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Many of you know that I have been testing and observing Gulf Coast Filters
(GCF) products for a few years now. I have installed these filters in many
different applications on several different pieces of equipment. This
report will be concern two of those installations, and some surprises along
the way.
DRINKING WATER
Almost a year and a half ago, I installed a GCF JR. filter in my RV on the
inlet side of a Seagull IV water purifier as a pre-filter. I reported that
project in some detail with the initial results. The last report was after
a summer land cruise in 1999. Since then, things have changed, including a
surprise with the water filters.
To bring newcomers up to speed, the Seagull IV is a certified water
purifier. Its element costs about $50.00 and is quoted to be good for 500
gallons of water in average conditions - what ever they are.
The GCF JR will remove lamp black particles in a single pass. Those
particles are at the very sub-micron level. The JR's general purpose does
not include drinking water so it has not been given any official test or
certification in this service. It is used in my service as a pre-filter to
extend the life of the certified water purifier. I have used the Seagull IV
for many years without a pre-filter, and its useful life has averaged one
year in my service. The useful life of the Seagull IV ends when the flow
becomes lower than acceptable. The flow through the Seagull IV tapers off
during its element's useful life. Since installing the GCF JR., the flow
has remained constant for over a year.
I reported some time ago about the build-up of odors in the inlet side of
the GCF JR. If you remember, those odors were the familiar "rotten egg"
smell. They were confined to the inlet side of the JR and never got to the
inlet side of the Seagull or into the drinking water. The JR trapped them
all.
Since then, while still in mourning over the loss of AfterSail - a KK-42, a
new RV has been obtained. The GCF JR.--Seagull combination was removed from
the old RV with the connecting piping still connected. The inlet to the JR
and the outlet to the Seagull were closed with flare plugs to maintain a
water and gas seal. That was in the first part of June, or about five
months ago. Today I reinstalled the combination in the new RV. Surprise!
Surprise! Surprise!
I mounted the units and arranged the pipe connections in the system piping
to accept the new equipment. Then I opened the inlet connection the JR. It
was under pressure! But it was sealed five months under no pressure at all.
The water and gas began to hiss as soon as the pipe connection was loosened.
I had to do a quick dance to find a pot to catch the water and keep it from
the Admiral's floor - she's never happy about those things. Then I had to
put up with the awful smell. I can't tell you what it smelled like because
I never smelled anything like it before. I can tell you that it wasn't
pleasant. The inlet to the JR is made with reinforced PVC hose and flare
fittings. I noticed that the inlet tubing was stained. The hose from the
JR to the Seagull looked just like new.
Ignoring conventional wisdom, I did not change the JR filter element at this
point. I wanted to know just how far that foul mess had gone. I opened the
fitting to the Seagull - which is after the JR. No smell! I opened the
Seagull. No smell. and the element was just like new.
For the final test, I connected all the fittings with all the old elements
in place. Then I turned on the water pump to first check for leaks and then
for the condition of the water. No leaks and the discharge water was just
like it was when obtained in the mountains of North Carolina (the finest
drinking water in the world).
But I really couldn't let it end there. I wanted to know what had happened
to that awful smell. It was still on the entering side of the JR. It never
migrated through the element of the JR. What's really important is that the
water tasted just like new. I finally changed the element in the JR. Its
top was saturated about an inch with an evil looking rust-mud color. I put
the old element in a zip-lock bag to study (CaptnWil does such strange
things). Every time I open it, that awful odor is present.
I have no doubt that the JR will extend the life of the Seagull for many
years.
GENERATORS, OILS, AND BYPASS FILTERS
My tests of bypass oil filters on generators began on a new Northern Lights
8KW generator using Shell Rotella-T 15W-40 oil. It had a Kubota engine. It
had 116 hours on the engine when the bypass filter was installed.
My new, to me, RV has an Onan 8KW generator with a similar Kubota engine to
the Northern Lights. I do not know how many hours were on the engine when I
took ownership because the hour meter had failed at 1149 hours. I really
suspect that it has many more hours because of the way the unit was used.
The previous owner was a lady associated with a drag-strip racer. I am told
that the normal routine for about ten-months a year was to arrive at a
racetrack on Thursday, start the generator, do what drag-strip racers do
until Sunday and then shut-off the generator. That routine would produce a
little less than 3000-hours per year. The unit was four-years old when I
got it. I would guess that the generator had at least 10,000 hours on it
when I got it.
I replaced the hour meter, installed a GCF bypass oil filter, and filled the
crankcase with Delvac 1 synthetic oil. The first Portable Oil Analyzer
(POA) reading was done when 24 hours was put on the generator.
There are some interesting differences in the POA readings of these two
different units. Remember that the Northern Lights is new using Rotella-T
15W-40. The Onan is well used and uses Delvac 1 5W-40. Both units use a
Kubota engine of the same horsepower. Both units have the same size GCF
bypass oil filter.
The Shell Rotella T POA readings below have been normalized to those of
synthetic oil to make the comparisons easy to follow. The limits under
these conditions indicate that the GCF element should be changed at a POA
reading of 3.5 and the oil changed at a reading of 8.0.
Hours Hours Hours POA
On On On Reading
Engine Oil GCF
NORTHERN LIGHTS
220 116 0 0.4
223 119 3 0.0
291 187 71 1.3
ONAN
1173+ 24 24 0.0
1220+ 71 71 0.0
Note that the bypass filter cleaned up the Shell Rotella T in the first 3
hours of operation. It is unfortunate that no reading was made on the Onan
with synthetic oil after the first three hours, but just look at the Onan
reading after 71 hours.
These same results have become routine in my observations, but most of them
have been on engines with essentially the same running time on each. What
is of note here is the very large difference in the running time between
these engines. Visual observation of the oil in the Onan gives no clue
about the results. The oil is very black - the blackest of any synthetic
samples I have taken, but it does shine in sunlight. It is the very color
you would expect from a well-used engine, but the bypass oil filter and
synthetic oil make the oil samples just like new.
I would have expected that the POA readings would show some increase in the
well-used engine. In all regards, the engine acts just like new. It uses no
oil and runs just like new, and the POA proclaims that fact. This is truly
the most dramatic example I have seen that shows what the bypass oil filter
and synthetic oil really does for our engines. After all the tests I have
run and readings I have made, I really should expect these results, but they
continue to have a way of surprising me.
CaptnWil, Ret
40 Pier Pointe
New Bern NC 28562
(252) 636-3601
