Best brand of diesel filter / water separator?

[Grecy]

Hi All,

I'm kitting out my diesel for a 2 year lap of Africa, and I'd like the run the best possible diesel filter / water separator I can buy.

I'm thinking of 1 or 2 microns for the filter, and I'll of course carry a few spares.

Does anyone have advice on which brand is the best?

Thanks,
-Dan

 

[tornio]

hi Grecy , try PARKER - RACOR they are leader in fuel-water saparator and world wide distribuited.

only one thingh : for primary filtration (first filter after tank) I think a 10-20 microns is better than 1-2 microns especially if you
plan to go to areas where is poor quality diesel

for example a Toyota b 3b factory fuel filter is 10 microns , the separator (before fuel filter ) would be 20 or 30 microns

the best would be : primary filtration fuel water separator 30 microns - factory filter ( better 10 microns) - secondary filtration 2-5 microns

Racor price is not low.... here in europe.... maybe in the USA lower

ciao

 

[lckarl]

I concur with Tornio, 10-20 microns should be sufficient. Make sure you get one that has enough flow for your engine. Some of them also have their own priming pumps which can be helpful. As you mentioned make sure you take some spare filters.
I am running a Racor in my Cruiser.

 

[tornio]

I Ickarl , what kind of racor are you running in your cruiser ? and what cruiser ? thanks

grecy like ickarl says some filter Mount of racor have a priming pump , don't go to marine series stay on industrial series , same quality less price

and now racor produce a series of fuel/WATER separator that doesn't need a "Mount" it came assembled (CARTRIDGE-MOUNT) and you can Mount like an in-line filter with two little hoses , in and out.

 

[John Galt]

Hi All,

I'm kitting out my diesel for a 2 year lap of Africa, and I'd like the run the best possible diesel filter / water separator I can buy.

I'm thinking of 1 or 2 microns for the filter, and I'll of course carry a few spares.

Does anyone have advice on which brand is the best?

Thanks,
-Dan

What diesel engine? A Landcruiser will likely have a fuel filter screen in the tank, on the fuel inlet pipe. On most models it's inaccessible without removing the tank. If you're going where fuel could be 'dodgy', then drop the tank now where/while it's convenient, and remove the troublesome in-tank filter and replace it with a NAPA 3972 located in the engine compartment.

After removing a clogged tank filter I installed one after the OEM water separator/sedimenter.
Also be aware that the inlet banjo fitting on the fuel-feed pump has an internal filter screen which can clog with debris since it's at the lowest point in the fuel system.

 

[Greg_B]

What engine do you have? Are you going to maintain the stock fuel filter as well?

I recall a long while back (stickboy) but a 13BT into a wagon. He stacked filters in line and had fuel restrictions because of it: Diesel Filter

Charles (RIP) filtered his fuel going into the fuel tank on his travels in Africa with a Mr Funnel: Middle of Nowhere: pre filtration of fuel

hth's
gb

 

[keving]

I run a Racor R45S in all m rigs as a primary. I realize that 2 microns is pushing it for a primary filter, I agree with what the others have said. But mine is working well, has a primer in it, good view of the clear bowl and I carry spares, only once have I have one start to restrict flow, on my Ford diesel.

 

[doug720]

Racor 230R with primer pump and 10 micron element works good on my 60.

 

[Grecy]

Thanks for the replies all,

It really seems like Racor is the way to go. I'm leaning towards a 10 micron filter to not tax the mechanical pump too much.

Are you guys running the manual primer, or the electric one?

Does anyone have the heater option? do you recommend it? I don't plan on running this rig in cold environments yet, but if it's not much more money it sounds like a really good option to future proof it.

Thanks again,
-Dan

 

[doug720]

I run the 10 micron, as the Racor is the first filter in line. The stock filter is a 2-3 micron and there is a screen at the IP inlet as a last resort.

Manual primers only - one on the Racor and one on the IP. I use both when I change filters, but normally only use the IP to prime the system if needed.

No heater on mine, but we live in SoCal and only visit the cold a few times a year, and that is 10F at lowest. So not a real test.

 

[lckarl]

I have a similar set up to doug720, but I am currently running a 30micron filter. In case you are not aware, the Parker/Racor filters are color coded with Red rated at 30micron, Blue 10microns, and Brown 2microns.

 

[DamoPeru]

Hi grecy,

2 years in Africa? I'm setting mine up also for many years in south/central America, and for that I went with the stock toyota prefilter, then a stock fuel filter with heater, and then the third and final filter is another stock fuel filter. Nothing to trouble the pump in terms of pulling the fuel through and I'll be able to get them from any capital city in every country I visit without having to have special ones shipped in. Less types of filters to carry as well. As an extra step for better filter management I'm considering a pressure guage after the last filter, but still haven't pulled the trigger on that one.

Good advise from John Galt about the tank service, I'm doing that at the moment (actually pulling it apart to refurbish the inner coating) and it's amazing how much sh1t can accumulate in there over the years.