Racor drain valves?

It might not hurt to ask them about it. ......

The best takeaway was that as long as you perform routine maintenance and use good clean fuel, then the more you run them the more they last, and for recreational use you shouldn’t hold back on the throttles. Run them at 2400 routinely and bring them up to WOT every now and then. Cutting back on the RPM’s doesn’t do them any good. Sounded like he would rather see you push them harder than baby them.
Interesting info...Thanks
 
I do the exact same on my Cummins filters. Fill them to the very "brim" with what I know is good fuel and install. Turn the key and they act as I have done nothing since last crank. No mess, air, all good!

Bennett
I had a local Cummins dealer come out and do a Captain's Briefing on my new boat with me yesterday. It was very useful - the technician went over a variety of systems, operations, and maintenance procedures.

One thing he very strongly emphasized was to absolutely NEVER fill the on-engine secondary fuel filter before installing it. He stressed to install it dry (empty - but lube the gasket) and use the engine lift pump to fill the filter. Procedure: install filter dry. Key on the ignition (but don't start the engine). Let the lift pump run for 30 seconds and time out. Key off and wait 5 seconds. Repeat 3 times and the filter will be full and primed.

His explanation, per Cummins, is that the 2 micron on-engine filter is the "last chance" filter. Pre-filling the filter with fuel from a container allows for the potential to introduce contaminants down stream of the filter. Those contaminants could easily cause problems with the very high pressure common rail system on my engine (QSB 6.7 480). Pre-filling the Racor primary is fine and necessary, however.

He also stressed that the opposite is the case with the oil filter. One must always pre-fill the oil filter with clean oil so that the main bearings are not starved for oil while the filter is filled up after an oil change.
 
I had a local Cummins dealer come out and do a Captain's Briefing on my new boat with me yesterday. It was very useful - the technician went over a variety of systems, operations, and maintenance procedures.

One thing he very strongly emphasized was to absolutely NEVER fill the on-engine secondary fuel filter before installing it. He stressed to install it dry (empty - but lube the gasket) and use the engine lift pump to fill the filter. Procedure: install filter dry. Key on the ignition (but don't start the engine). Let the lift pump run for 30 seconds and time out. Key off and wait 5 seconds. Repeat 3 times and the filter will be full and primed.

His explanation, per Cummins, is that the 2 micron on-engine filter is the "last chance" filter. Pre-filling the filter with fuel from a container allows for the potential to introduce contaminants down stream of the filter. Those contaminants could easily cause problems with the very high pressure common rail system on my engine (QSB 6.7 480). Pre-filling the Racor primary is fine and necessary, however.

He also stressed that the opposite is the case with the oil filter. One must always pre-fill the oil filter with clean oil so that the main bearings are not starved for oil while the filter is filled up after an oil change.

I couldn’t agree more with the advice your tech gave you and have stated so multiple times over many years on this forum. While others on here have offered less responsible advice indicating they carry a small can of “clean” diesel fuel to fill their secondaries, there is definitely a reason that diesel motors have priming pumps for filling the filters and lines. They didn’t put them on the motors to be fancy bling. Keep in mind your injectors are 2 mil and so is your filter. 2 mil is slightly smaller than a single grain of talcum powder.....
 
I couldn’t agree more with the advice your tech gave you and have stated so multiple times over many years on this forum. While others on here have offered less responsible advice indicating they carry a small can of “clean” diesel fuel to fill their secondaries, there is definitely a reason that diesel motors have priming pumps for filling the filters and lines. They didn’t put them on the motors to be fancy bling. Keep in mind your injectors are 2 mil and so is your filter. 2 mil is slightly smaller than a single grain of talcum powder.....

This is my first diesel engine so a lot is new to me. While I have a lot of experience with gas engines and can "weed out" the less-good advice, I'm not there yet with my new Cummins. Having a tech give me a run-down was helpful.

Not to derail this drain-valve thread (which I found very useful!), I noted that the guide published by Cummins specifically advises against using any fuel additive such as lubricity enhancers, etc. Biocides were OK, but Cummins calls out not to use use other stuff. This squarely contradicts the oft-reference fuel maintenance additive list published here. As a new owner it's hard to reconcile those diametrically opposed approaches.
 
It is a matter of dates and when our engines were designed and manufactured. By the time 2018 engines were installed, Cummins had designed their fuel pumps and injectors to be able to run ULSD fuel without damage. When that change occurred, I do not know.

For anyone with mechanical engines or engines produced prior to 2007 when the first engines designed to run only ULSD were produced......6BTA, 6CTA, Cat 3116, Cat 3126, etc. owners should be using a lubricity additive. Prior to that both LSD and regular old off-road diesel had enough lubricating ability to properly lubricate the pump and injectors.


As for Brad's post quoted here:
............................ "This squarely contradicts the oft-reference fuel maintenance additive list published here. As a new owner it's hard to reconcile those diametrically opposed approaches".

It isn't hard to reconcile lubricity additive recommendations at all. This is a quote from the Diesel Systems Management article:

"Any diesel engine made prior to about 2006 can develop problems with ULSD. Check with your engine maker to be sure how to handle ULSD." Also, the Diesel article you referenced was initially written in 2008, then updated in 2009 and again in 2017. Your boat is a 2018 model so some of the recommendations don't even apply to your situation.

Actually, I find the Cummins recommendation to not use any additives at all to be confusing. Before writing the article, I verified several questions I had with the manufacturers of the additives I recommended in the article:

1. Does your product contain any alcohol? (Alcohol can degrade the seals gaskets and brings in some diesel equipement.)
2. Has your product been tested or recommended by US engine makers? (all had been tested and were recommended)
3. Can you over-treat a diesel system with your product? (None will overdose fuel to the point where it cannot be processed and burned normally)

So the confusion is "Why has Cummins now changed their minds and tells owners not to use lubricity additives." I buy my Stanadyne products (lubricity additive and performance formula) from a Cummins dealer who services all types of fuel systems and engine makes. It is the only brand he sells and recommends it for all diesel engines. Could be that your Cummins dealer sells another brand or a Cummins product instead or a more cost effective commercial brand. It may also be that Cummins is under the EPA thumb for emissions and emissions reduction. This has been a problem for all the US diesel makers and some lubricity additives may not be environmentally friendly.
 
Thanks Frank. As I said, I’m very new to the world of diesel engines. I’m learning quite a bit.
 
I installed the brass ones, work great. At the same time I also replaced the T handle with vacuum gauges, which are useful in determining when the filter needs changing
 
I finally got some pictures...
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2019-09-07 11.22.32.jpg
 
IMG_4230.JPG
My 1986 Weekender had quick drains on its water separators. Came that way from the factory.
 

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