Racor - water drain

You guys responded a few months ago when I asked a similar question but here's what Racor told me yesterday when I called for another reason.

Basically, they said that if there's no water in the filter, nothing will come out when you remove the plug. I changed a filter yesterday and it seemed like all of the fuel drained out of the filter housing along with whatever water was in there too.

Is that true? If there's no water in the filter housing nothing will drain out? Isn't the housing always full of fuel or is that only when the engine is running? Regardless, I need to drain the housing more than I have been.


Bob

Huh? Racor sounds confused. If you remove the plug, lots of gas will come out. If there was any water in there, it will drain out first.

that's what I figured, I couldn't understand how the filter could become empty when the engine has shut down.

Slightly related, have any of you guys used the Mallory filter replacements instead of the Racor brand? They're about $10 cheaper. I also see Sierra listed as well. I don't know if either are just re packaged Racors.


Bob

Never used the Mallory filters ....but I have ALWAYS had fuel drain out if the plug or base is removed and it is always a mess until I fould a nice metal bucket that fits and hangs just perfectly and hold about 48 ozs. so it is small enough to keep somewhere

I use a glass Mason jar so I can inspect what comes out.

Jeff

Even better.....I'm putting a mason jar into my metal bucket !

Concur on the Racor being in error....though we haven't used them on the boat in many years, we have one on the furnace and when I changed the filter last, the 'plastic' bowl went back on. It stays full of 'heating oil' most of the time. Due to the huge runup in price last year, we ran with the tank empty most of the time. This past spring (for the first time since we've been in the house) there was a trace of water in the fuel and it was found in the bottom of the bowl. Very evident when the water shows. yes, the racor is overkill for the furnace but was 'free' and is a whole lot easier to service than that archaic 'general filter' setup that is commonly used.

Mark,

You touched a nerve. I hate that oil filter. I routinely do my own service on the filter after a fillup and we too, run it down waiting for price fluctuations to gather up a few more gallons. My 550 gallon tank, without planning for it, can cost over $1800.00 to fill that day. So here is the question: WHICH model filter and housing are you using? I may have access to a few different ones and IF one just happens to provide the right specs....I am changing it. Currently, it looks just like a hard roll of paper with grooves in it AND IT IS ALWAYS black.

diver_dave said:

......... If you remove the plug, lots of gas will come out. If there was any water in there, it will drain out first.

Click to expand...

Agree.... and there may have been a possible misunderstanding!
Perhaps the RACOR Tech was saying that if no water was present, no water would come out, but gasoline would.

.

Mark is correct! I have been using a small Racor model 120A as a secondary filter for the standard General filter on my furnace. It's a 2 micron filter that is rated for 15 GPH. After having 5 different oil companies service my new furnace with very poor results, I took it on myself to solve the problem. Each company had installed the wrong nozzle to begin with, and had their own preferances as to "tuning". I changed the nozzle to the correct one as specified in the manual, installed the Racor, and added diesel Startron to the tank just before I had it filled. Not only did it run perfectly all season with no rumbling at all, I saved about 20 gallons of oil compared to the previous year, and as you may recall, we had a brutal winter. I thought the small size would require changing it out mid season but that was not the case. However, I only burn about 275 gallons per heating season.......less now thanks to the clean oil at the nozzle. It fires right up and runs extremely smooth. One more thing; the problem was not a dirty oil tank. I had just installed a new tank with the furnace and was not buying bargain oil from a guy on the street. When I did finally replace the filter, I could not believe all of the dirt it trapped. Needless to say I use Racor filters on the boat as well. Tight lines to all and stay warm this winter!

Thank you Bert,

Now I have to learn how to do an oil furnace too? one that that really bugs me is poor quality service. My daughters car went in for repair to the dealer and they shortcut the windshield fluid bottle and left out a filler neck screw. (not an isolated incident, I have hundreds of other stories) The oil guys here will remove the top of the furnace and then replace about 75% of the sheet metal screws that it came with. The nozzle ALWAYS bothered me once I learned that there was a particular size in there and then over a few years, since they leave the old one in the plastic sleeve by the switch, those were different sizes too.

Our new furnace was cleaned for the first time last year and they did the same thing. (A different guy) This year I plan to take the day and go watch the entire process " Critiques included at no charge"

Let me share my experience with oil burners, as used in furnaces and commercial pressure washers. The nozzle size is driven by the desired heat output desired; most are flexible and the exact size should be determined by the furnace OEM with the MAX rating being critical. Mine is "underfired" as the idiot that did the heat load calculation was plain wrong and spec'ed the furnace too large.

Once the appropriate nozzle is selected (& the basic maintenance has been done) the best way to adjust the burner is to use a modern electronic combustion analyzer with a smoke tester. they aren't cheap (new) and the first generation stuff has life limited sensors. In my case, I've NEVER had the service guys perform a complete analysis without major prodding. We opt'ed that the investment was worth the peace of mind knowing the the adjustment was optimal. Like Old Bert noted, clean fuel and proper adjustment will minimize the fuel burnt.

The final 'trick' is to ensure proper airflow over the heat exchanger. We installed an electronic motor control on the blower so it's speed can be dialed in, for both the heating and cooling functions.

Cool....I have finally had an understanding of something I had neither the time or source to get to.......Mark, That's another beer I owe you! Ours is hot water baseboard

The hydronic stuff is what is still in the house I grew up in - LNG fired, not oil. The above is still applicable; you just don't have the blower motor adjustment option.

I've been changing tis type of filter for much longer than I care to count. I usually drain it into a glass jar so I can see what's in with the gas . The entire filter has always emptied out into the jar, not just the water. I think someone at racor is a little groggy.