racor fuel filter

[Charlie98117]

I was looking up replacement filter numbers and found the primary diesel filter installed on my boat is a Racor S3227. When I looked it up I see it is a 10 micron filter for gasoline, not diesel.

Is this something I should correct soon or immediately. I'm not having any issues, just want to be sure I am properly filtering and set up safely.

 

[Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi]

If it were,me, I would change it to a 10 micron for diesel. Some would change to a 2 micron, but I have used 10 since buying my boat new and have not had a fuel filtering problem. I have 1235 hours since new in 2003 using 10 micron primary and then the engine fuel filter is 2 micron with no problems.

 

[Charlie98117]

Thanks for the reply Jerry. They do make a similar looking filter cartridge that says diesel but it is listed to go on a different filter body. They look similar and I should check with the manufacturer but I was wondering if there was any functional difference in the design of the gas filter housing vs the diesel version. Or is it as simple as installing the proper cartridge? Or should I chuck it all and put in a Racor 500.

 

[Benny17441]

It is hard to tell when a manufacturer defines a product use for technical reasons or merely a marketing purpose. Rest assured that you are not alone in using the S3227 model assembly in a diesel boat. The term 10 microm just indicates the size of particles that the filter element will remove. Considering that the secondary filter closest to the engine and protecting the injector pump is usually close to 15 microm you could say that a 10 microm primary is an overkill. The largest drawback of an over restrictive element is that it will clog faster when dirt is stirred up in a dirty tank. If you are not having any problems with a 10 microm by all means continue to use them as in theory your secondary filter will remain clean indefinitely. Check with the manufacturer to see if they can provide a valid reason why you should not be using a filter intended for gasoline and see if they have an element for your housing assembly intended for diesel.