Fuel filter microns ?

[whaler23]

My primary on port engine is 30 micron and 2 on the secondary. Stbd is 10 primary and 2 on 2nd. I am about to upgrade my port to match my stbd on primary and am going to purchase a Racor 460MAM10 which features a primer pump on top of the housing and a metal bowl with a 3211 filter element. This is a loaded question but if I'm gonna spend 200 on a new unit should I consider any other products out there or is Racor/Parker the best there is. Secondly, is 10 microns too restrictive for the primary, never had an issue with the stbd engine. I also am considering adding suction guages to both filters to monitor before they clog, I hate changing filters in a seaway. Both current Racors are rated at 60gph, and at 210HP my Cats being 4 cycle should circulate about (210)(.18) = 40gph or so by information I have read on the subject.

I also wish I knew the best way to reprime my engines, I fill the new filters to near full with fresh diesel plus prime with the pump button on top of the primaries, bleed the line for air at the secondary bleeder then crank until I get it running. Sometimes it cranks a long time before it runs smoothly.

Here's a link to what I am referring to:

http://www.parker.com/EAD/Digital_asset_display.asp?digital_asset_id=29535

 

[MikeP]

If you are changing - the fleetguard filter system gets a lot of kudos. I removed my Racors to install it. There's an excellent article about filtering in general at:

http://boatdiesel.com/index.cfm

If you can't get it to load (subscription site) there are articles on this site about the fleetguard system. You should look into it before you make your decision.

Here's a link to a discussion about it a year ago:

http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4039&highlight=fleetguard