Adding a Racor filter.. a few questions?

[R.O.R-2.0]

ok, so im adding a SMALL racor filter to the fuel system of my rabbit..

its rated for 15 GPH with a suction, not pressure fed.. its got a clear water separator bowl, and a 2 micron filter head, so that should go nicely with the stock filter as a pre-filter.. the main 15 micron filter should keep most of the junk out of the Racor, right? my dad said the elements are about 40 bucks to replace, so i dont wanna have too high of service intervals..

http://www.parker.com/portal/site/PARKER/menuitem.7100150cebe5bbc2d6806710237ad1ca/?vgnextoid=f5c9b5bbec622110VgnVCM10000032a71dacRCRD&vgnextfmt=EN&vgnextdiv=&vgnextcatid=2551&vgnextcat=120A+SERIES+FUEL+FILTER%2FWATER+SEPARATORS&Wtky=FILTERS

will a 15 GPH filter keep up with the demands of our fuel pumps? it should be pretty darn close to the right size, shouldnt it?

im thinking about pressure feeding both filters also, since 2 filters will most likely have alot more restriction than one unit..

[DieselBalz]

Im curious as to why youre doin this. What added benefit are ya shootin for?

[mystery3]

Less pump wear and injector wear I'm assuming. Also good if you want to run "alternative" fuels, wvo, wmo, homebrew bio, some red diesel you siphoned out of something somewhere or other etc.

[745 turbogreasel]

They also get out all the water.
try these guys for replacement elements
http://stores.ebay.com/pbtxxxs-wholesale

May of the filter housings have provision for a restriction gauge or warning light switch.
15 GPH, how bad of mileage is the worst you've ever  got?

[the caveman]

Every time i have tried to gang fuel filters, I've problems; either one clogging sooner than expected and then needing to do a filter service way before I had anticipated, or the pump forcing to pull fuel through 2 filters. Just use the Racor on it's own

[R.O.R-2.0]

Every time i have tried to gang fuel filters, I've problems; either one clogging sooner than expected and then needing to do a filter service way before I had anticipated, or the pump forcing to pull fuel through 2 filters. Just use the Racor on it's own

the racor is a 2 micron element, and is about 25% of the size of the original filter..

i wanted to retain the original filter as a kind of pre-filter if you will..

anyways, i have a place for a vacuum gauge, and i was thinking of installing one anyways.

and the other thing i was thinking of doing, was adding a lift pump. i had one on my other car, and it DID help out, but i had a compromised pump..

[R.O.R-2.0]

Im curious as to why youre doin this. What added benefit are ya shootin for?

Less pump wear and injector wear I'm assuming. Also good if you want to run "alternative" fuels, wvo, wmo, homebrew bio, some red diesel you siphoned out of something somewhere or other etc.

exactly.. my pump was rebuilt NOT LONG ago, same deal with the injectors.

i just want to make them last as long as possible.. i always lube my diesel, so i figure i might as well make it spotless clean too..

im surprised more people arent running some sort of racor filter on there Giles equipped vehicles.. i would be if i just dropped $1200 on a fuel pump..

my favorite part of the racor, is you can get water-block elements... THEY HOLD THE WATER IN THE BOWL.

thats the other thing i like about it, theres a clear bowl that you can just look at to see if its contaminated, or to see what color fuel im running 

[the caveman]

Every time i have tried to gang fuel filters, I've problems; either one clogging sooner than expected and then needing to do a filter service way before I had anticipated, or the pump forcing to pull fuel through 2 filters. Just use the Racor on it's own

the racor is a 2 micron element, and is about 25% of the size of the original filter..

i wanted to retain the original filter as a kind of pre-filter if you will..

anyways, i have a place for a vacuum gauge, and i was thinking of installing one anyways.

and the other thing i was thinking of doing, was adding a lift pump. i had one on my other car, and it DID help out, but i had a compromised pump..

If it was me, and for some reason I felt I needed to put an extra filter, I would use a much larger one than the one you wanted to use. If going to a 2 micron like you want, I would go with  something at least twice the size of the original one.
Maybe with a small lift pump you can overcome the restriction from using 2 filters, but I think that's using a bandaid to cover a bigger issue.Personally if a finer filter was needed I would just use one, larger capacity ,larger cartridge unit. Think about it, a 2 micron will clog 4 times faster than  a 10 micron, there fore if it's 4 times larger , it will not clog sooner than the 10

[the caveman]

Just to add another 2 cents. I think it may come down to 2 things, luck and lubrication. A case in point. I took apart the IP from  an AHU with 430,000 kms from which I knew both previous owners. Just had regular maintainence, 95% highway . The last 100,000 kms was run with a 2 tank VO system. The person who had it with the VO conversion wasn't always sure of the WVO quality and had to change the VO filter [which was a early spin on VW diesel filter] a couple times early on, but then went the last 1 1/2 years on the same diesel and VO filters. Even though it ran fine, we took apart the pump before using it on my car and expected to see all kinds gunk ,corrosion etc. Well other than a small brownish film , and a small groove at the input shaft,there was no wear.
 I would think that the VW filter and regular pump lube additives  [in my case ,clean filtered VO]will let the pump live a long life

[R.O.R-2.0]

Every time i have tried to gang fuel filters, I've problems; either one clogging sooner than expected and then needing to do a filter service way before I had anticipated, or the pump forcing to pull fuel through 2 filters. Just use the Racor on it's own

the racor is a 2 micron element, and is about 25% of the size of the original filter..

i wanted to retain the original filter as a kind of pre-filter if you will..

anyways, i have a place for a vacuum gauge, and i was thinking of installing one anyways.

and the other thing i was thinking of doing, was adding a lift pump. i had one on my other car, and it DID help out, but i had a compromised pump..

If it was me, and for some reason I felt I needed to put an extra filter, I would use a much larger one than the one you wanted to use. If going to a 2 micron like you want, I would go with  something at least twice the size of the original one.
Maybe with a small lift pump you can overcome the restriction from using 2 filters, but I think that's using a bandaid to cover a bigger issue.Personally if a finer filter was needed I would just use one, larger capacity ,larger cartridge unit. Think about it, a 2 micron will clog 4 times faster than  a 10 micron, there fore if it's 4 times larger , it will not clog sooner than the 10

ok, well, im out $0 for what i did, and im gonna see how it works..

i imagine i will be taking it off before too long. i only have one replacement element..

my dad brought the filter home from alaska for me. so, like i said, im not out anything for this filter.

eventually, i will probably do like you say, and get rid of both filters, and use one big racor.. im gonna keep my eye open for a bigger unit.

[R.O.R-2.0]

Just to add another 2 cents. I think it may come down to 2 things, luck and lubrication. A case in point. I took apart the IP from  an AHU with 430,000 kms from which I knew both previous owners. Just had regular maintainence, 95% highway . The last 100,000 kms was run with a 2 tank VO system. The person who had it with the VO conversion wasn't always sure of the WVO quality and had to change the VO filter [which was a early spin on VW diesel filter] a couple times early on, but then went the last 1 1/2 years on the same diesel and VO filters. Even though it ran fine, we took apart the pump before using it on my car and expected to see all kinds gunk ,corrosion etc. Well other than a small brownish film , and a small groove at the input shaft,there was no wear.
 I would think that the VW filter and regular pump lube additives  [in my case ,clean filtered VO]will let the pump live a long life

like i said, im religious about lubing my fuel..

[rabbitman]

I really doubt 15 gph is enough, isn't the flow at idle something like a liter a minute??

[R.O.R-2.0]

I really doubt 15 gph is enough, isn't the flow at idle something like a liter a minute??

the return line will barely fill a quart jug in a couple minutes..

i installed the filter, and the car still has the same amount of power, and the fuel line doesnt get air bubbles from high vacuum when the engine is revved up..

i kinda expected it to have less power, but it doesnt, it still flies..

[rabbitman]

I really doubt 15 gph is enough, isn't the flow at idle something like a liter a minute??

the return line will barely fill a quart jug in a couple minutes..

i installed the filter, and the car still has the same amount of power, and the fuel line doesnt get air bubbles from high vacuum when the engine is revved up..

i kinda expected it to have less power, but it doesnt, it still flies..

Good enough then

[BigVWman]

I really doubt 15 gph is enough, isn't the flow at idle something like a liter a minute??

Ahhh at 1ltr per minute isn't that 15.6gph? Right on the money for size if you ask me!
Great idea on the racor though, its nicely sized for a rabbit engine bay! I may have to invest in one of those myself