I use 2 microns on my racor(500 series). The engine is a Volvo MD-30.

With a 10 some sludge will get thru..


Hanz


Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 06:31:41 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:


"Wayne.B" wrote

I've had good luck with Biobor.

That's the stuff I almost bought. Do you just pour it in the tank before
filling?

I was buying just before I needed to fill the tank. The print on the Biobor
Jr. bottle was so small that, even with my glasses, I could only make out a
few phrases that looked like, "full protective clothing", "pre mix with
(some quantity) of fuel", etc. It was the latter that really made up my
mind because I didn't have time to arrange the necessary containers and
means of transfer.

The StarTron says that there is absolutely no risk of interaction with other
fuel treatments. (If the PRI people are correct, that's easy to believe.)
I could still try Biobor when I use up the next half tank.

Another question: Does the alge sludge get through the primary filter? I
plan to put a vacuum gauge in my fuel line the next time I open up the fuel
system. However, my secondary filter is downstream of both fuel pumps so I
can't put a gauge on that one unless it was a pressure gauge just before the
filter.


Good questions. If I still have a fair amount of fuel when I start, I
just pour in the total amount of Biobor that I will need. Otherwise I
will fill part way, add the Biobor, and resume fueling. I wear rubber
gloves when handling it. It's a good practice to wear them when
handling diesel also.

My primary filters are 10 micron Racors with vacuum guages. As long
as I keep an eye on the vacuum and swap out the Racors in a timely
manner, the secondary filters mounted on the engine stay clean. The
sediment bowl on the Racors also needs to be checked periodically.

I replace the secondary fuel filters once a year as preventive
maintenance.

I've used Startron since it was Soltron and hard to find, about 6
years. When I first got the boat, I shocked the tanks per their
directions,then had the fuel polished. I've used it ever since. I had
a small leak a couple of years ago, and we opened up the tank to clean
it out and line it with aircraft fuel tank sealant. The inside of the
tank was pretty darned clean. This is a steel tank on a 20 year old
trawler. There was a little bit of black stuff, maybe 1/8" thick on
the very bottom, and some sediment which was mostly rust falling off
the top of the tank, where the fuel doesn't hardly ever slosh up and
cover. I've been very impressed with Startron, and continue to use and
recommend it. The PRI stuff at least looks good too, but I've never
tried it personally. I do have to wonder about someone who spends all
that time/effort bashing their competition though. If your product is
so good, just sell it on it's merits.

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:35:43 -0400, Hanz Schmidt
wrote:

I use 2 microns on my racor(500 series). The engine is a Volvo MD-30.

With a 10 some sludge will get thru..

This topic has been debated endlessly on the Trawler mailing lists
where it was a hot topic for a while. Most engine manufacturers
recommend 10 micron for the primaries, typically Racors, and 2 microns
in the secondary engine mounted filters. Their rationale is that the
10 micron filters capture a lot of the smaller particles also, and
that the secondaries need to be replaced on a regular schedule
regardless.

Sludge is heavy, much larger than 10 microns. If you have sludge
getting through your Racors they are leaking, probably because you are
using FG500s without the necessary spacer. This is a common problem
with the Racor 500s and many people do not know about it. I ended up
replacing my 500s with 900s but that would be overkill for small
sailboat engines.

For more information on the 2 micron vs 10 micron debate look he

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...& btnG=Search

or

http://tinyurl.com/258xnk