Does your fuel system include a Racor fuel filter/water separator?

[raleighm]

I Replaced the Racor filter

I bought my boat used and it had a Racor filter before the fuel pump. I noticed that it had the plastic bowl and was concerned about the safety of a plastic bowl. The surveyor said that he thought it was OK even though Racor and other sources said only metal bowls should be used on inboard gas engines.

While checking for gas leaks due to an odor in the cabin, I found that the plastic bowl was somewhat loose fitting. I turned the bowl to tighten the fit and found, to my great surprise, that the bowl fell off in my hand! The plastic threads had become quite soft (probably as a result of some fuel additive). I'm glad that didn't happen while the engine was running!

After removing the bowl and filter element, I decided to replace the entire Racor unit with a new filter mount and single-piece metal spin-on water-separator element. I did not like the look of the Racor element, which keeps fuel in the filter by means of an o-ring on the top and bottom of the element. More joints = greater leak potential in my opinion. Plus, Racor replacement elements are far more expensive than other filters I researched.

[vabiker23518]

Racor

I replaced an old Perko filter with the Racor last year. This spring, I drained the bowl and was amazed at the trash I found! I've since added the polishing filter to try and catch it all.

[sastanley]

vabiker,
I did the same thing...in fact, my engine had NO filtration, except for the screen in the mechanical fuel pump for the first 32 years. I just fired up the engine this week with the polishing filter installed..so far so good!

My problem with the Racor was that everything was so tight, I had to remove it from the boat and mount it on a board and with another pair of hands and channel locks we were able to get it apart to replace the element & transfer the bowl over! - needless to say, this spring I gave each of the rubber gaskets a little MMO like you do an oil filter and only put them on hand tight.

[Figment]

Yes, a Racor at the tank, and then the little lawnmower-style inline filter between the pump and the carb.

[NorfolkRagbagger]

Why the 320 Racor?

I've been refurbishing the fuel system and now will add the Racor (replacing 30 year old Fram), but I've been studying the very valuable comments here, especially since three 45 footers burned to the waterline at my marina a couple weeks ago (give's ya some serious religion).

I see the Racor-320R-RAC-02 and the Racor-120R-RAC-02 with the same basic design and construction. The 320 is 60 GPH max flow and the 120 is 30 GPH flow. The 120 is smaller, 5.72" vs. 9.16" for the 320. My current location is to the port side inside a teenie weenie hatch (Catalina 30) under the galley counter, between the bulkhead and water muffler and other obstructions. Is there any reason the 120 would be inferior? It (the 120) sure would be easier to install and service than the 320. Candid advice very welcome!

[hanleyclifford]

Your title - good question

I guess in order to select between the two, we would have to know how many A4 engines you are feeding. My A4 needs about 1 gal/hr.

[sastanley]

C-30 - lots of room!

NRB,

I have a C-30 and I mounted my 320 on the inside of the fiberglass in between the access door for the sink(s) and the access door for the back of the motor. I also put a shut-off valve on the filter, as it was a PITA to get to the shut-off way back at the tank under the quarterberth...this one is now in the same hole I use to close the intake, so I can do both easily at the same time!

[skibum100]

Racor Filter vs other brands

Hi
Does anyone know why racor keeps coming up when discusions on fuel filters. Is it a prefered brand or is it really that much better than all the others out there?

thanks,
Dave

[Bob N]

Racor problem--solved by a new one from Don

I had an old (installed in 2000) Racor 120R filter on my boat, one with a bolt through the top that the filter /bowl screw onto. The O-rings on top and internally deteriorated (ethanol as well as age related, I'm sure) and gas started oozing out of the filter. Too put it mildly, that got my attention. Rather try to repair it--and have the same potential problem with leakage even if Racor says the new O-rings are ethanol resistant--I replaced it with the Racor that Don sells, which has a filter that screws onto the mechanism like an oil filter.

[gfatula]

Yes a Racor

[Mo]

Re Post #3:

Don I will take a pic of the filter and element. It is old, however, when I brought my original element into "Parts for Trucks" (they service semis etc) they cross referenced it and I bought 3 spares at that time...3 years ago.

The filter has a metal canister that screws off, drain plug at the bottom, and an element goes inside. Apparently old but filter element can be had for it...likely industrial use.

[msauntry]

Well, I get to be the odd man out this time. I'm using a Sierra 10 micron spin on filter that has no drain. Looks like an oil filter. All metal. It was meant for a yamaha outboard. I was gonna replace my 30 micron with another just like it, but saw this would do even better. It was something like 12 bucks. No problems so far...

[Mo]

Re Post 68:

Hi Dave, as long as your filter has a water separator it may be as good as the rest of them. That said, an in-line fuel filter (the same idea as one used for a car) is not as good a one with the separator.

My boat has: a filter /water separator unit (metal case with element inside)...not sure of the type but will find out. Also has an auto type in-line filter (clear) and has a small micron Facet filter that taps into the distal end of my electric fuel pump.

Last summer I grabbed a 1/4 full gas can from my garage, filled it at the gas station, and dumped it in the boat. About 15 minutes later, motoring out through a calm harbor, the engine started to miss. I got some wind, sailed on, and thinking it was electrical changed out plugs, points, condenser and coil while underway.

My thinking was that I had enough filters that it could not be a fuel problem. I ended up dumping in 3 gas line antifreeze and drained the separator 3 times to get it to run well. By this time a good sea running and sick as an animal diagnosing the problem.

Eventually, after reaching destination, I had to let the boat sit overnight, rig my spare pump and pump from the bottom of the tank. That morning sucked out 1/2 a cup of water. Never had a problem since.

My Point: Have a water separator in your system. An ordinary in-line filter is not sufficient. I am not sure if the problem I experienced originated in the can or if I pumped in water at the gas station...but it was water and it overwhelmed my system...it can happen.

[joe_db]

This is an answer to a few questions in the thread.

1 - Why Racor: They are one of the biggest filter companies in the world. I have no way to know if they are the best, but they do show up on boats, trucks, industrial equipment, and a lot of other places. They can't be too awful and win this much market share.

2 - What about the cheaper filters: You can find Sierra and other low budget canisters that fit the Racor filter head. I have used them in the past. They seem to behave differently than a Racor when subjected to a large amount of water. Racors would rather pass gas, but in my experience will pass water too when overwhelmed. The Sierra had on my dinghy just stopped passing anything at all when full of water. You can drain them by unscrewing them and dumping them out. The downside of the cheapies is in my experience by the end of the second season they are rusting and will leak through pinholes. On my dinghy the filter is after the squeeze bulb and I have been showered with gas from pinhole leaks when pumping the bulb Given that they rust from the INSIDE as well as the outside, I would NEVER use one of these for more than 1 year. That isn't to say all is OK with the Racors, they will eventually rust too. The finish is far better on them though, so it can take a long time.

3 - The plastic bowls: Far superior in every way but safety. They do not meet USCG and ABYC specs for gasoline because a fire can melt them from the outside.

4 - Draining water from a Racor with a metal bowl: This can be hard and dangerous. You have to unscrew a plug in the bottom with one hand, catch the plug with your other hand, and hold a container under the filter with your third hand. It is a challenge to do this and not spill gas all over. I am going to replace the plug with a valve. For extra safety I am going to have a cap on the end of the valve or maybe a second valve. I don't want any way for a valve to come open and drain gas without something else going wrong as well.

5 - Gasohol vs. Racor: I had Racor tell me over the phone that their filters were not designed with gas-water-alcohol mixes in mind. I have seen with my own eyes that some mixes of alco-water-gas-gooey-crap can get through

6 - Valves: Make sure you can shut off the fuel so there is no way for it to run out of the filter head when the element is off.

7 - Vacuum gauges: Racor sells a gauge for their filters or you can get one from FleaBay. Invaluable to tell when the thing is having issues.

[Cool Beans]

I use a Sierra spin on filter. . .$35 from a local chandlery I plan to just change it every year. . .filters are like $8. . .