water in gas tank

[2impulsive]

The port gas tank on my Carver Riviera has water in it. On my last trip to the have the boat hauled out for the winter, the engine quit on me and it couldn't be restarted. When I removed the fuel filter it was full of water. The mechanic who winterized the boat installed a new filter and the engine ran for 20 minutes while he completed winterizing it, so there was no damage to the carb or the engine.
Would installing a water separating filter help? if so should this replace original filter or be added as a primary filter?

[Cooler]

I think you are referencing the same thing. The filter you disclose may be something between the carb and a water separating filter, but there should be a separator already there. An important thing is to determine how much water you have in the tank(s). A good mechanic can pump out enough water and a little fuel to mitigate this issue if the tank is full. Or, if tanks are low, pump it all out. er

[Viper]

You may have mentioned it before but it would help if you let us know what make and model engines you have. Was it a spin-on fuel filter that was full of water? If so, they typically tend to be fuel/water separators. These will only separate so much water. Once they saturate, water will move on to the engine.

Too much water in your tank will require constant filter attention if you do nothing else. I agree with Cooler, pump the water out of the tank. There is a way to tell how much water is in there but it's not always practical to do so pump it out and check the discharge contents periodically to ensure it's still water you're pumping. How old is the fuel? If it's several years old, you may want to pump everything out anyway and start fresh.

BTW, adding more filters to remedy an issue isn't the answer, the answer is fixing the problem. Adding additional filters can cause other issues.

[tomschauer]

Yep, get it pumped out. It will save you a bunch of time and mess changing filters, and will probably cost a lot less than all the filters you will need until you catch all of the water.

[2impulsive]

Thanks for your help, I will look into having it pumped out.
2Impulsive.

[2impulsive]

Thanks for your help, I will look into having it pumped out.
2Impulsive.

[Phrancus]

Just for the record: you are supposed to check that water separator and drain the water out of it regularly. Because when it fills up, it's not separating any more and thus water moves on. But also because you get a peek at upcoming problems and can do something about it. Like mentioned pump out the water (doesn't mix so can be pumped out separately) and check for incoming water sources (leaks in the ventilation or tank cap and such.

AFAIK: Adding filters in stages is more common when you're likely to get dirty fuel. From the pump or due to bacteria (diesel) growing in the tank. Having a prefilter (big holes to catch the bigger parts) and a finer filter (to catch the rest) works as early warning and saves you filters as the first one will need to get changed but saves the second one. Requires enough through-flow though, otherwise the engine won't get enough when performing.

In fact you also have a filter at the engine (I speak diesel, gas maybe different) so that would then be a triple filter set up.

[tomschauer]

Phrancus, the above is regarding a gasoline engine with spin off canister filters. No clear bowl to check and or drain as with a diesel application.

[Viper]

Ya adding filters in a gasoline application on the suction side will introduce restrictions that increase vacuum and contribute to vapour lock. Even in a diesel application, primaries and secondaries are one thing but adding more filters because there's a problem with the fuel isn't really addressing the real problem which is the variables surrounding/leading to the condition of the fuel.

[Phrancus]

QR_BBPOST Phrancus, the above is regarding a gasoline engine with spin off canister filters. No clear bowl to check and or drain as with a diesel application.

Apologies. It may be a good and inexpensive choice to make to get one installed now. Otherwise you'll never have a timely warning that there is water build up.

Once you get the tank cleaned and all fittings checked it would be a missed chance to improve the materials so you can avoid a future similar problem.