Filters, Filter and some more filters....

[novaman64]

So being a LB7 owner I am a bit OCD about clean fuel. Got the Dmax Store to do a brand new set of injectors when I got the truck (3-4 yrs ago and about 80k miles ago now). That being said last summer couple started to go south so had the entire drivers side bank replaced. When I bought the truck and had the injectors done also put on a ADII 165 and a nictane adapter with a CAT 1R-0750 filter. Change all filters (AD and cat filter) with every oil change. Love my truck but injectors are driving me crazy. That being said was doing a ton of reading online about fuel filtration.


I was running Fleetguard filters (FF5613/FS19768) on mine, but after doing a ton of reading and research online, changed over to a Baldwin BF1275 for the water separator, and Donaldson P5513135 for the filter side. Then Running a CAT 1R-0750 (with nicktane adapter) in place of the OEM filter.

On the water separator..
Fleetguard/AD is rated at 50% freewater and 0% emulsified (not very good)
Baldwin is rated at 99% freewater and 96.5% emulsified water.

Fine particle filter is...
Fleetguard 5um absolute single pass @ 59.95GPH
Donaldson 3um absolute single pass @ 90GPH

**As a side note the CAT 1R-0750 & 1R-0749 are rated at 2 micron nominal. There absolute rating is 4 micron. Still about twice as good as the OEM Racor.

Since Im running a CAT 1R-0750 in place of the OEM filter there is no water separator, so running the Fleetguard I pretty much wasn't getting much protection from water, the Baldwin separator in my opinion is a must if you arent running a secondary water separator. I think its actually cheaper than the Fleetguard/AD filter as well...

Leaves me wondering if some of my injector issues were self inflicted due to some water getting to the injectors, time will tell....

On a side note I run Optilube in every tank and have since I got the truck, and fill up at busy stations (generally all Chevron).


Thoughts, comments or questions? What are yall running for filtration, opinions on what I mentioned above?

[DMAXDR]

Great info on the filters. It's true that not all filter are created equal. As for water getting to your injectors let's hope Chevron diesel is #2 not #h20.

[DmaxStoreJimmy]

Thanks for the info. We are currently working on adding additional filters to our site

[novaman64]

Great info on the filters. It's true that not all filter are created equal. As for water getting to your injectors let's hope Chevron diesel is #2 not #h20.

Hahahaha.. Always fill up at Dawsons just down the street from you guys, generally good quality fuel.

[dmaxadmin]

did some follow up with AD and found out the information that was basically covers on another forum, Refer to below article as the AD engineer referred me to.

There may be a better option from fleetguard for water separation but keep in mind per AD the system is a multi pass system, so they are comfortable with the FS19768 and its water separation capability of removing water from the fuel as it filters multiple times before being sent further in the system. We will look into the other fleetguard filter and report back too

From AD Engineer!

About the AirDog fuel filter and water separator...

The AirDog water separator is made by Fleetguard. It is a 100 mesh 149 micron wire screen. I designed it as such to catch water and large particulates. The 149 micron gets the big stuff that could jam the gearotor. The fuel filter is made for us by Fleetguard also. It is a 2 micron Stratapore element. When Fleetguard puts it under their filter label they give it the FS (Fuel Separator) or water separator designation. FS is their water separating media prefix. Stratapore is a synthetic media that is layered. This means that it catches the larger particulates on the outer portion of the media and the smaller as they get closer to the core or final layer. Note: the AirDog is a multipass system. For instance, the AD 100 flows approximately 100gph through the system. An engine getting 20 mpg will burn 3 gallons an hour at 60 mph. The simple math shows that the AirDog 10 filters 100 gallons per hour which is 5 passes per hour with 20 gallons in the tank or a little over 3 passes per hour with 30 gallons in the tank. The AirDog 150 has an even high recirculation rate. The Demand Flow series AirDog only returns the air and a dribble of fuel to the tank (about 2-3 gph). The neat part of the Demand Flow system is that the high flow is internal. The fuel that recycled back to the tank before now recycles internally back to the water separator and then right back through the filter. Probably the most efficient filtering system available. This system also has a built-in adjustable pressure regulator. The new AirDog II 180/240 flows 240+ gph and when pressured up to 60 PSI it delivers 180 gph. With that, the fuel is fitered at a multi pass rate of a minimum (with less than 1/2 gallon in the water separator, filter, and base combined) of ..well...you figure it out. Those numbers get to big for me...

Altogether, the advanced air separation and multi pass flow of the Fuel Preporator system of which the AirDog is the smallest model, combined with the best filters made in the USA (Fleetguard), I think we at PureFlow give you the best fuel filtration and delivery system ever developed for your diesel engine. By the way, the Fuel Preporator is approved for sale and use in California by CARB.

I hope that helps clear the air about the Fuel Preporator/AirDog fuel filters and water separator.

follow up

I just got off the phone with Fleetguard. The Fleetguard Stratapore filter media that is used in our AirDog filter has a 'first pass' 2 micron Absolute efficiency rating of 94.0% @ 59.97 gph. At the 5 micron Absolute rating the media is 98.7% efficiency at the first pass. These are single pass tests. Again, the AirDog is a multi pass system which should, notice I said 'should', increase the level of filtration. It would seem obvious to conclude that as the pores of the filter catch the particulates the pores would close up. This is what reduces the flow through a filter as it plugs with use, and would seem to imply that the level of filtration increases as plugging occurs. Just a logical though with no formal test results to confirm. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Also, I was corrected by Fleetguard Tech support that the 100 mesh screen is 140 microns.

Thanks,
Charlie Ekstam PureFlow Technologies
Home of the Fuel Preporator,AirDog and Raptor Fuel Pumps