Fuel/water separator

I'm pretty surprised my Sylvan 2100 didn't come with a fuel/water separator. It's a 40 gallon in-floor tank and I'm a trolling fisherman so I run the 150 hp main a fraction of the time of the kicker motor. I can probably fish for 2 months without needing gas. Should I add one or is it less of a requirement than I think? The boat is on the trailer after every day, so it's not like it sits in the water all season. I'm thinking of adding one but the fact it's gone 15 years without one has me wondering if it's really that big a deal for a boat that lives on a trailer. Wondering what is the general consensus?

Running 2 motors as well as one of them being a V6 OB off the tank, and using ethanol fusls, also where you boat in saltwaters, and I’d say you have been lucky. To me it is cheap insurance.

Get this one w/the stainless steel head, $56, but insulate it from the tin when mounting. This is the one with a ‘closed’, replaceable cartridge.

https://www.surplusunlimited.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=2540&Category_Code=

FWIW when we ran twin OBs or were running offshore, we’d use the Racor cartridge with the ‘see thru’ drainable bowl that sits below the cartridge.

https://www.surplusunlimited.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=3516&Category_Code=625

Clearly your boat’s tank made it through the MTBE to ethanol E10 fuel conversion OK. We saw a lot of issues where I boat, but much of that is the source of the fuel. Where you trailer, I’m sure you’re getting your fuels from busy, high volume fuel stations ... that's a good thing ... vs. a nor’east gas dock where the fuel sits idle ~4-6-months out of the year!

My 24' WA Triton didn't have one on it either, I bought it used however, the engine has one on it so I guess they figured that was good enough. I installed one anyway.

surfman said:

My 24' WA Triton didn't have one on it either, I bought it used however, the engine has one on it so I guess they figured that was good enough. I installed one anyway.

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On V6 motors, I remove any inline filter when adding a larger remote one, so as to avoid an additional point of possible fuel restriction. Lean out a V6 ... and KaBoom soon follows ...

DaleH said:

surfman said:

My 24' WA Triton didn't have one on it either, I bought it used however, the engine has one on it so I guess they figured that was good enough. I installed one anyway.

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On V6 motors, I remove any inline filter when adding a larger remote one, so as to avoid an additional point of possible fuel restriction. Lean out a V6 ... and KaBoom soon follows ...

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That's good to know. I have a small inline filter inside the cowling that I will eliminate from the system.

I am also glad to know that one without the glass or what seems to now be plastic bowl is not necessary. I have somewhat of a space issue where I want to mount this and the ones with the drain-able bowl will be too big.

I will order that up right away, thanks once again Dale.

It is an optimax and it does not have an inline filter, it is a spin on canister filter. It is a water separator and it has a water sensor built into it. All optimax motors have this as far as I know. I could have left it alone but to me I would rather stop the water before it gets to the motor. I agree on an inline filter. They are way too small and water can clog one up. It takes a heck of a lot to clog up a canister filter but, it can happen either way.

Replace the canister annually.

When I wore a younger man's clothes I had a "quality" boat from Sea Ray which did not have a fuel water separator and found out the hard way what they were and why they were needed after trying to diagnose engine issues.

As was said, they're cheap insurance.

I have a 40 horse Yamaha that I use in fresh water only. I'm under the impression that if I use fuel with no alcohol in it, no problem?

It's good insurance if your gas tank ever gets water in it or you get a bad batch of gas. One of the local gas stations had water get in it and several people on the river had problems with their boats until they all realized they got gas at the same place. I had fuel filter problems a couple of years ago around the same time they had the water in the gas issue, so I bought one of the Yamaha separators as added insurance. I think it's worth it for any boat, regardless of where you store it.

eshaw said:

I have a 40 horse Yamaha that I use in fresh water only. I'm under the impression that if I use fuel with no alcohol in it, no problem?

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JL8Jeff said:

It's good insurance if your gas tank ever gets water in it or you get a bad batch of gas. One of the local gas stations had water get in it and several people on the river had problems with their boats until they all realized they got gas at the same place.

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What Jeff said ... your results (without one) will only be as good as your fuel source. Usually people who trailer who use high volume, highway or busy gas stations, may never have a problem, but it only takes once.

when i spec'd out my new boat this last winter i was considering yamaha and the separator came as part of the whole package.i think it was mandatory for warranty purposes,but not entirely certain.