It is something I hope I never have to do but if it comes to that so be it! A little side note on the TP ...and that is to put in a sealed baggy. I say that because in my old F150 I had put a new roll behind the seat and it sat there for at least 7 yrs before I need it. Well the rear sliding window leaked and I didn't know and had turned the brand new roll of TP into something as hard as a prison shank but lucky for me it at least wasn't sharp. After wipes 2 wipes I had nowhere to hold it. So the lesson was "TP always in zip lock baggy"

Sorry for............. I didn't mean too.

Back to the topic on hand I wonder if anyone has used a prefilter designed for suction side that has a higher micron rating. I would rather run a 45-60 micron prefilter in these cold months.
The BT1212 is 4 microns @ 86% and 20 microns @ 99%

Personally I think my fuel pump will survive having a 45- 60 micron of whatever go thu it besides the bowl filter will catch it. Also I would think it is harder on the fuel pump to try to draw gelling or even clouded fuel thru it. What do you guys think??

 

Tugly is running one. I've bought it to replace my BF1212 setup, but have not yet done the install.

Look at Post #8 in this Link... https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...fuel-tank.html

Here is where you can get one... https://www.tdswarehouse.com/product...-Filter/?bc=no

 

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Kinda off topic since this pic is if my wifes suburban with a 6.5 diesel in it, but not terribly so. This has been giving me fuel delivery problems so I dropped the tank today. That's what her fuel looked like. I assumed that I was all set since I dumped the 911 treatment in a few weeks ago, but I guess not. Thanks for the info on gelling! It's been very helpful!

 

The problem ended up being gelled fuel? How on earth did we not think of that?

 

Being in the desert it has never been an issue, but two weeks ago I was in northern NM and saw temps in the teens. On the drive home I noticed my FP guage fluctuating wildly between zero and 64 PSI. The truck did not stumble or miss even at 80 MPH. I had about 3/4 tank (probably B-5) with Stanadyne performance formula in it. Pulled into a fuel stop and topped off, and also wiggled the plug on the FP sending unit. Got back on the Interstate and everything was fine after that. So I am not really sure if it was the beginning of a gelling issue or just a bad connection at the guage sender.

 

Good point Jim, the first time I read about this was when Clux posted it in someone's "cold start problem" thread. Honestly, I never though about it until then - Ford did have it there for a reason (warm up the fuel to prevent gelling). It sounds like Clux might be contemplating putting one back in the tank or figuring out a way to direct the warm fuel closer to the pick up area without the air bubbles.

I have had ITP's (before being called Strictly Diesel) intank & prepump kit (their version of the Hutch mod) in my F-250 for @ 8 or 9 years. I have not had any problems with it gelling but it also has their regulated return which brings more warm fuel back to the tank than the stock setup.

My Excursion has the same intank & prepump kit but I have not done the regulated return on it yet. I have not gelled up with either vehicle yet. I say yet, because most of the time the temps are not below -10F here that often. But this year we have been below -15F 4 or 5 times. At those temps I feel like I'm gambling if I don't throw some #1 in there........

Prior to living in South Dakota I lived in SE Oklahoma. I didn't have to worry about gelling back then, now I do!

 

Pete thanking for posting the links and I really do like the Racor PS120 but with it rated at 200 micron that is alittle to big for my liking. I like alittle more filtering going on. I am actually very happy with the BF1212 and really don't want to switch out the FR1311 filter mount set up. So the only other prefilter I have found so far that even comes close to what I am looking for as far as 45-60 micron rating is the
BF1252 Filtration: 9 micron @ 86% / 40 micron @ 99%
Baldwin BF1252 Fuel Filter
I just finished sending an email to Baldwin Filters to see what they have to offer. So when I find out I'll post up what they have to say.

 

Will the BF1252 mount up to the same filter mount as the BF1212?

 

I am glad you posted this. What fuel pressure gauge do you have? Mine is doing the same thing occasionally. Every once in a while, usually at the most inopportune time, my DiPricol Fuel pressure gauge will start bouncing around like you described with no symptoms of power loss. So when I can (camper in tow) I pull over & pop the hood and check the fuel pressure gauge on the regulated return and it's right on 65 psi. It really drives me batty, especially when it us sub zero and it starts bouncing around like that. Do you think it is a gauge issue or the sending unit?

 

Not sure at this point, have not been able to get it to do it again. My gauge is the Isspro EV-2. I am thinking it might be a contact issue at the connector. I really doubt if my fuel was gelling but then I don't know much about that living in the desert, which is why I posted under this thread in hopes of some opinions.

I have had contact issues before with my tranny temp gauge, re doing all the connections fixed that. The only other thing I can think of is I do have a Cyclops Vandal Alert relay which does disable the FP, and which I removed at that same fuel stop, but like I said the truck never missed a beat while the gauge was bouncing around, so who knows if it was lying or not?

 

Too answer your question YES. I checked the specs on Baldwin's website and it says the both mount to the FR1311 filter mount, have the same gaskets and tread size. So if Baldwin doesn't get back to me or doesn't have anything better to suit my needs I think I will at least go to the BF1252 in winter months just to hopefully save me from a gelled pre filter.

 

I understand what you're saying, and am always a fan of excellent filtration for everything. However, tighter filtration results in higher pressure drops unless the filter's effective surface area increases accordingly to give you the exact same amount of "open area" for the media. That said, when you consider the fact that our pre-pump filters are replacing a screen mesh of something like 1/16", even the 200 micron filtration is a huge improvement over the OEM stock setup. To boot, it also gives our potentially original OEM pumps some relief on the suction side, again, as compared to something like the BF1212.

Just to put the numbers on an equivalent basis...

OEM pickup foot screen mesh of ~1/16 inch = 0.125 inch, or 3,175 microns

PS120-02 Fuel Screen with a mesh of 200 micron = 0.00787 inches

Let's not forget at the same time that there is a very small mesh screen inside the suction side of the filter element as well, which is much greater in open area than a 200 micron filter (screen) element. Bottom line is that the 200 mesh screen will protect your pump much better than even the pump's internal screen, and is accessible and cleanable without having to go into the tank or replace the pump.

I've been running the BF1212 for around five years now and never had a problem with it while changing it once yearly (about 20K miles per element). However, I'm obviously sold on the PS120 and will be doing my conversion shortly.

 

I like your idea Ed For my F-250 (Might try Pete & Tugly's setup on the Excursion since I would like to get hybrids), this would be an easy swap/filter change from summer to winter and visa versa since the same filter base would be used. Like I said, I have not had a problem with the BF1212 and the 175/146 single shots in the tow programs but in the NTWITA setting the fuel pressure gauge heads south......

I have a question though. What have you found to be the flow rate on the BF1212 and the BF1252 filters. I looked for about 45 minutes online and I could only find the flow rate info on Strictly Diesel's website. The have both of them listed as:

Greater than 210 GPH @ 1 PSID
Greater than 300+ GPH @ 3 PSID

Have you seen anything different?

I could not find the flow rate on Dieselfilters.com or Baldwin's website......

 

Just my opinion,

I'm thinking along the same lines as you on this, something with the gauge, sending unit or wire. Especially the way you described the wide range the needle moved on the gauge and no power loss. If it was low teens I could possibly see the filter might start collecting wax crystals if it was untreated #2 diesel fuel. More so if it had a biodiesel blend in it. I'm not sure if that region is supplied with additives in the fuel during the winter or not. Occasionally some areas of the country that do not normally get winterized fuel (because normal/average the temps don't drop that low) get caught off guard when the temps drop way below average. But the longer you run the more warmed fuel returns to the tank.

Since I'm experiencing the same issues with my in-cab gauge but the fuel pressure gauge under the hood continuously reads 65 psi I'm thinking its the gauge (wire or sending unit) not gelling....

But it still an uncomfortable feeling every time it happens!

 

Back to the Diesel Gelling survival kit My dad had always packed a candle or two with a steel coffee can for when your truck will not run and stranded, you'll have a little heat.