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I ordered a Racor Fuel/ Water Separating Fuel Filter on a whim. Now I'm having second thoughts after looking it over. I hate to junk up the transom any more than it already is. The boat is stored in a closed garage with portable tanks kept topped off and with Startron added. I buy gas from Shell and it is labeled as E10. I do plan on doing some coastal cruising - maybe meaning sketchy fuel?

Any thoughts?

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No.

The first thing I did when I bought my last Montauk was remove the fuel separator/filter the previous owner had just installed. It was a shame to have added several new holes to the hull, and an ugly ankle grabber mounted on front of the splash-well.

It also introduced several new connections and their potential for air leaks in the fuel line and added fuel flow restriction, something that is far worse than a little crud in your fuel.

With small above-deck tanks, there is no reason on earth you need a large fixed fuel filter/separator in addition to the outboard's fuel filters.

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Hi, I see your point about enough stuff at the inside of the transom but, if you're going to travel with her then the extra protection is worth it. Take the filter out to the boat and just spot check some areas with it to get a good location, before any holes are made. Which racor model did you get? They have several differant sizes for gas engines, make sure you check the flow rates to get the right one. This day and age of poor quality fuel a filter is a must, esp. with a fuel injected engine. Good luck and let us know what you decided.

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I'm pretty sure that the dealer recomend's a filter for the newer E-tec's, I don't have an "E-tec" and like you, I use the fuel quickly, remove the tank to the garage, and keep the "Sea Foam" in the tank. I think adding a filter is inviting an "Air Leak", it's something else to "Fail" on me.

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I would skip the filter.

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Hello. Mostly a lurker but I thought I would speak up here. Another vote for taking out the filter. What type of coastal water are you planning on being in and what time of year?

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I'll say YES.

I had one on the inside of the transom of my Montauk. It was out of the way and did not mess up the rigging too much.

I installed one on my Outrage 17.

Fuel quality on land and at the marina's has been problematic in my experience.
The

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I put in a fuel filter like you mentioned. The 90 HP Yamaha 4 stroke would not rev up and only run at idle. So yes, fuel flow rates are important. I went with the inline (hose) type see thru glass filter and no problems. The motor has a built in water separator.

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I run two six gallon tanks, use 89 octane from different local on land stations, change the inline fuel filter every season or two, don't have a Racor and have never had a problem that I could attribute to fuel or water in the fuel. I don't think you really need it in your situation. Why complicate things if you haven't had a problem?

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I like my Racor Fuel/Water Separating and it's on the transom not in the way for me.

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I see on your personal page that a E-tec is in your future. If so, you're going to want a separating filter for sure either now or later. We run our Etec off portable tanks right now and the amount of silt that comes out when the filter is inverted after a season of use is surprising. So water may not be an issue, but as Phil and others have stated fuel quality is, making it a concern for all EFI/DI engines.

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If you are ever going to be in a position where you buy gas on the water, I would have a separator. That saved my motor a couple of years ago when I bought gas with a substantial amount of water in it. I had to dump the filter every couple of hours and it was full of water each time. That would have been really bad for motor.

Also, even though I buy my gas at the gas station on land I still see debris in the screen on my funnel when I fill the boat. Bottom line - glad the filter is there protecting my motor.

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I'll second Tom Clark's reply - A waste of money and unecessary clutter on a Montauk. Boston Whaler DOES NOT factory pre-rig a filter on the 170's. What does that tell you, except that they're not needed with on-deck tanks.

On deck tanks do not collect water vapor condensate like a belly tank can.

I ran a Nauset for 17 years with no water sep filter, and have been running my ribside 21 for 5 years with no filter since it, too, has on-deck tanks.

If you're concerned about little dirt particles, use a small in-line dirt filter, but also not needed since your engine ALREADY has a fuel filter on the engine.

All Mercury EFI/DFI engines that I know also carry their own Water Sep filter. I would assume the E-tec does also.

I think the racor filters are really the largest, and worst looking contrapions out there for installation where they are visible. If they can be concealed somewhere, OK. The Mercury filter unit, and the many off-brand knock-offs, are the smallest in size, and look the best in exposed mounting situations. But even when I use these, I always try to conceal them.

In this photo of the transom of my 19 Outrage, the water sep filter is located under the small grey panel with 2 screws, sitting over the fuel tank floor cover. I would never mount one on the boat's transom.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v42...=R1-18.jpg

You can see the concealed filter here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v42...=R1-16.jpg

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I say do what helps you sleep at night. I run my Montauk in Mexico every year and fuel can be iffy. I run a seperator and always have. Just makes me feel better and it does fill with water plenty. As far as looks are concerned, if you want a show boat skip the filter if your worried about leaks do a better install. I fish and boat and keep it looking good. The filter does not take away from the looks. Just my .02

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Wow, Great discussion !

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If you guys with separate filters are so worried about your fuel, why on Earth are you putting bad gas in your tanks?

Wouldn't it make far more sense to filter your fuel AS YOU FILL YOUR TANK and then sleep well at night knowing your fuel is not contaminated?

It seems completely illogical to me to accept bad fuel sitting in your fuel tank and only when it is about to enter the motor while underway, do you filter it.

If you find water in your fuel separator it is because you put water in your tank when you filled it. A little 24 gallon tank is not going to condense out any significant amount of water from the air.

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Interesting thread. First time I've ever read a fuel filter/separator was illogical or a waste.

I'll be keeping mine and changing it as part of my regular maintenance, thank you.

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I would say use the filter........as far as using a filter when you purchase fuel, to me that would not be very practical all of the time, especially if you're buying at a fuel dock. For one thing, you need to have a place to store the fuel filter and then be concerned about any residue on it after fueling. I'm not near as concerned about the fuel sitting in my tank as I am about taking a chance on getting contaminated fuel. It does happen, but to each his own, but for me I'll take the extra precaution and keep my filter. If you're having problems with leaks, then the install wasn't done properly.

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I think I'll keep the filter on my workbench for now. I got it for a deal - $62 at Defender. No sense in shipping it back. A new motor is not too far off in the future, and I believe I'll install it then. Thanks for all the input.

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As I have said for a long time fuel injectors Do Not like water with carburetors not such a big deal they will pass small amounts of water.

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I have one on my Montauk. I like the piece of mind of having the seperate filter and it was very useful too as it is an easy way to hook up two seperate fuel delivery lines. One goes to my kicker (a Honda) and one to my main (a Mercury). Prior to installing this I made a quick disconnect adapter for the kicker in order to switch the fuel lines when switching motors. Now each motor gets it's own line it's own primer bulb and it's own quick disconnect. Much better for me as I was always forgetting to swap the fuel line when swapping motors.

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I like my Racor Fuel/Water Separating and it's on the transom not in the way for me.

brianI
Simulation prêt

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Remember, not only does it help remove water, it does filter the fuel.

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I vote for having/installing a racor. It is always better to be safe than sorry when on the water.

Bob

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I have an external filter on my 15 SuperSport because:

a) it came with the boat
b) it is mounted on the back of the storage compartment so it's not in the way
c) the internal fuel filter on my motor is a pain in the neck to replace, so I removed it

Tim