How often do you change your fuel filter?

[StreetCreeper]

A local cardlock station I used to use had older pumps with visible canister style filters on them, the filters were marked with a scheduled change date, I would imagine most stations would be the same, having a schedule to change the filters.

Makes sense it would just be scheduled, however, I'm still curious what the impetus for changing it per schedule is; i.e., does the filters ability to actually filter diminish as more fuel contaminants are collected, or does the filter become too efficient and clog. Thereby costing them money and dictating the replacement schedule.

I guess we could draw a parallel between fuel station filters and our own. Do we change them because they lose filtering ability or do we change them because they get filled up with crap and clog eventually? This is assuming there is no bypass like in-line tranny filters & oil filters have.

 

[StreetCreeper]

It's a relatively cheap part. Really no hurt in being overly anal about the interval.

I agree completely. Just like air filters, oil filters and whatever, change them as often as you like — whatever makes you feel good about it. Absolutely no reason to stress over the little details.

However, sometimes the little details can be interesting. Plus my curiosity just gets the better of me and I want to figure out the reasoning behind the choices and decisions we make.

 

[jeremyc74]

Wouldn't having the dirt on the filter just make the filter more efficient by making it harder for future dirt to penetrate the paper? Until of course the flow rate decreased and caused an issue.

That's exactly what happens. The filter gets better at filtration, but the flow rates drop. That's assuming the filter material isn't torn or anything of course.

I worked in municipal water supply for a while (specifically reverse osmosis construction and installation) and since it was drinking water there were a lot of tests we'd have to do on filters, including how well they were taking out particles of various sizes. You'd always see better filtration results on the used filters, but eventually you'd hit a point where they wouldn't flow enough and you'd have to change them or clean them.

 

[Rock_Rat]

I worked in municipal water supply for a while (specifically reverse osmosis construction and installation)

Funny you should mention that. I own three water systems and my arsenic levels are up. Acceptable for Group B systems in Cowlitz County but unacceptable if it was a Group A system servicing more homes. Been looking at a reverse osmosis or deionization system to bring the levels down below 10ppb. All of my homeowners have POU reverse osmosis systems but I want to install them at the pump houses/wells.

 

[jeremyc74]

Funny you should mention that. I own three water systems and my arsenic levels are up. Acceptable for Group B systems in Cowlitz County but unacceptable if it was a Group A system servicing more homes. Been looking at a reverse osmosis or deionization system to bring the levels down below 10ppb. All of my homeowners have POU reverse osmosis systems but I want to install them at the pump houses/wells.

How many gallons/day are you using, and what's the water source? Is it a well, or surface water? Do you have any storage capacity for purified water, or will it have to feed the home in real time?

There are a lot of different consumer grade RO systems on the market, but a lot of variability in the quality and cost. When you start looking at system, pay attention to the manufacturer's recommendations for cleaning the membranes. Some of them will just tell you to throw them away, but if the system is working within the designed specs you should be able to clean them at least two or three times before you need to replace them.

RO systems require a little knowledge to operate if you want to keep them working properly, but it's about the cleanest water you'll get short of distillation.

 

[Rock_Rat]

How many gallons/day are you using, and what's the water source? Is it a well, or surface water? Do you have any storage capacity for purified water, or will it have to feed the home in real time?

Everything is off of wells here. All of my wells are more then 250' plus deep. Not like Florida! (My folks retired north of Tampa in Spring Hill). Water is pumped from the wells up to my storage tanks and then gravity fed direct or through pressure tanks up to the homeowners. Figure the usage is about 1479ga per day per system. Because it's a group B system I'm running six packs on each well.

EDIT: I have a satellite management agency for my systems so I wouldn't have to run it. I just handle my own billing and other things involved with them.

 

[jeremyc74]

Everything is off of wells here. All of my wells are more then 250' plus deep. Not like Florida! (My folks retired north of Tampa in Spring Hill). Water is pumped from the wells up to my storage tanks and then gravity fed direct or through pressure tanks up to the homeowners. Figure the usage is about 1479ga per day per system. Because it's a group B system I'm running six packs on each well.

EDIT: I have a satellite management agency for my systems so I wouldn't have to run it. I just handle my own billing and other things involved with them.

So one option you have is to use the RO on the stored water and then dump the product back in, which will basically use purified water to dilute the impurities down to acceptable levels. That's generally easier than trying and pump straight from the well through the system and then into storage.

For a system that size, you can probably find a company that's building a semi-custom setup that can be modified to fit your needs. I wish I could recommend someone, but I've been out of the business for a while so I don't have any current contacts. The company I worked for here in FL was bought up by ITT in 2002, and then moved to TX after about a year. That's when I left.

There are a lot of small shops out there that build custom systems. If you can find one that's in your region that will help a lot because it will keep travel costs down when they commission and service the system.

PM me if there's any questions. I'm glad to help as much as I can. I'm not an expert when it comes to chemistry side of the whole thing (well water analysis, pre-treatment, and membrane selection) but I know a lot about the functionality side and operation.

 

[Rock_Rat]

So one option you have is to use the RO on the stored water and then dump the product back in, which will basically use purified water to dilute the impurities down to acceptable levels. That's generally easier than trying and pump straight from the well through the system and then into storage. ...
PM me if there's any questions. I'm glad to help as much as I can.

Hey Jeremy thanks. I appreciate your input. I'm about a year down the road on this since everyone has POU (Point of Use) systems in their homes. Our levels are around 0.026µg/L per well which exceeds the State Board of Health MCL (Minimum Contaminant Levels). If these were Group A systems servicing more customers it would be mandatory for me to install either an RO or deionization system. I'm in the process of having solar panels installed on my pump houses so I can get off the grid. We'll be in touch!!