Am I being too fussy?

[Graham Lorimer]

I had the local Volvo Dealer come to my boat last week, I wanted the on-engine fuel filters changed before a sea trial with the electronics connected to the Volvo Vodia system in order to establish why the WOT throttle revs were too low.

As I watched the mechanic change the fuel filters, he would remove a filter, and then pour the excess diesel from the old filter into the new one, and top off with fresh diesel he had bought in a container. I was horrified, and said so, he stopped using the old diesel from there onwards, but his look told me I was being real difficult.

Is it worth the risk of transferring diesel bug or dirt from the old filter to the new one, I thought not. I did an Automotive Engineers apprenticship 45 years ago, I realise I do not understand modern engine technology, but I did think this was very poor workmanship.

Comments appreciated

Graham

PS Sea trial was successful, air filters although appearing quite clean, were damaged from humidity and were blocking air feed to the engines.

 

[HUMPH]

I would not want to transfer potentially dirty fuel into a clean filter either.

 

[Gofirstclass]

He was being lazy, taking a short cut, you caught him and made him do it right and he was pi$$ed.

Good job for watching him, catching him and correcting him. Remember, it's YOUR boat and YOU are paying him. Make him do it your way.

 

[AFD]

why bother changing the filter if you are taking the potentially dirty/gritty fuel from it and dumping it into the new one?

it was something he has probably done a million times before and never thought about it because it was how he was taught, a short cut and not having to remove a full filter from the engine room.

I think you were well within your right and you were right in my opinion.

 

[kevin27]

The fuel he was pouring into new filter was already filtered. If it can from the center of a spin on filter it was clean. The dirt would be paper element but it's up to you as you are paying him. I have done the same thing and I am very paticuluar about my maintenance. When you are heading offshore 100 miles to fish like I am next week you have to be.

 

[Oar Play]

Shouldn't the remaining fuel in the old filter be poured out and inspected for impurities like metal fragments?
I don't understand why he would do that!

Sent from my crappy iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Woody]

I would not want to transfer potentially dirty fuel into a clean filter either.

Are you completely draining your Racor filter units before element change? OR... do you lift the old element up slowly, let the excess run back in the housing, insert new element, and top off with fuel. That's what I do with my gas cool fuel filter elements too.

 

[kevin27]

No metal but diesel get microbial growth. It looks like black strings of algae. spin on filters have the fluid flow from the outside of the element through the filter material to the.center then out to the user components . what you pour pour out is in the center. The dirty side gets trapped on the other side of element. That's why it take some long to drain a fliter completely as the fluid has to seep through the element to pour out the.center. I have cut many filters open just to see inside.