Fuel filter micron ratings have me pulling my hair out!

[BrettLisk]

Hey guys, so I finally got my FASS 150 installed and bought two Baldwin fuel filters (BF7633 and BF1214) mainly because I wanted a 2 micron filter over the 3 micron that comes with the FASS. Well I found out in my research that Baldwin uses a multi pass rating on their fuel filters and that raises the Micron level above the filters that I replaced! Needless to say I was upset but then when I went to buy new fuel filters, the lowest I can find was 3 micron. When were the ISO micron ratings updated? I bought two Donaldson filters (2m and 10m FWS) to replace the Baldwin's that I had on there and think I'm gonna stick with them for all of the filters on my truck minus the stock fuel canister (PF7977 will continue to get used there) Does this also mean that the 4 micron rating that Bosch originally spec'd for the cp3 pump is no longer correct? I apologize in advance for all of the silly questions, I'm just super OCD/anal retentive about my truck.

Thank you for your time!

Brett Liskowaski

 

[brods]

Oh you've opened a can of worms. The reality is you are worrying about nothing. Pick any of the better rated filters and you won't go wrong. Sure you'll get the internet experts telling you that one filter is way better than the others because it has better spec numbers, but there is a lot more to a filter's performance in the real world than just the test specs. If someone tells you this or that filter is the best then ask then what cleanliness testing they've done to back that claim up. And by testing I mean getting actual real world before and after particle counts, not just "I put it on my truck and it done good."

Also consider that many trucks out there run only the stock 7 mic fuel filter without problems, so it is not like your fuel system will self destruct if you have a 3 mic filter instead of a 2 mic filter. Relax and run whatever filter makes you happy.

 

[BrettLisk]

Thanks for the information bud, I am quite neurotic when it comes to my vehicles and am in a constant state of worry so I apologize. You should have seen the panic the first time I heard the injector purge click! I think I'll just stick with Donaldson filters, they seem to have a damn good track record but next time I just might go for the bigger P551311 and P550901 just for the halibut.

-Brett-

 

[cerberusiam]

A 3 um filter is fine, that is the cut off anyway. Just because you run less than 3 um filtration does not mean it will immediately destroy itself. If you are that worried add a CAT or Donaldson between the OE filter and the CP-3. Multi pass is still the best filtration scheme you can do.

 

[BrettLisk]

Thank you for the reply! Right now my setup is a Beans sump into my FASS 150 plumbed into my stock canister and then into my cp3. All half inch lines as well. So my filter setup is a little *** backwards since I have a 5 micron after my 3 micron Baldwin. But I didn't see a need to bypass my stock canister

Brett

 

[cerberusiam]

A 5 um filter does not pass all the 3 um solids that hits it, it is probably 60-70% effective on 3-4 um solids so you are in fact gaining filtration by using it in the stock canister. Multi-pass or multi-filters works the same way, you still get benefits.

All that aside, putting the sump in was the worst thing you could have done and has negated some of the efficacy of the filters. How much has too many variables to guess at. All the water and solids in the tank are now making their way into your fuel system. No matter how many filters you put in a slug of free water IS going to get some thru to the fuel system. Where does free water and heavily water entrained fuel sit? On the bottom of the tank of course. In case you did not know ULSD is highly hygroscopic and water is DEATH to an HPCR systems in even small amounts.

Same thing for the solids, they are floating at the bottom of the tank now getting sucked in and ground by the pump into potentially smaller pieces to push thru the filters. You should be more concerned about that problem than the filters.

 

[brods]

Cerb, lets explore that for a minute. The logic of not having a sump (similar to not running the fuel tank low) is that you will suck up any water and solids that collect on the bottom. So the alternative is to let the water and solids build up. Eventually they reach an equilibrium point, a point where they've build up to a certain level and any more added to the tank comes out through the fuel system. Now you drive around with a large quantity of water and/or solids built up in the tank. So if you do run the fuel level down low or agitate the tank violently you can suck up large quantities and stop the truck in its tracks. How is that better than sucking out small quantities as they are added to the tank? Unless you periodically drop the tank and clean it out, eventually you will pass the same amount of water and dirt through the fuel system. Another negative is if water is allowed to stay in the tank then biological growth is more likely to occur. So what am I missing? How does it make sense to allow dirt and water to build up in the tank unless you purge it periodically?

 

[cerberusiam]

The solids and water will not sit on the bottom forever, simple agitation of the tank thru normal driving is going to mix it to some degree. With a canister it not a back an white deal, there will always be SOME of the contaminants sucked up in a normal process, just not a massive amount at once. Given that small amounts of contaminant are much easier to filter and digest for the system it makes sense to do allow that than slug it all in at once. Water is much easier to process in small amounts than large, solids the same way. Filtration is never 100% so if there is a higher percentage of the bad stuff ingested at once a higher percentage will get thru the filters.

It is not unusual to find a fine coating of sand like substance in a tank that had a lot contaminants run thru it. By and large, it will just site there and not bother as it is too heavy to be transported. Good visual indication it is time to closely examine the fuel source when problems ensue. One hopes that the filers will show signs of problems AND protect the engine to indicate it is time to do something.

 

[BrettLisk]

Ok a lot of this I had no idea about. If it matters at all the Beans sump actually has a built in stand pipe in it so you aren't truly sucking off of the bottom of the tank

Brett

 

[cerberusiam]

If it matters at all the Beans sump actually has a built in stand pipe in it so you aren't truly sucking off of the bottom of the tank

It does, a lot. Not as good as a canister but better than most that are the lowest point in the tank . The drawback is when the fuel goes below the stand pipe you are done, no return fuel to eek it along.

 

[BrettLisk]

It does, a lot. Not as good as a canister but better than most that are the lowest point in the tank . The drawback is when the fuel goes below the stand pipe you are done, no return fuel to eek it along.

I wish I had taken pictures of the inside of the Beans sump before I installed it but it's actually a pretty neat little feature. Had I known this I would have bought a canister tapped for half inch fuel lines. I try to never ever run my fuel below quarter of a tank but knowing my luck I'm probably not supposed to do that either haha

-Brett-

 

[cerberusiam]

Not a bad idea to fill up when it breaks below 1/2 if possible. There is no baffling in the tank think about how full the tank has to be to keep fuel on the small stand pipe when you are going up, down or sideways. A lot of places I go the fuel is stacking in one end of the tank a good share of the time.

 

[BrettLisk]

Not a bad idea to fill up when it breaks below 1/2 if possible. There is no baffling in the tank think about how full the tank has to be to keep fuel on the small stand pipe when you are going up, down or sideways. A lot of places I got the fuel is stacking ion one end of the tank a good share of the time.

I normally always fill my truck at the local truck stop since in my mind the high volume of fuel they go through somehow means better fuel. Plus they have the sweet 2 inch fuel nozzles!

-Brett-

 

[BrettLisk]

Switched the Baldwin's out for the Donaldson's and the FASS now seems more quiet. Seems kinda weird that it happened.

 

[JKosten]

I am a little late to the conversation but i will toss in some thoughts:

1 - Keeping a the stock filter housing in the circuit with a filter in it, is good both as a "safety" filter and second water separator. Water is the death of a HPCR fuel system.

2 - The micron ratings: they are kinda like HP ratings: they are subject to interpretation and each vendor's testing procedure. Parker has a good overview article on them: https://www.parker.com/literature/Racor/Mobile_The_Micron_Rating.pdf

3 - On my 06 I am running a Racor R90S between the tank and stock filter housing. The Racor series filters use Aquabloc to have highefficiency, long life and unsurpassed water removalperformance. I am more worried about water contamination than fuel flow (still stock hard parts on the engine).

4 - Are you running a fuel conditioner? I use Stanadyne Lubricity with every fill up. My 12v truck would hunt at idle, and after using Stanadyne it would idle at 800 consistently. My Bosch fuel injection shop recommends it and we have found in the ag industry a lot of tractor issues are from bad fuel, or "dry" fuel here in CA. http://stanadyneadditives.com/lubricity-formula/

 

[BrettLisk]

I am a little late to the conversation but i will toss in some thoughts:

1 - Keeping a the stock filter housing in the circuit with a filter in it, is good both as a "safety" filter and second water separator. Water is the death of a HPCR fuel system.

2 - The micron ratings: they are kinda like HP ratings: they are subject to interpretation and each vendor's testing procedure. Parker has a good overview article on them: https://www.parker.com/literature/Racor/Mobile_The_Micron_Rating.pdf

3 - On my 06 I am running a Racor R90S between the tank and stock filter housing. The Racor series filters use Aquabloc to have highefficiency, long life and unsurpassed water removalperformance. I am more worried about water contamination than fuel flow (still stock hard parts on the engine).

4 - Are you running a fuel conditioner? I use Stanadyne Lubricity with every fill up. My 12v truck would hunt at idle, and after using Stanadyne it would idle at 800 consistently. My Bosch fuel injection shop recommends it and we have found in the ag industry a lot of tractor issues are from bad fuel, or "dry" fuel here in CA. http://stanadyneadditives.com/lubricity-formula/

I appreciate all of the information my friend. I don't run a fuel conditioner but I will now. After reading that I'm literally mid order on a few bottles haha.

Brett