Racor T-Handle Vacuum Indicator Gauge

I believe it is a good resource for troubleshooting your fuel system. The gauge has a telltale needle which will stay at the highest vacuum reading. This indicates how much restriction there is between the fuel tank pick-up and the primary filter including the primary filter. If you see an increase in vacuum you probably have some debris build up in the filter element and it is time to change it. If you see that the filter is not that dirty then you may want to find the other source of restriction.

The gauges have not been discussed much on TugNuts because most of the boats are not that old or were not that old because the Rangers and Cutwaters have not been built that long. A 10 year old boat in my thinking is a new boat. The fuel tanks on newer boats haven't had enough time to start to build up the asphaltene deposits that start to form in the tank. The older the boats gets and the less it is used the more chance the diesel fuel tank has to get fouled. For the most part the only time new Diesel powered boats have issues is when fueling and picking up bad fuel.

The gauge has a telltale needle that monitors the highest Vacuum reading. When a new filter elements installed zero the needle. When the boat and engine do the first cruise after the filter change record the needle position. This is you new filter starting point. Monitor this and when an increase of 3 or 4 in Hg or 7+ in Hg is seen it is time to change the filter element and inspect the fuel system. This can save on filter changes that are not necessary or help prevent from power losses and engine fuel starvation from fouled filters. (You will have an early warning before the filter is fouled enough to cause issue).

Some Rangers and Cutwaters are entering the 10 to 15 year mark. Still new boats really. Fluid Motion in my thinking is still the new kids in the town when it comes to building boats. I'm cruising in a boat that the manufacturer closed the doors to manufacturing when Fluid motion opened the doors to start manufacturing. A boat built well and maintained with good preventative measure will give trouble free operation. I'm knocking on WOOD as I state this. My 2002 34 Pilot Mainship is giving me as good as if not better reliability as my 2016 Cutwater did. So older Rangers and Cutwaters owners you are still newer boats cruising the waters. I did not install gauges on the Cutwater but I did on the Mainship. If I owned the Cutwater now I would be installing a gauge on my Racor fuel polishing filter housing and engine primary filter. (piece of mind!!!)

srhawk454 you asked I answered! Probably more of an answer than you needed!!!
 
Thank you Brian for the great in-depth analysis, much appreciated! I'll be buying the gauge to detect potential problems early, small price for improved troubleshooting, Hopefully I'll never need it but just in case. Again, great info - thank you!
 
I have exactly the item shown in the link you provided. At the start of our loop in our 2015 R25sc, I got fuel from a facility that had just opened. Unbeknownst to me, we were the very first fuel customer. About 10 miles later, the engine quit. Fortunately, it would run a just above idle and got us to a marina. Both filters were fully plugged with debris and water that was flushed into my tank from the NEW fueling system. Then and there I installed the vacuum gauge. I log the vacuum reading at the end of every day.

We struggled with the debris in the fuel system for quite a while, and many filter elements, until I finally bit the bullet and fully emptied the tank (I waited waaaaay too long, thinking the problem would eventually go away.) That in itself was a serious project. Even after almost 1,000 hours of use, there was still a lot of crap in the tank. The tank is now clean as a whistle. As a corollary benefit, when I refilled the tank, I measured the fuel level in the tank every 5 gallons. Now, I occasionally check the computed fuel state against the measured level....with the boat on the trailer and level.

Get the gauge. Keep track of the readings. You will not regret it. Note: You will need to lower the filter assemble a little to get the gauge to clear the over head hatch. Loosen the clamp bole and slide the assemble down an inch or so.
 
A timely post.

I installed an Racor vacuum gauge about 10 months ago on my 2019 R31. After I first installed it, I never saw much movement in the needle, and I fell into complacency. I haven’t been all that good about reading it with each engine check (no excuse for not doing it, other than I forget to do it). But recently, I noticed it inching up towards the “yellow” zone on the gauge. So just this morning, before taking off for a weekend-long outing, I decided to change the filter ahead of scheduled maintenance. Glad I did — the filter was due for a change. The lower 2/3’s or so was blackened, with the upper 1/3 still in good shape. But still, that 1/3 was going to have to do all the work

The gauge proved it’s worth to me with that. Most of my yearly/hourly maintenance will start coming due in late January/early February. I wouldn’t have changed it as a routine matter until then. It changed it sooner only because of the gauge reading. And since the filter had gotten restricted earlier than I expected, I’ll be watching the gauge carefully this month, when I will be putting on abut 30 to 40 hours more of engine time. I don’t think I’ve gotten a bad batch of fuel, but you never know.

For me, regardless of the age of the boat, I consider the Racor gauge is a worthy add on.

Gini
 
Gin":3ax1xj8o said:
Glad I did — the filter was due for a change. The lower 2/3’s or so was blackened, with the upper 1/3 still in good shape. But still, that 1/3 was going to have to do all the work
Click to expand...

The filter should filter uniformly. If you see a visual line of difference this is showing the fuel line in the filter housing. This scenario typically arises when the last person who replaced the filter element failed to add fuel to the top. No additional air entered, and the upper portion of the filter remained unused. Cover the replacement filter with fuel, but you need not fill it to the brim. On smaller filters, however, the margin for error is less: On the 500 series, the pick up point is only about one inch below the top of the filter. If the filter is changed using the engine priming system and not filling the filter housing about 1/3 of the filter will not be filtering. It will be wet and discolored because of absorption but not really filtering.

A blackened filter is a sign of two things asphaltene deposits which I think is unlikely in a 2019 but not to be ruled out if a bad patch of fuel was added to the tank or the fuel is low sulfur, not used frequently and not treated. The other cause of black fuel filters Biological growth. If there is some water in the bottom of the tank there is food for growth. Treatements can be done to kill the growth but if there is any water in the tank it will keep returning.

I have had black filters with my 2002 Pilot. In my case it is residual asphaltene deposits from years of fuel sitting in the 250 gallon aluminum tank. When I purchased the boat I cut two 6" holes in the top of the tank to gain visual access of the interior of the tank. I completely drained the tank and cleaned as much of the film off the sides and bottom. The tank was not bad at all before I started cleaning it but I could see some residue on the walls. I have no water in the tank. When I had the tank drained I added a ball valve to a port on the bottom of the tank that I can use as a drain petcock to take fuel samples. No water at all, clean, clean, clean fuel is alway seen when I sample but yet I have Black filters. It is not Biological growth it is asphaltene. I removed the element and used my pocket knife blade and scrapped it against the filter material. The results was a fine black particle was removed. No slime or greasy substance which would indicate Biological growth. My hopes are that with regular treatments of Pri-D fuel treatment and 100's of gallons of fuel run thru the tank it will eventually clean. In the mean time I have gauges installed to monitor the filters. I have put 240 hours on the engines ( twin 4LHA STP 240hp Yanmars) in the last 3 months and burned just over 900 gallons of fuel. (Chicago IL. to St Pete Beach FL.) My filters are still black but I have had no issues with filter restriction. I have changed the filters twice second guessing the gauges!!

Again more information than needed but I thought I would share my experience.
 
On my 2015 R27 with Volvo Penta engine there is not enough vertical clearance
for the Tee handle gauge. Where would the best location be?
Thanks, Kent
 
Brian, as always, great information. Yes, a lot of information, but all useful. I will work on figuring out whether I have a fuel issue. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all!

Gini
 
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