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Old 08-17-2018, 10:38 PM   #1
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Fuel filter/water separator public service announcement

For some reason I thought the water separator was not also a filter that would get plugged up. I had been emptying the water every so often so I saw little reason to change the filter, but I had one so I figured it couldn’t hurt.

When the old one came off I couldn’t believe the bus was still running. It was nearly entirely plugged. Not sure if it is algae or what. I just finished putting 7k miles on it so I know the fuel system has been well flushed.
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Old 08-17-2018, 10:50 PM   #2
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there is a algae that grows in diesel fuel. if you have it in your filter its in your tank and you need to get a additive to kill it
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Old 08-17-2018, 11:04 PM   #3
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What he said. If it is in the filter, it is almost certainly in the tank and likely to cause big problems at some point. Get an algaecide for your fuel.
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Old 08-18-2018, 08:43 AM   #4
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I'm not big on fuel additives but with diesels they're almost a necessity.
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Old 08-18-2018, 08:50 AM   #5
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Informative article!

Critical Fuel technology is a distributor for Algae-x products. Call us if your fuel tanks are clogged!
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Old 08-18-2018, 10:29 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07 View Post
For some reason I thought the water separator was not also a filter that would get plugged up. I had been emptying the water every so often so I saw little reason to change the filter, but I had one so I figured it couldn’t hurt.

When the old one came off I couldn’t believe the bus was still running. It was nearly entirely plugged. Not sure if it is algae or what. I just finished putting 7k miles on it so I know the fuel system has been well flushed.
Stupid question- is the water separator *in addition* to the fuel filter I already changed in my engine compartment?
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Old 08-18-2018, 10:46 AM   #7
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Stupid question- is the water separator *in addition* to the fuel filter I already changed in my engine compartment?


Yes I think so, although mine were next to each other in the engine compartment. If your bus only has one for some reason I think it would be well worth it to add a water separator. The low sulfur diesel at the pump now is more susceptible to biological contamination, and water has always been an issue with diesels.

You can tell the difference between the filters because the separator has a petcock on the bottom.
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Old 08-18-2018, 01:36 PM   #8
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This stuff does wonders in my buses-
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Old 09-06-2018, 09:38 PM   #9
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Not all water separators have petcocks. Some versions use a mat that just abosorbs it, and you change it every so often. Source; Used to work at a NAPA, we sold a lot of those to the LSD bus garage
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Old 09-06-2018, 09:49 PM   #10
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Not all water separators have petcocks. Some versions use a mat that just abosorbs it, and you change it every so often. Source; Used to work at a NAPA, we sold a lot of those to the LSD bus garage


Good info. I guess you could say that if it has a petcock it is a separator for sure, but if it doesn’t have one it still *might* be.
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Old 09-07-2018, 09:59 AM   #11
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Good info. I guess you could say that if it has a petcock it is a separator for sure, but if it doesn’t have one it still *might* be.
Here is the water seperator on my 1991 Bluebird TC 2000. It has 2 petcocks. Also, the silver pipe fitting on the top right is a check valve or one way valve, my old one was so worn you could blow air through it the wrong way.
This feeds a mechanical Cummins 5.9.
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