Racor lookalikes

[Juliet 15]

Anyone using a racor lookalike? They're all over the internet and being sold by heavy equipment parts companies.

I want to put dual 1000s on each engine, but wow, Racor is proud of their stuff. Prices are $1700 and up for one ($3400 for both).

Are they good quality? Has anyone had good experiences or bad experiences? Anyone owned a lookalike for a few years without problems?

 

[Pascall]

We have Separ filters on board.

 

[TBill36]

I bought one for the gen on my previous boat and from what I remember you have to pay close attention to the fittings. A lot of them have funky hose and thread sizes.

 

[Juliet 15]

Pascal, ill look up Separ.

TBill, Yeah, good point. Did it seem to work reliably after you put it together?

 

[kapnd]

Racors are overrated, so I would have absolutely no confidence in the knockoffs.
They were state of the art 35 years ago, but are just a bad habit now.
Visit sbmar.com to read up on modern fuel filtration and how it is accomplished.

 

[psneeld]

Racors on older engines are probably fine...the more modern the diesel, the more I would stick to engine manufacturers specs/systems.

As far as knock offs... for low flow diesels the turbine effect of Racors is somewhat lost, but Racor filters are OK.

I would have no problem with knock-off filter housings but would only use them if I could still use Racor filters in them.

While most of the vessels I have run were using engines only up to around 2005 vintage or so, I probably have run boats with tens of thousands of hours in both commercial and private vessels and their engines always brought me home. Some of those vessels were using fuel that probably very few here would think of using... ie not from frequently used marina fuel pumps but from huge storage tanks/barges used in commercial dredging and commercial projects. Rarely did that fuel meet the clear and bright test but was still used and just more Racors used.

 

[TBill36]

TBill, Yeah, good point. Did it seem to work reliably after you put it together?

It worked fine. I used racor elements in it.

 

[DDW]

I am curious as to why everyone - including builders - want to over-filter their boat. The Racor 1000 is spec'd at 180 gph flow rate. Even considering 50% spill fuel from the injection system, that will feed an 1800 hp engine (using the 20hp/g/h rule of thumb). I'd be surprised if the OPs Hatteras has engines that large. The 500 will do 60 gph, enough to feed a 600 hp engine if half the fuel is spill fuel. And at full throttle, probably a lot less than half the fuel is returned.

Racor says you want to have a filter loaded closer to its max spec than severely unloaded, because as was mentioned above, the turbine doesn't work well at very low flows. A single Racor 500 is $250 and you have the real thing. A dual 500 is around $1100, you can find a knockoff for about half that. What are your engines worth?

 

[HeadedToTexas]

Well that was a sobering read.

Marine Fuel Filtration “The Seaboard Way”

Marine Fuel Filtration “The Seaboard Way”

www.sbmar.com

How many here have only Racor as primary fuel filtration prior to the on-engine “last chance” filter? I am one.

 

[TBill36]

I have only Racor 1000s as my primary. Been battling dirty fuel issues for over a year and finally getting it somewhat clean. My tank set up makes it difficult to access for a company to clean and with enough Biobor I'm making headway. I run 2 microns in the Racors and change them whenever the gauges tell me to. Gauges with drag links are a must. Tony sells them on his site.

 

[DDW]

Like much of the SBMar stuff, that article is a mixed bag. A lot of it is directed at an old boat with a filthy tank. You'd be better off cleaning the filthy tank than adding a bunch of filters to try to "clean it while you drive". If you are changing your Racor 1000 filters every couple of months, you need the tank cleaned. He does things like complain that the Racor clear bowl doesn't stay clear, but recommends Fleetguard spin ons which are opaque to start with. He thinks spin ons are easier to service than the top loading Racors. His opinion, I disagree.

 

[psneeld]

Like much of the SBMar stuff, that article is a mixed bag. A lot of it is directed at an old boat with a filthy tank. You'd be better off cleaning the filthy tank than adding a bunch of filters to try to "clean it while you drive". If you are changing your Racor 1000 filters every couple of months, you need the tank cleaned. He does things like complain that the Racor clear bowl doesn't stay clear, but recommends Fleetguard spin ons which are opaque to start with. He thinks spin ons are easier to service than the top loading Racors. His opinion, I disagree.

I too agree. Of course the every couple months does depend on gallons fuel filtered.

 

[Comodave]

Well that was a sobering read.

Marine Fuel Filtration “The Seaboard Way”

Marine Fuel Filtration “The Seaboard Way”

www.sbmar.com

How many here have only Racor as primary fuel filtration prior to the on-engine “last chance” filter? I am one.

I believe that the vast majority of diesel boats have a Racor primary and then the engine manufacturer secondaries. I really like Tony’s opinions but my Racors have worked fine on all the diesel boats I have owned.

 

[gettaway]

I am curious as to why everyone - including builders - want to over-filter their boat. The Racor 1000 is spec'd at 180 gph flow rate. Even considering 50% spill fuel from the injection system, that will feed an 1800 hp engine (using the 20hp/g/h rule of thumb). I'd be surprised if the OPs Hatteras has engines that large. The 500 will do 60 gph, enough to feed a 600 hp engine if half the fuel is spill fuel. And at full throttle, probably a lot less than half the fuel is returned.

Racor says you want to have a filter loaded closer to its max spec than severely unloaded, because as was mentioned above, the turbine doesn't work well at very low flows. A single Racor 500 is $250 and you have the real thing. A dual 500 is around $1100, you can find a knockoff for about half that. What are your engines worth?

I oversized mine not for the GPH but for the filter capacity. Look at the size of the filter elements, should I end up with dirty fuel, it'll take a little longer for the element to clog and shut down an engine. just my opinion.