Water seperators

[hunter240]

Has anybody had any luck installing a water seperator filter between the gas tank and motor to prevent the ill effects of the ethanol?

 

[Bill Roosa]

Pretty sure you can't get ethanol to "settle out" like water does, so I'm thinking a water separator is not going to help remove the ethanol. The problem is ethanol effecting the tank material and not the engine.
What are you trying to accomplish by taking the ethanol out?

 

[Allan12210]

The separator will only work on a two phase system like water in the fuel. Typically an additive like methanol or ethanol allows the water to go into solution and continue to allow the engine to run. Of course, ethanol itself will cause gasoline to pick up more water from the air (hygroscopic). If the solubility of water in the gasoline/ethanol mix is exceeded then a second phase will form and the separator would help. The best thing is to keep the fuel tank full and or use it all up often and refill with fresh fuel. The ethanol could only be removed by very complicated processes like molecular sieves or distillation and then the octane would be so far off the engine wouldn't run properly anyway. Hope your o-rings, gaskets and other seals are ethanol resistant. Otherwise problems will continue to abound.

Allan

 

[cephius (Dave)]

I've added the water separator, but my only motive was to catch any water that might end up in my fuel.

I have a 4 gal tank and may not use it all for the full season because I run the motor for such short times. With our hot humid summers I do worry about the fuel picking up water. I don't worry about the ethanol affecting my 2002 4 cycle outboard.