stumped by fuel-water separator installation

[pcbayou]

There has to a a simple answer to this. But I'm danged if I can figure it it out. Maybe some of you more mechanical folks can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

I replaced my Racor water-fuel separator today with a new one (model 320R-RAC-01 -- one with a clear bowl on the bottom that has a drain to let out water). When I hooked up the line from the gas tank, the bowl immediately filled up with gas.

That didn't seem right. But Racor's instructions said I'd need to fill up the filter and bowl with gas anyway. So I went ahead and hooked up the "out" hose to the squeeze bulb and motor. I thought maybe that running the motor would suck all the gas into the filter, and it would stop draining into the bowl.

But that didn't happen. I opened the drain on the bowl, and gas (not water) kept pouring out. I finally closed the drain after filling up a drain pan three times.

I've read somewhere that I might need an elbow (90-degree) connector between the end of the gas tank line and the separator. Would that help? The instructions said you need a cutoff valve if the gas tank is higher than the separator. I guess it would be higher, since my tank is under the center console and the boat is tilted slightly backward on the trailer.

What's baffling is that I thought I had hooked up the separator exactly like the old one. Other than being old and needing replacement, it worked fine.

Any advice? Here's a link to a photo of the separator (it's the fourth one down): http://www.parker.com/racor/gas.html

[Chalk]

You need a cut off valve between the tank and filter or I would for maintenance.....I believe there should be gas in the bowl as well....Water is heavier than gas (I think) and will settle in the bowl, when you see two liquids....drain the bowl....

Sounds good to me anyways

[Tom Keels]

You have it hooked up correctly and gas is supposed to be in the bowl. Think of it this way... Gas goes into one side through the filter, fills up the bowl and then goes out the other side. If water gets in the gas, it is heavier than gas so it displaces the gas in the bowl. What this means is that the water stays in the bottom and lets gas flow across the top of it. This makes it so the bowl can almost be full of water and you still only get gas going to the motor.

I have lots of experience with Racors. Trust me. If you need a second opinion ask Wil.

[pcbayou]

Well, that makes me feel better. I didn't quite understand the way the separator worked. I figured mostly water, mixed with a little bit of gas, drained into the bowl.

It seemed like mostly water was in the old separator when I drained it, but maybe I just had some really watery gas. Or it could be that I didn't check and drain the separator often enough. It was mounted inside the battery compartment; it's now on an outside wall in the transom where I'll see it and can get to it.

My next question is: What tool have y'all found works best to remove the filter element? I've tried a strap wrench, an old "jaw" type oil wrench and even a pair of "professional oil change pliers" I spotted at Kmart. None of them work well, and on the filter for the old separator, none of them worked at all. King Kong must have "hand-tightened" that one.

Thanks, Chalk and Tom. Y'all are gonna get me back on the water yet.

[Sea Fox]

I replaced the filter on mine with the type that has a valve in the bottom so you can drain the filter without removeing it.

[Chalk]

The ones I have replaced on tractors and tanks I used a strap wrench...

Water if in the fuel is a product of the filtering process, it won't show up instantly...

[pcbayou]

Thanks much, all. I'll button that separator down today and quit messing with it. Now if the weatherman will just keep his word for next weekend .... (The high pressure system will become centered over the marine area by mid to late week...causing a marked decrease in winds and seas.)