Trip Preparations Surprises The Cummins 6BTA5.9 is fitted with diesel and coolant Gulf Coast Filters (GCF) JR filters. The drinking water supply is fitted with a GCF JR and Seagull IV water purifier. All of the filter elements are checked before a trip. Since CaptnWil is leaving for two weeks in tomorrow, these elements received their routine inspections. Most of the time, these inspections offer no surprises, but this time was different. For those new to these filters, the element is a roll of toilet paper. It filters to less than one micron at rated flow. One it its great advantages is that the element is so easy to inspect. Just remove the top and/or remove the element and observe. The fluid flows up a passage in the center of the filter to a chamber on top of the filter element. Then it flows through the entire length of the paper element to the outlet. This path deposits almost all of the large contaminants on top of the element for clear view. Smaller contaminants are deposited deeper in the element and, if not too small, can be observed by just unrolling the element. Keep this action in mind in what follows. Fresh Water Coolant Surprises CSS 001 described how a great amount of curd remained in the fresh water cooling system after cleaning it with a commercial radiator cleaner and how much of the remaining crud was captured by the GCF bypass coolant filter. After that observation, the filter element was changed and general operations resumed. That was all a few hundred miles ago. I expected to see a clean element on this inspection -- Wrong! There were many visible bits of crud on top of the filter element and it was discolored for about an inch of depth. Before the commercial radiator cleaning, the element has stayed clean for a considerable time. The moral is that more or the residue of the harsh cleaning process circulates through the fresh water-cooling system after a commercial cleaning than we all suspected, even after through flushing. Drinking Water Surprises The Seagull IV is approved as a water purifier and will remove viruses and such. Its element is good for a nominal 500 gallons -- what ever that means. The element cost is in the $80.00 range. The GCF has not been tested or approved as a water purifier, but it does remove particles below 1 micron. Its element cost is in the $1.00 range and makes the Seagull IV element last almost forever. I have not replaced a Seagull IV filter element since installing the GCF to protect it. Just a few gallons ago, the GCF element was replaced. I checked it this time just because to do so is a CaptnWil law. I was sure it would be clean - Wrong! The top half-inch of the element was a dull shade of rust, and a tentative taste of a small sample verified the iron. Once you taste iron in water, you'll always know it. Obviously, we got into a water supply just a few gallons ago that was full of iron. That is common in Eastern North Carolina, and normally you know it immediately because of the horrible taste of the water and the ugly ring it leaves on any cooking utensil water is boiled in. We never were aware of the iron in the water with the GCF and Seagull IV. The unusual thing is that the Seagull IV used alone did not display the same characteristic when we encountered similar water. After finding this situation, inspection of the Seagull IV was mandated. It looks the same as when it was first installed more than a year ago. There are no traces of iron on this element and a taste of the water between the GCF JR and Seagull IV do not show any presence of the iron. It is evident that it all stopped in the JR. Diesel Filter The GCF diesel filter element gave no surprises at all. It, as always, showed just how dirty the diesel fuel we buy really is. There is always crud on top of the element, and the element always shows contamination to some depth in the element. It is important to remember that a conventional primary diesel filters are not even advertised to remove particles of less than 2-microns. Removing contaminants of less than 1-micron, as the GCF does, will increase your injection pump and injector life greatly. I was never aware of just how dirty the diesel fuel we buy is until I began inspecting the GCF element. It is conventional wisdom that buying diesel from large volume dealers provides cleaner fuel. I do that whenever possible, but I still get a lot of "stuff" on the filter element. Goodbye for Now Will be back in a couple of weeks with the next phase of the Synthetic Oil "Work In Progress." CaptnWil, Ret 40 Pier Pointe New Bern NC 28562 (252) 636-3601 captnwil@coastalnet.com