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SgBFish
09-08-2007, 12:22 PM
What maintenance do I need to do on my water separator?

I have an inline water separator that is black in colour so I can’t se what going on inside.
Do I need to empty these?

Cheers

Grunter71
09-08-2007, 01:43 PM
Is it similar to a Raeco type filter, without the see-through plastic bowl?

I would pull unscrew it every couple of trips and empty it into something to see if there is any water in there at all. If there is consistently no water, do it less often. It is better to find out what is in there, at home, rather than having to unscrew it offshore to empty. As this is what you would have to do if you did manage to accumulate a bit of water in the fuel tank.

Kerry
09-08-2007, 01:48 PM
Check it every trip as water in fuel does not follow any set routine!

Spaniard_King
09-08-2007, 07:51 PM
you can buy after m arket filters with clear drainable bowls for most filters these days... worth the upgrade really:)

snelly1971
09-08-2007, 08:20 PM
I Must agree with Kerry...I check mine before i leave on every trip...just crack the drain and let and water and crap out of the plastic trap....I generally change my filter every 100 hrs regardless on its condition and keep the old one`s for spare ...just in case of a blockage at sea...

Cheers Mick

SgBFish
10-08-2007, 08:57 AM
Thanks blokes will do. Do you refill it with fuel or bulb pump prime it?

Scott

Ron173
10-08-2007, 11:57 AM
Some good advice here,

as said above change at 100hrs max, or annually.

I usually try to fill almost full of fuel when fitting new one, then bulb prime.

I tried the bulb prime alone once and had a lot of fuel starvation probs during first hrs running.

Ron

cormorant
10-08-2007, 01:43 PM
I Must agree with Kerry...I check mine before i leave on every trip...just crack the drain and let and water and crap out of the plastic trap....I generally change my filter every 100 hrs regardless on its condition and keep the old one`s for spare ...just in case of a blockage at sea...

Cheers Mick


Hi

Just be aware that some of the elements in fuel filters don't take well to being allowed to dry out if you keep the old one for as spare. Paper element when rewet can collapse. For the small price I would just vacume seal a new one in a bag with some water absorbing crystals and carry that on board.

Some of the "plain black filters" are just filters not water seperators and have just filtering elements but will also accumulate some water dependant on conditions. For some you can also buy have water seperating elements and some also have the drain screw at the bottom of them. Worth keeping and eye on them as the bottoms inside the filter can rust and start leaking.

Cheap replacement filters may fit but after seeing some deteriorate on boats especially ones using fuel oil mix the extra effort to find originals is worth it. Wipe them with some car wax after fitting as they sometime get surface rust really fast as the petrol wshes off the coating they had on them.

We check them before we leave, out in the middle and when we get near heads or bar on the wat home as it only takes a quick glance.

We use the clear bowl combined style water seperators / filter and use a smear of marine grease or oil when fitting to protect the rubber seals from chaffing and also on the thread to make removal and fitting a easy job by hand.


c