RACOR VS. GRIFFIN - I KNOW WHY..

[TheThunderbird]

Why to spend more, for apparently the same product?
(I have both..)

Today i saw why:
The separator works with a floating plastic sphere in the Griffin, whilst RACOR uses an aluminium ball which goes down by gravity.

The tiniest amount of slime blocked the f...g plastic ball of the Griffin, chocking the engine...
It took me tome and the best mechanic to realize it...

I will buy my 3rd filter now, branded RACOR.

Why is STUPID ENGINEERING ALLOWED!? LET'S FIGHT IT.

[DeepFrz]

It is rampant. Along with the rise of cheap, non-repairable goods.

[sailorchic34]

Lots of bad engineering in the world. Really Racor works and works well. Even this Frugal sailor, has a Racor filter or two.

[boatbod]

The aluminum ball in the Racor is design to sink when immersed in fuel and float when surrounded by water. It's a last-ditch shutoff to try to prevent water entering your engine's injection pump.

[ErikFinn]

Originally Posted by TheThunderbird

Why to spend more, for apparently the same product?
(I have both..)

Today i saw why:
The separator works with a floating plastic sphere in the Griffin, whilst RACOR uses an aluminium ball which goes down by gravity.

The tiniest amount of slime blocked the f...g plastic ball of the Griffin, chocking the engine...
It took me tome and the best mechanic to realize it...

I will buy my 3rd filter now, branded RACOR.

Why is STUPID ENGINEERING ALLOWED!? LET'S FIGHT IT.

Doesn't the slime on the plastic ball mean you have bacteria growth in the diesel tanks and in the Griffin filter?

[TheThunderbird]

Yes, Erik.

I am planning for a continuous filtering system, plus Bac-tol additive...

:-)

[ErikFinn]

I was just wondering if this shut off occurrance might have been a built in feature? You didn't mention water in the Griffin but as we know water in the injector pump and engine is very bad..

[Suijin]

FYI if you buy a Racor online, make sure you buy a new stock one with the NTP thread ports instead of the straight threads of the last generation or you'll need to also buy adapters for the barb fittings. A few online vendors are selling old stock at what seems a good price...until you add in the adapters.

[zeehag]

i LOVE my racor 500 fg s i bought in manzanillo--i can change cartridge without loss of prime, which is very important while underway. and they were not as expensive in manzanillo as they are in usa.
instead of only one for 500 usd, i was able to purchase 2 of em. my win.
oh yeah when water invaded my fuel tank, my racor didnot allow any water to get to my screw on 10 mic engine filter, so it is win-win all around, as my engine stopped instead of becoming flooded with water in the fuel lines.
whew.
i LOVE my racor 500 fg. both of em.
there is a big difference between racor 500 and racor 500 fg. you WANT fg. trust me.i have used both. i prefer the racor fg.

[Suijin]

FYI the fg model is not ABYC compliant for installation in engine compartments because it does not have the heat shield. You should use the ma model if you're installing them near the engine.

Unfortunately, the heat shield renders the more convenient drain plug useless, since the mounting bolt for the shield becomes the drain plug. Alas.

[zeehag]

none of mine ever had any heat shield, all work just fine n dandy. i place em remotely and use an added hose to drain. easy peasy. no heat involved. as i have normally aspirated engine that runs at 160-180 f i am not concerned.
the area in which i place my remote 500 fg is easy access while under way and not in any way near heat. i love my set up., it WORKS.
i believe those who need concern selves with heat are those with turbocharged engines. those boats seem to spontaneously ignite due to heat in engine rooms. my boat has none of that kind of issue. there is plenty of room in my engine bays to place items out of the way of heat. even during runaway diesel, which i HAVE experienced.
but then my boat is not any kind of production boat, so i have leeway, and deep bilges which are cool even in tropical furycame formation zone waters.

[Suijin]

It's ultimately a personal judgement call, although I did read of someone running into an insurance issue with the unshielded FG in the engine compartment. YMMV.

I have the MA, and it's located about 2' from the normally aspirated diesel. The shield definitely does make inspecting and draining a bit more difficult.

[zeehag]

my racor 500 fg is essentially in the fuel tank compartment which is immediately next to the engine bays. there is no heat issue between the two compartments which are essentially the continuation of the open engine bilges.
my heavy solid thick fg hull keeps bilges at about 77f year round even with hotter water below. while sitting in barra lagoon in 100f water, my bilges were 77f. heat dissipation from engine is rapid. there is no molded plastic accellerant inside my boat.
the heat from the runaway event my engine experienced was minimal.
engine did not overheat--it merely ranaway. water temp remained wnl.
ka lunk.

[SV DestinyAscen]

Always wondered why diesel and outboard OEMs often sell racor as accessories as opposed to other brands!

[TheThunderbird]

Originally Posted by ErikFinn

I was just wondering if this shut off occurrance might have been a built in feature? You didn't mention water in the Griffin but as we know water in the injector pump and engine is very bad..

Yap.

There was no water, just little slime, enough to make the ball stick to the ring collar, which is a thin, easy to collapse piece of plastic (Griffin).

Thanks for advice about threads :-) i'll watch out