Sediment bowel necessity

[Oldoak]

Sediment bowls are very efficient at separating water and other heavier-than-fuel contaminants. Difficulty with o ring and or seal failure is all but certain to be directly related to poor choice of materials or poor installation. Buy the correct seal and install it with care.

:thumbsup:

There are there for a reason, I would never bypass it and wouldn't have a tractor without one in the fuel system.

 

[RickB]

My two cents; the quality see through in line filtes, such as WIX, are every bit as good as the filter/sediment bowls. Plus, the in line type is less mess and trouble. On my JD farm tractor I only had 34 years of use on it and the top that holds that sediment bowl started seeping around the inlet. Had to epoxy the inlet nipple back in. What poor service! ;-)

prs

There are many instances where an inline filter with a paper or similar element causes a troublesome restriction when installed in a gravity feed system.

 

[bob11x]

Re: Sediment bowl necessity

Ditch it- the weight on the bottom of the tank coupled with the vibration of the engine can eventually cause the tank to leak. $6 inline filter - priceless ( like the fuel tank if you don't have a nice used one)

 

[RickB]

Re: Sediment bowl necessity

Ditch it- the weight on the bottom of the tank coupled with the vibration of the engine can eventually cause the tank to leak. $6 inline filter - priceless ( like the fuel tank if you don't have a nice used one)

And the basis for this nugget comes from where?

 

[bob11x]

Re: Sediment bowl necessity

41 years as a gravely dealer

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Filter connected directly to the tank with the filter weight supported by the tank?

I agree, that's a poor design. I'd ditch it, too, and mount the filter correctly so that its weight is supported properly instead of being supported by the tank. Ideally, there should be something flexible between the filter and the tank.

 

[RickB]

Sounds more like poorly designed fuel tanks. How many million farm tractors and compact utility tractors have sediment bowls screwed into the bottom of their tanks?

Several. In 60 years on the planet and 22 at dealerships I can't recall seeing a tank fail at the outlet fitting.

I've seen more problems from add on in line fuel filters installed on gravity systems.

But then, I've never owned a Gravely. Maybe just as well.

 

[bob11x]

Farm tractors are normally multi cylinder and low vibration. Gravely designed a fan cooled single cylinder in the early 30's without a college education. It was built until
1976. Approx 30ci and offered in 5.5-7.6 hp. Made a lot of gardens, mowed a lot of grass, and moved a lot of snow for tens of thousands. So yes the farm tractors didn't suffer many broken tanks.....