Racor problem

jibes138 · Mar 26, 2015

Put oil absorbant pads under the filters before you remove them. They are just flat white sheets of material, put several layers down. They are CHEAP.
I am having trouble understanding your filter set up. Do you have three filters going to your engine? It sounds like you have in series a Racor 500 a Racor R20 and then an engine filter? You should only need the Racor 500 and the engine filter. Why it won't work is a mystery, did you bleed the R20?

Ron20324 · Mar 26, 2015

jibes138 said:
... Do you have three filters going to your engine? It sounds like you have in series a Racor 500 a Racor R20 and then an engine filter? You should only need the Racor 500 and the engine filter. Why it won't work is a mystery, did you bleed the R20?

Unless you have an electric pump pushing the fuel, I'd say your engine pump is just not strong enough to get thru the multiple filters- and you starve te engine. You probably don't need a 2 micron element, which can put additional strain on the engine pump.

Maine Sail · Mar 26, 2015

seadaddler said:
I have a Racor R20 and a Racor 500 before it and this week decided to change all my fuel filters before our 3 week cruise to the Keys with the PGSC.
Any way after changing all my filters 2 engine plus the racor 500 which is so easy and the R12 for my Gen and the R20 are in such a tight spot under my rear bed what a pain and was hard to not spill fuel when changing these 2 filters.
But any way I can't keep the engine running until I took out the R20 out and just use the 500 and tried putting back together but no good so now only using the 500.
Does any one know how to test or repair this filter any easy way,every time I try I am getting fuel spilled under the bed and real pain cleaning up and now afraid my wife is going to go crazy if she smells fuel.
Nick

You have three fuel filters on your engine?

Is the R20 a:

S = 2 micron
T = 10 micron
P = 30 micron

What is the Racor 500's element rating???

Your lift pump probably can't keep up or you have a twisted gasket/air getting in........ Three filters is a lot of work for a lift pump on the vacuum side. 2 micron is generally not advised nor is it necessary.. Yanmar recommends a 30 micron primary then the on engine filter.

Maine Sail · Mar 26, 2015

seadaddler said:
Every thing was working great and I mean my engine has been running great for many years but I must have did something wrong when I changed the filters so for now I took the R20 out and the 500 has 10 micron.
Nick

Nick,

Yanmar recommends a 30 micron primary for all mechanical engines. John F. at Mack Booring has sent me this data in the past...

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Mar 26, 2015

seadaddler said:
I have a Racor R20 and a Racor 500 before it and this week decided to change all my fuel filters before our 3 week cruise to the Keys with the PGSC.
Any way after changing all my filters 2 engine plus the racor 500 which is so easy and the R12 for my Gen and the R20 are in such a tight spot under my rear bed what a pain and was hard to not spill fuel when changing these 2 filters.
But any way I can't keep the engine running until I took out the R20 out and just use the 500 and tried putting back together but no good so now only using the 500.
Does any one know how to test or repair this filter any easy way,every time I try I am getting fuel spilled under the bed and real pain cleaning up and now afraid my wife is going to go crazy if she smells fuel.
Nick

Can you expand on what I highlighted?

By can't keep it running does your engine turn over, run for say 30 seconds and then rev up RPMs and then dies?

Also, can you expand on "took out the R20"? Did you disconnect the hose and bypass this filter?

Stu Jackson · Mar 26, 2015

seadaddler said:
...............I am getting fuel spilled under the bed and real pain cleaning up and now afraid my wife is going to go crazy if she smells fuel.

Nick, you've been around here a long time: http://www.pureayre.com/

Marc14857 · Mar 26, 2015

I forget which housing unit supports the R20. I had a problem last year with one off my units though it may have been for the generator , that was a spin on but had a threaded hex bolt entering the top of the unit ( not the manual Pump) that screwed into the filter cartridge. Thinking it was a spin on i simply twisted off the element with great difficulty and did not realize that I should have loosend the bolt from the top first. As a result when I put everything back together the unit leaked and engine would not stay running. The problem was that by twisting the element I somehow destroyed (galled) the copper seal washer under the head of the bolt and as a result did not get a good seal. I recall that one unit has a manual priming pump and the second unit the bolt arrangement I describe above. Sorry I do not recall which is which.

Bill1565 · Mar 26, 2015

seadaddler said:
I have a Racor R20 and a Racor 500 before it and this week decided to change all my fuel filters before our 3 week cruise to the Keys with the PGSC. Any way after changing all my filters 2 engine plus the racor 500 which is so easy and the R12 for my Gen and the R20 are in such a tight spot under my rear bed what a pain and was hard to not spill fuel when changing these 2 filters. But any way I can't keep the engine running until I took out the R20 out and just use the 500 and tried putting back together but no good so now only using the 500. Does any one know how to test or repair this filter any easy way,every time I try I am getting fuel spilled under the bed and real pain cleaning up and now afraid my wife is going to go crazy if she smells fuel. Nick

You will be fine with just the 500,Nick. Against all advice, i use 2010 2 micron filters. About $7 on the net $14 + at Worst Marine. Change them every hundred engine hours, carry spares. Jerry Haller also uses 2 micron filter.

Bill1565 · Mar 26, 2015

Stu Jackson said:
Nick, you've been around here a long time: http://www.pureayre.com/

Say hi to Mary Ellen for us.

ALNims · Mar 26, 2015

Maine Sail,
Thank you for the information. I checked my primary and it is the right one. I was wondering if it was correct and now I know. Keep up the information flow. It is definitely appreciated.
Andrew

med2463 · Mar 26, 2015

seadaddler said:
Thanks Bill and say Hello to Mary and how you guys doing,the Club is heading to the Keys and some Marco and some Bahama's,like 3 different groups and lots of fun for sure,April 6,7,8,9 leaving Pelican. Where abouts are you and maybe look for you in Our cruising. Nick

We left Marco today & are at Naples until Mon

jibes138 · Mar 27, 2015

Why not pull the hose off the inlet to you engine filter and put it in a quart mason jar, then turn on the electric pump for a few seconds and see if you get fuel flow. Fill the jar half full if you do and let it sit and settle, This will tell you two things, are you getting fuel flow through the two filters, and is the fuel clean and free of water. Everything you describe makes it sound like the R20 has a blockage restricting flow? Since it is a spin on why that would happen is a big mystery. You should just yank it out and sell it, your 500 MA is fine by itself.