importance of a water separator with fixed tanks

[ScottinAZ]

Here is a pic of the contents of my water separation filter when I drained it tonight. As you can see, there is a considerable amount of water in the fuel, that otherwise would have made its way into the engine. This accumulation of water is from approximately one to one and a half hours cumulative running on muffs and at the lake today for shakedown.

On another note, can these filters typically be drained and reused, or once the filter membrane is soaked with water, does it stay that way? This is from a standard Attwood oil filter style separator filter.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: importance of a water separator with fixed tanks

replace the filter, it think Walmart is carrying Attwood now.

 

[ScottinAZ]

Re: importance of a water separator with fixed tanks

Walmart is where I got the filters from, just was hoping to get more than a couple hours out of them, oh well, better and cheaper than blowing the powerhead

 

[d.boat]

Re: importance of a water separator with fixed tanks

Walmart is where I got the filters from, just was hoping to get more than a couple hours out of them, oh well, better and cheaper than blowing the powerhead

You might consider using the kind with the drain bowl on the bottom. You can drain the water w/o removing and replacing the cannister element. Plus, the cannister element can be used for a long time. I change mine every winter before lay-up, but my mechanic told me that with the hours I put on my engine, I probalby don't have to change that frequently. but I just consider it basic, relatively cheap "insurance' maintenance, like trailer bearing service 1 -2 times / year whether they need it or not.

I have a "clear" plastic one, which supposedly alllows you to actually see the water in there. In my experience, this just isn't practical, so you just end up draining it as a matter of routine. I keep a jar handy and when I start draining, I can see immediately if there's any water in there. If not, I don't continue; if so, I drain until I start getting a few ounces of clean fuel.

I understand that these plastic drain bowls aren't appropriate for certain installations (i.e. engine compartments), but if yours is an external mount on the transom somewhere, I strongly recommend it. I've also seen metal bowls of the same design, which might be appropriate for any installation. Like I said, there is minimal if any advantage to the clear plastic bowl, so not being able to see what's in the bowl would not be an issue at all.

I had plain cannister type for years with my I/O and the drain bowl is much preferable.

 

[ezeke]

Re: importance of a water separator with fixed tanks

Water separating fuel filters work by gravity, so there is no reason that they cannot be reused if the filter element is clean otherwise.

Dumping the contents occasionally does the same thing as draining the filters with the bottom drains.

 

[ScottinAZ]

Re: importance of a water separator with fixed tanks

Thanks, that helps ezeke. I tried getting a filter with a draincock on the bottom, but I havent found any locally. given the estimated amount of water in my tank, I drain it after each trip

 

[ezeke]

Re: importance of a water separator with fixed tanks

A few years back they did a study on different filters; it might be worth a look: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/fuelFilter.pdf

One thing that was mentioned was that manufacturers don't recommend reusing the filters because of possible air leaks. I inspect the seal and re-oil it with Triple Guard Grease before replacing. I don't find it surprising that manufacturers would like for us to replace the filter every time we inspect.