Water Separater

[eeshaw]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm off to get one.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

One more silly question. Have you had to replace the canister yet? How do you tell when it's due to be changed?

Not a silly question at all! The short answer is ... you can't tell. On the fleet of boats I maintain for my boat club, we change them every 2-seasons (marked with a Sharpie marker). 'Someday' we might go to every 3-years and see what happens, BUT a failure on the water is something we want to avoid, especially with newer 4-stroke OBs that are a beeyatch to clear if/when water is ingested.

TIP for Filter Changes - Make sure to FILL the cartridge before installing! Otherwise some fuel primer bulbs don't have the ooooommph to draw up the fuel from the remote tank ... or your hand/fingers will give out whilst pumping first, LOL! And wipe a finger dipped in oil on the top O-Rings.

TIP for Filter Assembly Choices -
I will say, with small boats, by buying one's gas at an on-land high volume gas station ... I've never had issues even with the skiffs that are not running a F/W separator. For larger hulls and bigger OBs, say a 40hp to 60hp or above on 16' and bigger hulls, I install the F/W separator as shown below, as it is a stainless steel head and the cartridge is 'see thru' so you can see if water is accumulating and as a bonus, the accumulation cup is DRAINABLE!

Yes, it is twice the initial purchase cost, but on some hulls we've never changed out the filter cartridge, so we save $$ there. Whereas our boats are in saltwater 24/7, we do use teflon tape on the separator port fittings so as to isolate them from the SS housing, due to use of brass or aluminum fuel fittings.

............
F-W-Sep.jpg

Question, is the Teflon better than Gasoila when it comes to the different types of metal? I didn’t think about that when I assembled mine.

 

[DaleH]

Question, is the Teflon better than Gasoila when it comes to the different types of metal? I didn’t think about that when I assembled mine.

I'm afraid that I have zero experience with that 'goop' type thread sealants. However there are goops like TefGel (developed for the US Navy) that are effective in isolating metals, like separating the effects of stainless steel fasteners from the superstructure or aluminum hulls. Perhaps you might call them and see what they about their goop being an effective isolater. I'm sure it would minimize any effect ...

I just used 'tape' as it is a true physical barrier preventing direct metal-to-metal contact, and because I am comfortable with the application, provided that you do the following two things.

... (1) Wrap it in the right direction so as the fitting threads in it wraps the wound tape tighter - not against itself, and

...... (2) Leaving the first 1/8" or more of the fitting tip 'bare' so that no tape creep can occur and potentially clog a fuel line.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Question, is the Teflon better than Gasoila when it comes to the different types of metal? I didn’t think about that when I assembled mine.

I'm afraid that I have zero experience with that 'goop' type thread sealants. However there are goops like TefGel (developed for the US Navy) that are effective in isolating metals, like separating the effects of stainless steel fasteners from the superstructure or aluminum hulls. Perhaps you might call them and see what they about their goop being an effective isolater. I'm sure it would minimize any effect ...

I just used 'tape' as it is a true physical barrier preventing direct metal-to-metal contact, and because I am comfortable with the application, provided that you do the following two things.
Thank you. I applied Teflon the same way when I used it on the fitting for the portable fuel tank. When I took pictures of my separator for the OP the other day I noticed the Gasoila on the outside threads looked discolored. I’m going to do some research because I have brass fittings going into the aluminum separator. Which I need to upgrade to stainless. Thanks again.
... (1) Wrap it in the right direction so as the fitting threads in it wraps the wound tape tighter - not against itself, and

...... (2) Leaving the first 1/8" or more of the fitting tip 'bare' so that no tape creep can occur and potentially clog a fuel line.

 

[DaleH]

Which component do you think you may need to upgrade to SS? The separator? Not if not in saltwaters IMHO ..

Surely not the fittings, as have never seen them in SS anyway, not that I ever looked hard, lol! Now if it helps, I've used SS housing and aluminum or brass fittings in the dozens of F/W separators I've installed as stated over the years and I've yet to experience any failure, or have fielded any complaint.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Which component do you think you may need to upgrade to SS? The separator? Not if not in saltwaters IMHO ..

Surely not the fittings, as have never seen them in SS anyway, not that I ever looked hard, lol! Now if it helps, I've used SS housing and aluminum or brass fittings in the dozens of F/W separators I've installed as stated over the years and I've yet to experience any failure, or have fielded any complaint.

I was thinking about upgrading the separator. I do only run in freshwater though so I see your point.When I assembled it I was afraid of getting the brass fittings to tight and cracking the aluminum. Which the other day I found it is seeping a little residue. I unbolted the separator and checked for a crack but only found the oily residue at a spot on the filter seal so I tightened the filter a little. I treated it like an oil filter when I put it on new and put a film of oil on the gasket. I checked and it’s only got about 15 hours on it.Planning on taking it out tomorrow so I’ll keep an eye on it and carry my spare filter with me.