Patent ID: 7938958

Claim:
A fuel filter system comprising a fuel filter having a housing for containing a fuel filter element, a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, and a de-aeration system for the fuel filter system, said de-aeration system including: a de-aeration valve having: a valve inlet in a lower face of said valve for connection to said housing; a valve outlet in an upper face of said valve, said valve outlet is in fluid communication with a filtered fuel outlet line for receiving filtered fuel from a clean fuel side of said fuel filter element, the filtered fuel outlet line including a fuel outlet valve; and a ball having a relatively higher density than fuel in said filter system, wherein said ball is configured to lift between said lower face and said upper face in response to an air pressure differential acting on said ball for opening said valve to purge air trapped in said housing, and wherein said ball is further configured to close said valve by sealing against said valve outlet in said upper face in response to a pressure differential across said ball created by unfiltered fuel entering said valve.