Manufactured by Marsh Marine...Tank Cleaning Professionals
“Our experience is your protection since 1966”
Deck Fill Protection Device
I
f
you’ve
followed
any
of
the
various
articles
I’ve
written,
you
know
that
much
of
my
business
with
Marsh
Marine
is
cleaning
diesel
fuel
and
tanks
(fuel
polishing)
.
Along
with
this
service
we
typically
clean
and
replace
fuel
filters.
Fuel
filters
are
the
main
line
of
defense
in
protecting
your
engine
from
dirty
or
water
contaminated
fuel.
As
any
veteran
boater
will
confirm,
fuel
filters
can
save
you
from
a
very
expensive
tow
bill.
Since
the
most
frequently
used
fuel
filters
are
made
by
Racor,
this
article
will
provide
you
some
inside
tricks
and
information
about
how
these
specific
filters
work
and
how
best
to
maintain
them.
Whether
you
do
your
own
maintenance
or
use
the
services
of
a
professional,
you
should
be
familiar
with
these
procedures
for
two
major
reasons;
first
there
may
come
a
time
when
you
might
have
to
do
the
work
yourself
just
to
make
it
safely
back
to
port,
and
secondly,
so
you’ll
understand
if
your service technician is doing the job correctly.
R
acor
filters
are
loosely
divided
into
two
types,
those
that
have
spin-on
cartridges
and
those
using
drop-in
cartridge
elements.
The
last
are
easily
recognizable
by
the
“T”
handle
top
and
heavy,
clear
plastic
bowl
at
their
bottom
within
which
can
be
seen
an
inverted
cone
shaped
device
called
a
turbine.
Hence
their
name,
turbine
filters
.
The
spin-ons
are
generally
used
for
smaller
gas
engines.
Their
filter
elements
are
replaced
by
twisting
off
the
old
filter
and
replacing
with
a
new.
In
this
article
I
am
going
to
deal
only
with
the
more
complicated
turbine
units.
These
include
basically
three
marine
rated
models:
The
500
MA,
the
900
MA,
and
the
1000
MA.
Sometimes
these
will
be
duel
or
even
triple
units
hooked
together,
but
for
the
most
part
all
are
about
the
same
other
than
their
size
and
capacity.
If
you
have
a
diesel
engine
of
40
HP
or
larger,
you
most
likely
have
one
or
more
of
these filters aboard your boat.
T
ake
a
look
at
Photo
1.
This
is
a
Racor
model
1000
MA.
It
will
serve
as
the
demo for our discussion. Here is how these filters work:
F
uel
is
drawn
into
the
filter
unit
by
a
vacuum
created
by
the
engine’s
fuel
pump.
As
the
fuel
enters,
it
is
directed
into
the
turbine
where
it
is
made
to
swirl.
This
swirling
action
causes
heavier
solids
and
bulk
water
to
separate
from
the
fuel
and
sink
to
the
bottom
of
the
plastic
bowl.
The
fuel,
being
lighter,
rises
and
is
then
sucked
through
the
outer
sides
of
the
filter
element
located
above
the
turbine.
As
the
fuel
flows
through
the
filter
media,
fine
particulate
matter
is
screened
out
so
only
clean
fuel
reaches
the
inside
of
the
filter
element.
From
there
it
is
drawn
onward
to
the
engine.
The
filter
element
is
coated
with
a
special
resin
compound
called
Aquabloc
©
which
prevents
even
microscopic
water
droplets
from
passing
through
the
filter.
Racor
offers
three
filter
elements
for
each
of
these
three
models.
The
difference
is
the
minimum
size
of
particles,
measured
in
microns,
which
the
filter
will
screen
out.
The
micron
size
is
labeled
on
the
end
cap
of
the
element
and
the
sizes
are
also
color
coded;
the
2
micron is brown topped, the 10 micron is blue, and 30 micron red.
Photo 1
Turbine
Heat Shield
Drain
