Racor 500 Question?

[endoftheroad]

I know this has been discussed to death but for the life of me I can't find my particular answer and I have searched my fingers sore.

Can or should I use a Racor 500 with my Yanmar 3gm30f?

I have 2-35 gallon fuel tanks in my Westsail 32.

Thanks

[Vasco]

Why not?

[DeepFrz]

Yes and yes (unless you prefer a different brand).

[endoftheroad]

Thanks and thanks.

Why?
Somewhere I read that my motors fuel consumption was too small to properly "tornado" inside the Racor.

[colemj]

Oh. Yes, that is probably the case, but it is meaningless. The "turbo" thing is mostly marketing. You do need a minimum flow for the "turbo" to work, but the work it does is not really useful unless you have a lot of undissolved water in your fuel.

On the other hand, you will benefit greatly from the water separating and fuel filtering capabilities inherent in the Racor filtering media itself.

Or you could use a different brand. The important thing is fuel filtering and water separating.

Mark

[endoftheroad]

Thank you

[chouliha]

We have been using the Racor 500 for decades and very pleased with it. May I suggest at the time of purchase you add 2 things to your buy list. 1. A Racor water probe with alarm. This will notify you of water in the bowl. 2. A vacuum gauge. The vacuum gauge will be very useful in alerting you when the filter starts to get full and the pump starts having to work harder. The vacuum gauge has cut our filter changes down by heaps. Early on we would change the fuel filter when we saw crap in the bowl. Now we wait until the gauge starts showing some vacuum.

We installed a yanmar a few years ago and it came with a much smaller Racor than the 500 series. We kept the 500 and sold the new one. Even if you have to buy the 500 it makes much more sense as it's a bigger unit and will capture more dirt/ water before needing to be serviced.

Good luck with your choice


Chuck
Jacaranda
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador

[Strait Shooter]

Well, since the subject of Racor 500's has been brought up, I need some help.

I installed new diesel tanks this summer (150 gals), and I need to install an at least rudimentary fuel polishing system like NOW. I can't afford to go all Jedi on it after the bleeding this summer.

Will a ten micron Racor 500 and a Walbro pump like FRA Constant Frequency Reciprocating Fuel Pump - Walbro | Fisheries Supply this one work?

I can put this together for about $350. Later on I could add another filter and bypass with some pressure gauges.

Whatta ya think? Will that work for the winter anyway?

[IdoraKeeper]

The Walbro has a pretty low flow rate. I installed a second 500 two years ago. It generates peace of mind. I agree that the vacuum guage is most important. I give mine a scan every time I am entering one of our current laden and rock infested passes. I installed mine after my brother washed out of cattle pass while desperately trying to avoid the rocks and restart the engine with a plugged up under sized filter.

[Strait Shooter]

I thought the Walbro is a little low in regards to flow rate as well.
I'll keep searching for an affordable higher flow rate pump.

Do you think the ten micron filter is the right size for a single filter fuel polishing system? I have another Racor 500 on the engine supply fuel line also. What size filter should I use on that one in this case?

I'd like to incorporate whatever I do now into a more permanent system eventually.

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Strait Shooter

Do you think the ten micron filter is the right size for a single filter fuel polishing system? I have another Racor 500 on the engine supply fuel line also. What size filter should I use on that one in this case?

I'd like to incorporate whatever I do now into a more permanent system eventually.

I have dual filters on the engine supply line using 2-micron filter elements with a valve so I can switch/change filters without stopping the engine. For the polishing circuit, I use nothing larger than 10-microns.

[colemj]

We approach it differently - 30um on the polishing system (gear pump with Racor 1000), 10um on the primary filters (Racor 500) and let the 2um engine spin on secondary handle anything that gets through those.

We change our engine primary and secondary filters every 3 years even though they have never shown signs of plugging.

Mark

[Strait Shooter]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I have dual filters on the engine supply line using 2-micron filter elements with a valve so I can switch/change filters without stopping the engine. For the polishing circuit, I use nothing larger than 10-microns.

I like that.

So in my mind, two 500 Racors with 2 micron filters, a by pass and pressure gauge on the engine supply side, and then a single Racor 1000 with a 10 micron filter and a higher flow rate pump.

I like that.

[colemj]

Your engine secondaries are 2-5 micron, why use same or smaller on the primaries? 20um particles are the ones you need to worry about - the rest will go through the engine harmlessly.

Mark

[Strait Shooter]

Originally Posted by colemj

We approach it differently - 30um on the polishing system (gear pump with Racor 1000), 10um on the primary filters (Racor 500) and let the 2um engine spin on secondary handle anything that gets through those.

We change our engine primary and secondary filters every 3 years even though they have never shown signs of plugging.

Mark

I appreciate your input Mark.
Do you think that since my tanks are new that a 30 micron filter is necessary? My thinking is that I can go ten micron on the polishing system right off the bat and keep the fuel cleaner .... Maybe????

Then go with a ten micron on the primary side along with a 2 micron and a bypass in between them.

I like that.