A: In 2015 Racor changed the filter media sealing process to more of an embedding process. The type and amount of Aquabloc media, and the superior filtration performance, remains the same. The black end cap element diameter is slightly smaller, which improves flow and helps with water removal.
A: "UL" stands for Underwriters Laboratory. Filters used for onboard marine applications require UL certification. The "T" in "TUL" means the filter is a 10 micron rated.
A: The plastic bowls used with spin-on element may be removed with the Racor plastic bowl wrench; part number RK 22628.
If gripping the the element with a soft strap wrench is necessary, avoid damage by only holding at the area near the attached bowl.
When installing a new filter assembly, it is a good idea to disassemble the element can from the head and bowl, re-lubricate, and reassemble by hand according to the instructions printed on the can.
A: Reach down inside your empty housing, and remove the rubber spacer. For old 500 Turbines, it was necessary to place a rubber ring spacer under the element to keep proper height inside the housing.
New 2010 elements have a bottom ring that serves as the spacer, making the rubber spacer unnecessary.
A: The bowl removal wrench for the GreenMax, Paccar, and Freightliner filters is: PFRK61730.
A: In the 500 and 900/1000 turbine series, the flat side of the gasket goes towards the ball, and the ball sits below the gasket.
When re-assembling the 500, drop the ball into the plastic turbine and place the gasket flat side down, on the top flat area surrounding the opening of the turbine.
For the 900/1000, drop the ball into the turbine, and install the gasket at the upper housing inlet hole. A lip holds the gasket up. Thread the plastic turbine onto the upper housing.
A: Although the materials used in Racor filters for housings and seals are compatible with both diesel and gasoline, there are government regulations that preclude the use of non-approved diesel filters in gasoline applications.
Important Note: Gasoline ethanol content should not exceed 20%; Racor series with plastic hand primer push buttons are not suitable for gasoline.
A: For gasoline, multiply engine horsepower by 0.10; for diesel multiply by 0.18. This gives a rough estimate of the total system fuel flow through the filter. This extra flow is used to cool engine parts on most modern engines. This amount is usually much more than fuel consumption. Choose a Racor filter with a maximum flow rating that is more than your total fuel flow. Consult the engine manufacturer for more information.
A: "Inboard" filters meet coast guard requirements for fire safety, and have metal bowls for heat protection.
"Outboard" filters use plastic bowls and drains and must be mounted in an open ventilated area. Fit, form, and function are the same.
A: Parker Engine Mobil OE (Racor brand) does not sell fittings, but fittings are available through many online and distributor store outlets.
Other resources: Parker Tube and Fittings (1-614-279-7070)
A: To meet UL standards, marine turbine series are designed to pass more stringent factory testing over standard turbine series. They are also serialized and registered. Although some turbine parts are interchangable, adding marine parts to a standard turbine would not make it UL approved for installation.
A: This depends on the size of the air bubbles and the source of the air. Small streams of "champagne" bubbles are probably just air coming out of fuel solution. At about 4"Hg vacuum, some air may begin to appear as small bubbles. A filter mounted 3 or 4 feet above the fuel tank and/or fuel passing through elbows and tee's creates low pressure zones where air and fuel separate. Air that is the result of low pressure is usually no concern, because the air is compressed back into solution at the injection pump.
Large "blobs" of bubbles that appear to come out of the "turbine" in the bowl must originate outside of the Turbine Series housing itself. The path from the inlet port to the bowl "turbine" is direct, and surrounded by fuel; so any air must be entering somewhere from fitting to the tank. With the engine off, even the smallest fuel leak will eventually reveal itself as a wet spot. Fix these immediately.
In the end, all fuel filters eventually plug, and if not changed, air and vapor will come out of the fuel, and the engine will stop. Best to change elements at 5 to 8"Hg above start point or risk an unscheduled complete loss of power.
A: The Racor SNAPP fuel filter/water separator is designed and tested for use in both gasoline and diesel fuels. When "2 micron" Aquabloc© media is selected, the SNAPP can filter up to 40 gph gasoline flow.
A: As a guideline, change a fuel filter element every 500 hours, 10,000 miles, every other oil change, annually, or at first indication of power loss, whichever occurs first. Ideally, you use a vacuum gauge to monitor filter restriction, and change your filter when the gauge reads 5 to 8 inHg above the starting vacuum (about 7 to 10 inHg is typical). This insures that your filter is still removing water at high efficiency.
A: A code printed on the top endcap indicates the specifications, which can be crossed to a part number. The first letter can be "C", "F", or "W", meaning Coalescer, Particulate, or Water Absorbing element. The next number is either "10" or "14", meaning for the FBO-10 (10 inch long) or the FBO-14 (14 inch long). The last number is "1", "5", "10", or "25", which stands for the micron rating. Consult a part number cross over chart to find the actual part number. (See FBO cut sheet second page item 4)
A: Racor filters are available for purchase from Racor distributors located online and around the world. A list of Racor distributors (subject to change) is available online. Visit www.parker.com/emoe or on www.racornews.com. The list on www.parker.com/emoe contains distributors and their parent companies. The map and list on RacorNews.com includes many independent, secondary distributors. Please call Racor at 1-209-521-7860 or write racortech@parker.com for further assistance.
A: First, the gauge belongs on the vacuum side (outlet) of the filter, and before any downstream pumps. Tap into an unused outlet port on the filter head, or connect to a T-fitting located at the filter housing outlet. Use pipe dope sparingly instead of pipe tape.
The gauge allows a dirty filter element vacuum limit to be set, and mechanically records the highest vacuum seen; even after engine is shut off. A routine visual gauge check takes the guesswork out of filter element change schedules.
There are three needles on the gauge face. The first one (black) is the vacuum indicator. When the engine is on, it moves and shows higher vacuum as the filter plugs with contaminants. This black needle returns to zero when the engine is off. When the filter element is new and the engine is on, it will typically read about 2 inches Hg.
The second needle (thin red) is a "follower", and is manually set when the element is new by turning the center knob clockwise until it rests on the black indicator needle. When the engine is on, any increase in vacuum moves the indicator needle and the red follower by the same amount. When the engine is off, the indicator needle returns to zero, but the red follower stays at the highest vacuum reached.
The third needle (thick red) is set manually to the maximum tolerated vacuum (minus about 1.5 inch Hg) required by the engine manufacturer. The vacuum limit can also be determined by artificially restricting the fuel flow until the engine cannot maintain full power at full throttle. In use, when the thin red follower reaches the setting of the service needle, the element should be changed promptly. After the change, the follower is once again manually returned to sit on top of the black indicator needle.
A: As a standard practice, your fuel system should be inspected regularly for problems. As part of the fuel system, Racor clear bowls must be inspected as well.
Racor recommends replacing clear plastic bowls used in gasoline once a season. However, if a bowl is found to be cracked, fogged, deformed, or seeping fuel, it must be replaced immediately. Click Here for Bowl Maintenance Information EB00033.
A: Use pipe dope on tapered pipe "NPT" threads. Avoid pipe tape. Using pipe tape can shed pieces of tape that may foul internal valves in the mounting head or somewhere downstream in the fuel system. In the case of SAE type fittings with o-rings, NEVER use any pipe tape or pipe dope. SAE fittings seal by compressing an o-ring against the walls in a groove and the fitting diameter. Using any "sealing product" defeats the SAE sealing system and may cause leaks instead of avoiding them.
A: Always use new gaskets and seals before filter to head and bowl re-assembly. High temperature and fuel exposure can cause gaskets and seals to change shape and hardness over time. Not replacing seals risks future leaks. New gaskets and seals are included with every Racor replacement element and replacement part. Many gasket and seal rebuild kits are available from Racor distributors; some only come with replacement elements.
A: That dark, sometimes wet, stuff coating your used (and probably clogged) filter, is bacteria and their protective slime that have traveled from your fuel tank.
These “diesel bugs” grow and make a self-protective mat of slime between any water at the tank bottom and the diesel fuel above it. With tank agitation, or if they die due to a biocide additive, the dark, dead slime mixture will travel to your fuel filter, quickly plugging it.
High percentage Biodiesel mixtures are more prone to this problem, but it can happen in any fuel tank; especially tanks sitting less than full for an extended time. That’s why diesel fuel should be filtered at every transfer. In short, your tank needs cleaning; or at least a proper dose of approved biocide and several replacement filter elements.
A: Use 30 micron when the Racor filter is used as a pre-filter (primary), and there are secondary (final), high efficiency filters downstream.
30 micron filters protect downstream filters from dirty fuel.
Use Racor 10 micron for the same reason as 30 micron. 10 micron captures more contaminants and is better at stopping water at the expense of somewhat shorter filter life.
However, the fuel system will still have longer life when compared to a system without a pre-filter.
Use 2 micron (98%@4 micron) when the filter is the only, or final filter in the system. Racor 2 micron media is designed to protect all modern injection systems.
2 micron is sometimes used to protect difficult to service on-engine filters, moving the majority of the filtration burden to the pre-filter.
A: You can alway use a micron level smaller than what you have been using. Filter life might be a bit shorter depending on the fuel quality, but you can't go wrong on particulate and water protection. If the filter is the only one in the system or the last one before the engine, it must be a 2 micron. Some much older engines can use 10 micron, but just in case, always go with the 2. If the filter is a pre-filter ahead of the engine mounted filter, a smaller micron size (10 instead of 30 or 2 instead of 10) will work fine until you can find the micron rating you usually use.
A: RK 21113: Old-style non-venting drain, plugged 9/16” WIF port.
RK 21113-13-04: Old-style non-venting drain, no WIF port. (John Deere RE500187)
RK 21113-13-11, RK21113-13-13 : New self-venting drain, plugged ½”-20 WIF port.
All above bowl numbers superseded by the following part numbers:
RK21113-01: New self-venting drain, plugged ½”-20 WIF port.
RK21113-02: New self-venting drain, plugged ½”-20 WIF port, included WIF probe.
Read more here: EB00034: 300/400/600/700 Series Bowl Consolidation.
A: The Winn fuel is no longer in production and most replacement parts are no longer available. The recommended direct replacement is the Racor 790R30.
A: Racor no longer sells or services Webb fuel filter/ water separators/ coolant heaters. For parts and further information, contact FTG Inc.
(1-800-734-1988 / support@ftginc.com / www.racorparts.com).
A: Racor no longer sells or supports these products. For parts and further information, contact FTG Inc. (1-800-734-1988 / support@ftginc.com / www.racorparts.com).
The FTG parts catalog can be viewed and downloaded at this link: http://bit.ly/FTG_Product_Catalog
A: Racor no longer sells any fuel additives.
Racor 3-wire water-in-fuel "WIF" probe = RK30880E Water Probe Kit
Brass Petcock shut-off valve for Racor Marine Turbine series = RK 19492
Bowl Wrench for Paccar / Freightliner / GreenMax = PFRK61730
Bowl Wrench for all Racor Spin-on bowls = RK 22628.