# racor vacuum gauge in a remote installation?



## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

I have fuel contamination problems and as a pat of the fix I have installed a racor vacuum gauge on top of the filter. I plan to install a parallel racor and at that time move the guage so that it can show vacuum from either guage.

I was thinking that it would be nice to know if your filter vacuum is climbing WHILE you are motoring at the helm. Currently you must occasionally pull up a floorboard and view the guage near the filter in the bilge. 

My question is, can you install a racor vacuum gauge on a long hose, far away from the filter? Say 15 feet away? Would I need a special hose, check valves or any other exotic equipment?

MedSailor


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## xcbxer (Mar 19, 2008)

Generally straight forward.

Go to designatedengineer.com - he's got all the stuff, good on-line advice and sells on ebay. Even got him on the phone.

I've bought a vac gauge set up from him but not yet installed at my helm station.


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## Rockter (Sep 11, 2006)

No, it won't matter how far away.
Have you though of running a pressurised fuel system?
I fitted a 5 psi Stewart Warner pump, between tank and Racor, and it is serving me well. The last one lasted at least 15 years.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I have dual filters and a vacuum gauge mounted about 10 feet away where I can see it from the helm. No problem.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

A pressurized fuel system means that you won't have to bleed the engine, but will run the risk of a fuel leak. However, fuel leaks with diesel fuel are relatively safe to deal with, due to the fuel's higher ignition temperature and lower volatility.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

Rockter said:


> No, it won't matter how far away.
> Have you though of running a pressurised fuel system?
> I fitted a 5 psi Stewart Warner pump, between tank and Racor, and it is serving me well. The last one lasted at least 15 years.


I have not considered running a pressurized fuel system.... Now I am.... What I had in mind was putting an electric fuel pump between the racor and the engine mounted filter in PARALLEL (with valves to select) so that I could use it for instant engine bleeding. I was going to mount it between filters to protect it from future diesel contamination. I hadn't yet done research on what type of pump to run. Thanks for the suggestion for the Stweart Warner, I'll look into that.

Would I be able to continue to run this electric pump with the engine off as a kind of fuel polishing system? Would it flow through the engine and through the return or would it stop at the high pressure pump?

Thanks for the advice! Now, back to the bilge......

MedSailor


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## Rockter (Sep 11, 2006)

Med...

The pump has a shut-off on it when the pressure reaches 5 psi. With motor off, there is the occasional "rat-tat" from it as it recovers the 5 psi. When the motor is running it is an intermittent "rat-tat-tat.... rat-tat-tat".

They are not expensive, at about $80. I bought two of them.

I fitted the pump to a "fuel platform" that has the Racor filter on it too. Both come away for maintainence.



There is a fire risk, but I got fed up tracing air leaks on an older motor. I have not had a motor stop for about 12 years now.


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## Valiente (Jun 16, 2006)

Would not a buzzer at the helm accomplish the same thing? It can't be more difficult to rig than a low-oil-pressure alarm. Just calibrate it for whatever you consider to be excessive suck, and otherwise ignore it, unless you are trying to diagnose something.


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## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

Valiente said:


> Would not a buzzer at the helm accomplish the same thing? It can't be more difficult to rig than a low-oil-pressure alarm. Just calibrate it for whatever you consider to be excessive suck, and otherwise ignore it, unless you are trying to diagnose something.


Nothing beats having the visual displays - you want to catch it before it happens not after the fact....IMHO


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Under power, unless the buzzer is really loud and obnoxious, it may not be heard.


Valiente said:


> Would not a buzzer at the helm accomplish the same thing? It can't be more difficult to rig than a low-oil-pressure alarm. Just calibrate it for whatever you consider to be excessive suck, and otherwise ignore it, unless you are trying to diagnose something.


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## xcbxer (Mar 19, 2008)

A buzzer can be set for lower than max limits but will require a sender and electrics and calibration.

A vac gauge will show a trend line or alert you to an anomoly such as a bad load of fuel. Racor service intervals can then be intelligently stretched.

Quiet buzzers/idiot lites drive me crazy. And when they go off I don't know how fast to shut off the engine or head home. These days with all the OEM audible alarms on board I either can't hear them or can't differentiate between them.

What we will soon enough have is a NEMA 2000 glass cockpit with a female voice annunciating "shoal dead ahead" or "tanker approaching" or "engine alert" or "thunderstorms in vicinity" or "you are slowly sinking".


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

xcbxer said:


> What we will soon enough have is a NEMA 2000 glass cockpit with a female voice annunciating "shoal dead ahead" or "tanker approaching" or "engine alert" or "thunderstorms in vicinity" or "you are slowly sinking".


THAT made me laugh out loud! It reminded me of my dad who bought a brand new Datson station wagon circa 1988 or so. It had a demure female voice that would alert you to problems. The one problem that it was not designed for was a failure of the door closing sensor.

Imagine a man who genetically has a short fuse, blood pressure slowly rising, knuckles going white, trying to drive down a road with a pleasant soothing voice saying: "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..." "door is open..."

MedSailor


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## Rockter (Sep 11, 2006)

What works well for an alarm is to go to a scrapyard and pull a relay from an old automibile, and the horn.

Whatever switch you have trips the relay, and the relay sets off the horn. Total cost, about $3, in 1995, and still working. A 12V light and old flashing indicator unit will do just as well, if you are at the helm. You can wire it in parallel with it if you want.

It's very loud, but then you really must hear that one of it's the oil pressure warning.


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## xcbxer (Mar 19, 2008)

> Whatever switch you have trips the relay, and the relay sets off the horn.


This will work well in most apps where the trip signal is electrical and can close the relay. To sense a specific vaccuum level you will also need a pressure sensor switch to feed the relay to feed the horn.


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## lshick (Apr 24, 2009)

One vendor or Racor parts (maesco.com - Mid-Atlantic Engine Supply Corp.) says "Rubber hose is suitable for 15 feet of less. otherwise rigid plastic tubing is recommended to obtain accurate readings." For what it's worth.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Good point and info. lshick. I was going to mention that a vacuum rated tubing would probably be needed and every connection point is a potential air/fuel leak. Not sure if you noticed this thread is 1 1/2 years old. I wish they would put the thread date with the title.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

MedSailor said:


> I have fuel contamination problems and as a pat of the fix I have installed a racor vacuum gauge on top of the filter. I plan to install a parallel racor and at that time move the guage so that it can show vacuum from either guage.
> 
> I was thinking that it would be nice to know if your filter vacuum is climbing WHILE you are motoring at the helm. Currently you must occasionally pull up a floorboard and view the guage near the filter in the bilge.
> 
> ...


Med,

You can leave it where it is but ditch the the Racor vacuum gauge get a drag needle vacuum gauge from Sailors Solutions. Then you can read in any time, even with the engine off because the drag pointer stays where the vacuum dragged it to...

Drag Pointer Vacuum Gauge (LINK)









I realize this is old but this is one heck of a vacuum gauge..


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## captbillc (Jul 31, 2008)

i have an electric pump between the racor & the tank. it is always on when the engine is running. it makes purging the bottom of the bowl on the racor or bleeding the system easy.


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## SVCetacea (Oct 14, 2007)

Vacuum alarm switch:

LED lighting, soundproof, Sailor's Solutions Inc.


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