[C320-list] Which Racor Filter?

[Jeff Hare]

Catalina Direct's comments are a bit humorous, but maybe true. If it "clogs immediately" with 2u filter, I'd say you might have a bigger problem though.  Maybe it will clog just about any filter you install before long.  In the end, you kind of have to decide what particle size you're willing to send through to your injectors.

I don't know what's considered "ok", vs what might start causing damage, wear, gumming, clogging etc..  I'm not a diesel injector expert.  In fact, I don't know the first thing about injectors... But whatever that largest acceptable size is, should dictate what size of engine mounted filter you choose.

And as I mentioned in my earlier opinion, choosing a main Racor filter that's *finer* than the engine mounted filter makes for a good safety system. 

The reason I chose R24S primary filter is because I'm confident in the quality of my fuel and I do everything I can to keep water out of the tank.  If you decide that 10u is the size of engine filter you want, then you might get away with a 10u Racor, but in reality, these aren't perfect filters and maybe it's 10u, maybe it's got some 9u or 8u holes also which will tend to collect debris slightly smaller than 10u and reduce fuel flow on an already small surface area.  You'll probably need to change both and maybe your engine filter will clog before the Racor if you match sizes (assuming that the filters probably have different manufacturers and hole tolerances).  That doesn't meet my "only have to change one filter in an emergency" goal.

So, I just chose to use a much filter finer than that so that my engine filter stays cleaner longer given that the sizes I know about are 2u, 10u and 30u.

Water feeds the microbes that may live at the water-fuel boundary.  Algae doesn't thrive in diesel fuel tanks like ours because algae needs light to grow, although it could be in the tank for various reasons from your fuel supplier.  

Microbes on the other hand need water to grow and are virtually impossible to keep out.  Microbes also can damage/break down the fuel and cause sludge-like stuff to settle out over time and gum things up if you feed them and they grow, especially in fuel that sits for a long time in warm conditions. Their waste also settles out to the bottom of the tank also.

I think using a fuel stabilizer and a small amount of biocide from time to time is a good idea if you don't use very much and goes a long way to keeping your tank in good shape.  I also used to use a Cetane booster to smooth out the engine and cut down a little on the ping noise, and probably should still, I just don’t get around to it very often.

Cheers!  (and these are a mix of preference, opinion, anecdote and way over-thinking things, so your mileage will vary and I could be totally wrong).
-Jeff Hare

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of David Veeneman
Sent: Thursday, October 3, 2019 4:05 PM
To: C320 Assn Forum <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com>
Subject: [C320-list] Which Racor Filter?

I am currently using a Racor R24S filter on my C320, which has the Perkins diesel. The R24S filters to 2 microns. On the Catalina Direct site today, I came across their listing for a Raycor R15T, which filters to 10 microns. Catalina Direct's description for the R15T includes this language:

"Be careful which filter you use. There are several replacement elements available that look identical. For example, there is what appears to be the same filter that only filters down to 30 microns. It leaves particles in the fuel that are too big and may clog the engine's filter. Another version filters to only 2 microns. This is filtering particles from the fuel that are so small it may clog almost immediately, leaving you without power soon after replacement.”

The 2-micron language sounds like a reference to the R24S. What do you think? Is the R15T a better option than the R24S? Thanks.

--
David Veeneman
Dana Point, CA
SV Adelante, 1994 C320 #131