Recognize this?

[Craig Illman]

We had a little excitement as we returned from Desolation Sound last week. As we were motoring down Thulin Passage, north of Lund, B.C., the engine stumbled for a couple beats. I turned the helm over to my G.F. and dashed down below to check my M3-20, under the galley in my C30. I saw a small stream of bubbles coming in the bottom of my Racor and when I reached down to check if something was loose, the "head" of the plug pictured below fell off and introduced a big leak. The engine obviously stopped immediately. Luckily, close at hand, I had a partial roll of butyl rubber (from Mainsail) and some duct tape. I made a "chewing gum" wad of the butyl rubber to plug the hole and secured it to the filter bowl with the duct tape. A few seconds of fuel pump refilled the bowl, purged the air, and the engine started. Needless to say, we were a bit nervous for a few hours while we continued on to Powell River where there was a chance of getting spare parts. The patch worked fine for the remainder of our journey home, about 25 more hours of engine use.

It's a mystery to me, why this plug for the optional water detector probe failed. I have a replacement bowl on order and will check locally for maybe just the plug.

Craig 

[Craig Illman]

Well, after my trip to Fisheries Supply here in Seattle, it doesn't sound that unusual. Replacement part number is RK 20126. It was about $12.  I removed the piece out of the bowl using a "step down" drill bit from the inside. I'm not sure how easy it would be with the bowl installed on the filter. Maybe an "easy out" ?  Anyway, probably a good spare to keep handy.

[mark_53]

Craig, thanks for the heads up.  Was this a manufacturing defect on Racor's part or an installation issue?

[Craig Illman]

Mark - I don't see how it could have been an installation issue. The plug had likely never needed removal. I've had the boat only two of the past twenty-six years, so who knows? It really surprised me. The new plugs are black, maybe Racor has changed materials?

Craig