to , just change filters by season or when engine stops

"I have no objection to gauges or mud filters but i can't figure why you are so resistant to a visible indication of fuel quality. How else will you get an indication of water in the fuel?"
Water in fuel is removed by bulk filters and will show a higher vac reading very quickly. As posted above my engines have always had a last chance water filter after the pump so that it also possible to see it there but I have never experienced that.
I have never been able to see a significant color change in the 3" depth of fuel in the fuel bowl of a Racor - if you find fuel that discolored that you can see it clearly in a 3" wide bottle there are other problems and/or it is dyed more of less base upon the local distributors requirements.

"Your experience with commercial tanks seems to have focused you on an absolute measure of color to identify the type of problem. I dont need a spectrographic analysis of my fuel."
I am not aware of a reasonably valuable spectrographic method to determine fuel quality - we used to use a combination of centrifuging and GC in the field tests. Color was not something the fuel companies would accept for value added.

"I simply wasn't an indication that something is going on before the gauges or other effects tell me that it exists."
In your example above what happened with the vac gages when the color changed? How long before the color change was detected?
How high did you let the vac readings get after detection and how long did that take? Did that discolored fuel affect the engines in any other way (ie -EGT or WOT test)?

I am eager to learn how to use color as a metric and what folks do when they see a color they are not used to. Also eager to learn the relationship between the color and the use and vacuum drop on typical filters.
 
Smitty: We seem stuck in a loop. I think there is some benefit in noticing fuel color change, you don't. I will leave it at that.
 
It is more the just color now the my bowl is clean I can easily tell if I have new dirt introduced that might indicate a sooner then later cleaning or filter chance long before the gauge would even notice!

This said, to each his own I didn't start this thread to cause an argument I just thought it might be helpful info for someone else now or in the future.
 
No intention to argue - just wanting to learn, get new information, understand how to use this color thing as a valuable tool with fuel and filters. I might very well be dense and that may not be unusual but still trying to figure out how I can use this and how I could teach it to someone else. I was a science major, an engineer, a project manager in a technical field long ago nd it stayed with me. We measure things, we test things , we add gages and 'go' - 'nogo' indicators that are as foolproof and valuable as we can muster. If I can look at a digital readout of my tire pressures in real time I cannot equate that to looking at the tires and guessing the psi.

This fuel and fuel filter stuff is not new at all - so perhaps someone can look up and/or point me to any article that refers to this topic. Aare there any articles that speak about fuel color as an indicator of filter operation and any way to measure that in a metric way?
I think its great that folks want to look at dirt in a bowl and make some form of judgement about that and how it relates to the fuel filters status and the fuel overall.
I know I can do it with vacuum gages and the time they are in use - I get a status of exactly how much is in that filter and how much filter life is left for planning purposes. With the known hours of use and the amount of vacuum drop over that time I know a lot about my current loads of fuel, approx. distances till next filter change, requirement for more filter(s) , etc.
I'm my case ew filters are at 2", usable range is 2 to 9-10", change at 11-12 , engine rpm affected at 15".

Certainly if you think this is a waste of time of if just an argument just feel fee to ignore the post. But it would not be the first time I was wrong or ignorant about something and I always like to learn even though some say I am too old for it to make a difference.
Happy boating the weather for this weekend finally looks pretty good
 
It seems that many fuels and other fluids are monitored in production using color. I dont think you will find the objective measurement of color you seek but even your gauges are not objective. You have interpreted vacuum to your subjective observation of clogging. That may or may not correlate exactly to filtration performance, just another subjective indicator.

http://www.optek.com/en/process-control-solutions/petroleum/Color-of-refined-fuels.asp
 
"It seems that many fuels and other fluids are monitored in production using color. I dont think you will find the objective measurement of color you seek"

Yes - in commercial applications we had a used a GC to do part of the testing but it is not practical in either cost or use for anyone as the colors it reads are not visible nor collectible by a typical person.

"but even your gauges are not objective. You have interpreted vacuum to your subjective observation of clogging. That may or may not correlate exactly to filtration performance, just another subjective indicator."

- The gages are calibrated independently to +/- 2% full sweep.
- The open flow (new filters) numbers are recorded, accurate, and repeatable
- When the engines begin to see a filtering affect (degradation) the numbers are recordable, accurate and repeatable.
- The numbers that cause the engines to be affected are not related to filters which are incapable of containing any more contaminants without excessive back pressure
- This filter failure point is independent of filter micron size or filter media capacity. It is protection and warning for the engine which is the purpose of the gage.

Those are scientific parameters which are collectable, accurate, measurable and repeatable indicators of they current fuel filtering system I real time.
The gages have helped many folks who use them save money changing good filters, plan maintenance vs cruising plans, avoid unexpected engine shutdowns, help diagnose air and fuel leaks and build a log of filter use intervals for future use.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Audrey II

As far as the gauge goes I was looking for a tee handle gauge to put on the Racors.

Click to expand...


I got mine from Defender
 
quote:
Originally posted by HOGAN

quote:
Originally posted by Audrey II

As far as the gauge goes I was looking for a tee handle gauge to put on the Racors.

Click to expand...


I got mine from Defender

Click to expand...


How much were they?
 
quote:
Originally posted by Audrey II

quote:
Originally posted by HOGAN

quote:
Originally posted by Audrey II

As far as the gauge goes I was looking for a tee handle gauge to put on the Racors.

Click to expand...


I got mine from Defender

Click to expand...


How much were they?

Click to expand...


Defender sells 4 Racor diesel filter restriction-indicator gauges . The dial gauge with red "telltale" max-reading pointer is $110.
But they sell simpler ones for as little AS $43.
 
I found them for $74 and up which is what I had remembered but recently I did a search and the cheapest ones I was finding were pushing $140 which seemed high! I will order the $74 units I want to install them while the Racors are freshly cleaned so I can monitor them over time and see if they change.
On another note I wondering if my WOT RPMs will be increase now that I clean the filters? They were really bad I would not be surprised if they were cause a restriction in fact if they weren't I'm not sure what it would take to cause one. My first season with the boat I have bad fuel and it would completely clog the filter in a few hours. The motors would slow down to a crawl until I replaced the filters so it is not a stretch to think I may pick up a little top end. I currently just hit 2800 on one motor and just under on the other the motor tag says it is supposed to hit 2800 I would be happy to pickup an additional 50-125 addition RPMs I would like to have a little headroom.
 
Dave do you drain the cannister at every filter swap? If not cloudy fuel and suspended debris is there waiting for the next filter. Put valves and tubing with caps on the base to enable draining the crud.
 
Nothing wrong with draining the crud but Racors have a clever design that forces fuel in the canister to pass through the new filter. Note the seal on the bottom of the filter that wipes and seals the center tube.

I added petcocks to my bowls but had constant weeping problems so I went back to plugs. Not that I had ever used them to drain water
 
I realize the fact that there are seals to force the filtering of the canister contents. But that does not prevent build up of crud in the canister. Draining out the fuel that remains in the canister is appropriate when changing the filter.
 
I have never drained the canister when swapping the filter. I was told if I was careful to close the valve before pulling the filter I should be able to replace the filter without having to top off the canister. If I drain it then I would have to refill it. I don't have an issue toping it off but I do have an issue disposing of whatever I drain out, it's not like I want to pour it into my truck!
 
Dave,
I highly doubt you will pick up much if any RPM's due to clean filters versus what you think were clogged filters. If they were that clogged you would notice other problems with the motors while running, the filter are rated for much more fuel flow than your motors burn so I don't think you are going to see anything like that.

When you pull the filter, there is a lot of fuel soaked into the filter and unless when you open the shut off valve and you can get fuel to come into the filter housing you will have to top off.
 
I have changed my filters at least once a years for the last 8 years without having to top them off. The only time I had to top it off was when I forgot to close the valve and the fuel drained back into the tank. No the less as I said I'm hitting spec I just wish I could exceed it a little without having my props pitched. I have had clog filters in the past and it prevented my boat from even being able to plan out I had to change the filters underway to drive home. This was before I polished my fuel 8 years ago. The boat has run great ever since!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top