Fuel Water Separator help

I have a 1995 Crestliner Sportfish with a Volvo 3.0L. It has a standard water fuel separator filter and I am thinking of switching to a fuel water separator that incorporates a bowl with drain at the bottom. I have had to change my fuel/water separator filter 2 to 3 times each year which seems a little excessive. I only run 3 to 4 tanks of gas through the boat a year at most and only use non-oxy premium gas. I use fuel stabilizer at the end of the year, store it with a full tank of gas and put seafoam in every or every other tank of gas. I am hoping a fule/water separator filter with a bowl/drain will help with this issue. Also, I am hoping it would allow me to visually see what is in the gas – be it particulates or water – so I know why I am having these issues.

I know when the fuel water separator is plugging up because it will hesitate on acceleration and I will have a hard time getting the motor to start. Any suggestions/opinions on this? I am looking at buying the Racor 320R-Rav-02 fuel water separator unless someone thinks there is a better option.

Chances are the water is coming in through the fuel filler or vent. May need to replace one or both.

Brian,
if you mean the 320R-RAC-02, that looks like a good choice, since you have an inboard. You could always add the RK-19492 drain valve to make draining-off the water easier.

HRG

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I agree, the water isn’t from the gas, especially if you’re not using gas containing ethanol. I installed a racor separator this year, easy to do. The model you described must be installed above deck. The models with the see through bottoms are not approved for closed spaces.

walleyevision wrote:

I agree, the water isn’t from the gas, especially if you’re not using gas containing ethanol. I installed a racor separator this year, easy to do. The model you described must be installed above deck. The models with the see through bottoms are not approved for closed spaces.

WV,
If he’s buying the -2 version, it has the metal bowl, not see-thru plastic.

HRG

Have you dumped the fuel/water out of the old filter into a glass jar and let it settle out to see if it is water? It could also be that the filter is plugging from dirt/sediment.
You might also try to carefully cut the old canister apart to check for sediment.
Its a long shot but multiple changes yearly would make me suspect water rather than dirt.

I just checked my notes and last year was 390 gallons and 140 hours with oil and fuel/water filters every 100 hours. I have an I/O Merc system that uses oil filter size water/fuel filters. So I put about 300 gallons through a filter seeing no water issues.

Thanks for that info. I haven’t opened any of the filters. I do have the last filter, so I will cut that open to see if there is sediment in there – I am guessing it is a water issue. I am guessing it is an issue with the vent for the tank at this point – just a guess right now. I will update once I find the issue.