Water seperator/filter question

[Tom on Icarus]

I have another question for the brats about the fuel filter.

I change my Racor fuel filter / seperator every season but this time I noticed some particles of sediment in the bowl. Shouldn't thet have been caught by the filter or does the fuel go to the filter after the bowl?

Cheers,
Tom

[Sea Wolf]

Tom-

The fuel goes down into the bottom of the bowl, then up into the filter, and out of the top casting at the outlet hose fitting.

This way most of the water and large solid particles are trapped in the bowl without going up into the filter, and small water droplets can condense together and fall back into the bowl to be drained off the bottom.

Joe.

[BrentB]

I thought the input flow from the fuel tank was through the smaller perimeter filter holes, through the filter media and out the center post. The particles in the bowl were not stopped by the filter media or if the fuel hose is bad and breaking down then hose debris can fall into the bowl

[Tom on Icarus]

Thanks for your explanations. Now it makes sense and I will not be alarmed by particles in the bowl.

Tom

[Captains Cat]

Found this discussion on " The Hull Truth" Forum.

"The seperator is really two devices in one, it separates fuel from water and it filters the fuel. It can and will also filter water, if it gets the chance. If you were to cut your sepearator in half up and down to get a look at it all it would look a lot like a roll of toilet paper sitting on top of a coffee cup. Water enters the seperator down the middle and drops down the hole in the center of the filter - the part that looks like a roll of toilet paper. The cup is at the bottom and any water in the fuel finds it way to the bottom, because its heavier, and stays there. As the canister fills up the water remains at the bottom and the filter element fills with the gas that is floating on top of the water. The gas passes through the filter element, which captures particles, and exits on the outside of the element, the outside of the part that looks like the roll of paper. After the fuel passes through the filter element it is channeled back to the top where it is passed to the outlet port. So all of the water is captured in the bottom and the fuel rises inside the element, passes through the filtering medium, and then exits to a fitting that goes on to the engine. Obviously passing fuel throgh a filter imposes some restriction to its flow, but not much unless the filter is operating at 100% efficiency (is completely jammed up). The problem is that the water in the bottom isn't going anywhere and sooner or later it will fill up the bowl at the bottom (or simply an empty chamber inthe bottom if its a one-piece filter element) and then water will be up at a level that allows it to pass through the filter element. If that happens the filter will be more than happy to let water pass through to the engine. Keep that in mind, because a lot of folks don't understand it and will tell you wrong - a fuel seperator/filter will be more than happy to allow water to get to your engine if that bowl fills up. When this happens there might be a little bit of sputtering for about 10 seconds, and then the engine will simply die. This, a water-filled seperator, is not something that will happen intermitently for a couple of outings, it will kill the engine in a hurry. Fortunately it really doesn't do any harm, and in fact it will clean your plugs like they have never been cleaned before (water makes a great decarb juice) and all you have to do is dump the chamber, pump it full of agas again, and get the engine restarted to go on your way. The best way to treat all of this is to simply put a valve on the bottom of the bowl. We did that years ago to both of our Racors and I drain some fuel (with its water) before and after every single trip. I keep a small glass in the boat just for that purpose. You can spot water in the gas instantly in a glass, and you'd have to be blind to miss it, there is absoltuly no question at all if the stuff is in there.

Thom"

[BrentB]

another article

A marine spin-on fuel filter resembles an automotive
oil filter, and consists of a metal canister
that’s crimped to a round “head.” The head is a
thick steel disk containing an O-ring, six to eight
inlet holes, and a threaded hole in its center.
spring inside the canister holds
a filter element tightly against
the head. The filter is screwed
onto a mounting bracket, measures
approximately 33⁄4 inches
in diameter, and ranges from 37⁄8
to 71⁄2 inches in length. One
brand, Racor, offers filters with
reusable plastic or metal bowls
equipped with a petcock to
drain trapped water.
Gasoline entering through the
inlet fitting travels into the filter
assembly, and any water settles
to the bottom of the canister
(since water is heavier than
gasoline). Fuel passes through
the element, removing any
minute particles. The clean fuel
exits through the center hole to
the outlet fitting.
For our testing and comparison.

Here is an article comparing different fuel filters and filtration performance

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_iOh6gAJqwBZTQ2Y2RmYjAtOTljYi00Y2E0LWI5NTYtNmRjZDZjODJjNzJh&hl=en_US

[Tom on Icarus]

Oh Boy!!

Now I'm really confused

Tom

[localboy]

Anybody ever have a fuel filter/water separator "fuse" to the mount? I'm serious. I went to change ours out and it would not come apart. I disconnected the fuel lines, removed the entire unit...put it in a vice...still. Ended up going "old school"; screwdriver pounded thru the filter, hit w/ hammer...cuss a lot...voila. But the mount is now slightly bent.

Now I have to replace then entire thing. I'm thinking of a little oil on the rubber seal like w/ oil filters from now on.

[hardee]

Marc,

My mechanics do the filter changes each season when I get the annual services done, but I am noticing that the screw plugs on the cap are really corroding. What should I be doing to these? Spray with CorrosionX or battery post protectant, or some oil, or cover them with Rescue Tape? What's a fella to do?

Harvey
SleepyC

[Captains Cat]