PDQ OWNERS FORUM

I take delivery of my new PDQ 34 at the end of July. Up till now I have
only had outboards, so I know nothing about Diesel Inboards, or any inboards for that matter.

I would appreciate your opinions regarding purchasing the Racor 500 fuel
filter upgrade. At about $3000 it seems quite expensive.

Looking forward to your comments.

Thanks in advance,

Ben

Ben,

Racor filters should not even be considered an option, but a necessity. Diesels need clean fuel and diesel tanks get full of dirt and water in humid climates. The $3000 is cheap compared to even one fuel sytem failure. BUY THE FILTERS !!!

Terry,

Thanks for your response. Now I have to figure out which size element to use, 2, 10, 30 micron. There seems to be quite a difference of oipinion.

Ben

Ben,

I use 2 micron on our 36. I want to stop everything at the Racor, since they are easier to service than the elements on the engines. I have had varying opinion from others, but I feel that the earlier you stop the dirt, the less chance it will reach the injectors, where it will cause a critical problem.

hi ben,

i agree with terry. i too use 2 micron elements for the reason that he stated. also, the tanks are higher than the fuel pumps so getting fuel is not a problem.

2 caveats: 1) 2 micron elements will VOID your yanmar warranty, so i wouldn't do it at this point in ownership. 2) racors are rated at a flow rate regardless of filter size so finer elements don't block flow. however, finer clogs faster so you need to monitor it. this will require a vacuum guage which racor sells for approx $100. if you get one drive off of one engine and mount dial so you can easily see it.

fwiw, i think standard filter is a racor but a r12s. we had these on a westerbeke diesel and now have on our entec generator. not sure what flow they support and they are not as easy to change as 500 series. check with racor on performance differences.

good luck!