How to use a Baja filter-funnel ?

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Viking Sailor

Sven,

When you change your oil what do you do with the old oil? Do the same with the cup of diesel from the Baja filter. The small amount of diesel mixed with the old engine oil will only make the oil a tiny bit less viscous.

Using one of the big evacuation pumps is cool because you can dump the old oil into the big reservoir, fill up the engine with a gallon of new oil, then pour the resevoir of old oil into the was-new oil jug. Easy peasy.

And oil changes I can usually time for being somewhere pleasant and getting new oil. Fuel fills are all over the place, for me anyway.

[captain58sailin]

We have an oil disposal tank at the top of the boat ramp, I tote it up there and pour it in then wipe out the buckets. There are some folks hereabouts that have used oil furnaces and burn the oil to keep the house warm.

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I don't doubt you for a minute, I'm just saying (and I'm sure you'd agree with vessels you see around you) that it's the rare occurrence in Mexico.

It might be the exception but we do see the pump guys pulling along the manual pump-tank to others as well, so we are not the only ones.

On a less gross note, we're actually headed to La Paz soon, leaving Banderas Bay (La Cruz). Taking the slow road up the coast then crossing over at Mazatlan.

We'd planned to head South but once we decided to wait for an SSB before heading back out we got delayed to the point where we will now stay until after the hurricane season. So we'll probably still be here.

How's that for thread drift ?



-Sven

[jipcho]

What's the best way to clean a baja filter that's been sitting in a lazarette for a few years?

[robert sailor]

They have several levels of screens that come out for cleaning

[jipcho]

Yes, I know. Clean with what, diesel? Compressed air?

[robert sailor]

The screens are metal so I would use something like a paint thinner and on the bigger screens compressed air would be fine as long as you don't get aggressive and damage the screen. The one to be most careful with would be the final screen that will take out water. I'm sure there would be many different products that would clean them. Its been so many years since I had one but I think I pre-soaked the screens for an hour or so and then used a soft toothbrush backed up by a clean cloth and gently brushed them with the cloth absorbing the gunk.

[Matt Johnson]

We only fill via jerry cans and pour the last ounce leftover in the funnel back into the jerry can that's been emptied. If there was any dirt, it will stay on the filter screen and can be whiped off with a cotton rag.

I left the vent open on our little Mercury 3.3 outboard a few times in Guatemala and filled the onboard tank with rainwater. We would just dump the .3L of rain/gas back through the funnel and into a jerry can. This got all the water out and we were good to go again until I remade the mistake. These filters really work well.

[GeoPowers]

I use a baha when filling via jerry can, which is typically in the wintertime when we sail less so that I can keep our fuel tank topped off for our hydronic heater. After 5 winters, my routine is to grab a paper towel (actually 2 of the mini select a size ones) and a plastic sandwich bag before refueling.

I empty the jerry can into the fuel deck fill using the baha filter, and when I get to the last little bit I pick the baha filter straight up, ball up one of the paper towels and put it against the discharge end to catch any remaining drops. Then I dump the contents of the filter into the sandwich baggie. Make sure you open the baggie first before picking up the filter. I do a sort of "clear and bright" visual on the baggie contents to see if there are any particulates or any freestanding water. If it looks good, I pour the contents into the diesel tank. If there are any issues, I throw the paper towel that was on the end of the baha filter into the bag with the diesel. I then use the second paper towel to do a quick wipe of the filter (but not screen) and put that in the baggie too. If the fuel was good, the baggie acts as a seal against diesel fumes and I throw it in our garbage. If the fuel was bad, the paper towels soak up the fuel and minimize the chance for leaks until it can be disposed of, and I keep it topside to ensure there are no odor issues.

Frank

[cheoah]

When I've used a Mr Funnel I 've dome something similar. After fueling, I just stuff some paper towels in a circle around the inside of the funnel and bag it in a gallon ziploc. Every couple times I fueled I tossed the partially diesel soaked paper towels in the trash and started fresh. This became a very simple routine, so much that I forgot I was dealing with a bad design. If you are going to fuel underway from jerry, it's nice to have a funnel anyway.