Fuel filtration

[mudski]

I fitted a CAV type HDF296 pre-fuel filter on our 4.2 Patrol in 2016. These filter elements are cheap, but a bit messy to change. Their price allows me to carry half a dozen of them which is reassuring should we ever be unlucky enough to get a dose of bad fuel a long way from anywhere. (Fingers crossed that has never happened yet). The microns are less that the stock fuel filter, but do vary according to who makes the filter element. The good thing is that they are readily available in any agricultural store around the country. I used to change the stock fuel filter every 10,000kms, but now do so at every 30,000 & the HDF296 at 10,000km intervals. This is with outback & dusty driving conditions. The photo below shows both stock & HDF296 filters cut open after a particularly dusty trip of around 10,000kms. The stock filter would have let some of that crud through to the fuel pump if the CAV filter hadn't caught it first. Works fine with no additional lift pump

Attachment 87007 Attachment 87008

The good old CAV. I just looked at my stock today for the Fleetguard branded variant we sell. We currently have 804 of them on our shelf which is 3 months stock for us.
We used to sell the complete assembly and of these all the time, maybe 2-3 a day. They are cheap at around $60. But we steer a lot away from these now, two reasons, they are messy to change and the glass bowl is a right pain. You bust this out in the middle of nowhere and your stuffed.
We made up a new kit which uses a spin on water separator filter which has a tap on the bottom. It’s a super common filter much like the 296, but it’s smaller, easier to change and no useless bowl.


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[Cuppa]

The good old CAV. I just looked at my stock today for the Fleetguard branded variant we sell. We currently have 804 of them on our shelf which is 3 months stock for us.
We used to sell the complete assembly and of these all the time, maybe 2-3 a day. They are cheap at around $60. But we steer a lot away from these now, two reasons, they are messy to change and the glass bowl is a right pain. You bust this out in the middle of nowhere and your stuffed.
We made up a new kit which uses a spin on water separator filter which has a tap on the bottom. It’s a super common filter much like the 296, but it’s smaller, easier to change and no useless bowl.

True, they are messy to change. The glass bowl is suprisngly tough though, I've dropped mine a couple of times. Also carried a spare around Oz which I'v never yet needed to use. They also come with metal bowls for those happy to just drain them once in a while rather than being able to look for water as the glass bowl allows. There are most certainly some more convenient spin on type pre-filters available, but most (all?) I've seen require specific filters which are not easily available in remote areas & which are expensive. I chose to use these after a friend with an OKA told me his story about getting a batch of bad fuel in a remote area, which clogged filters. He was only able to get to where he was going because he carried a good stock of these CAV type filters (because they were cheap enough to do so), changing the filter each time one clogged up.

I've often looked enviously at 'the 'neater' spin on arrangements & thought of them as I have cursed the messy changing routine of the CAV, but for remote availability & low cost I still consider them a far better option for folk who get well off the beaten track.

What spin on filter does your current kit use Mark?

[mudski]

What spin on filter does your current kit use Mark?

FS1251 in Fleetguard terms. Super common, particularly on Cummins engines, and these a heap of variant filters which can be also fitted up, if the FS1251 is hard to find.

https://www.fleetguard.com/s/product...language=en_US