Install water separator

[fishingfourfun]

How hard would it be to install a racor water separator on a bass tracker?  I am not the most mechanically inclined person.  What should I expect to pay a marina to purchase and install.  My wife bought the boat for father's day and it already had a full tank from the previous year.  I did not get to use the boat this year.  Should I drain the tank and add fresh gas for next year?

[Long Mike]

Before I comment on the water separator, I would ask a few questions.  Does the boat a metal fuel tank or a plastic one?  If it's metal, throw it away and replace it with plastic.  Throw the gas away also.  If you have a plastic tank, get rid of the gas.  Just pour it into the gas tank of your car.  It will mix with the gas in your car and will do no harm.  Unless the gas currently in your boat has been treated with a preservative like Sta-Bil or Startron, there is a very good possibility that the carburetors are gummed up and your motor will not start.  In this case, you will need to have them re-built.

As for the water separator, you really don't need one because your fuel tank is fairly small; but, if you really want one, they are very simple to install.  

[fishingfourfun]

The boat has been winterized and the gas treated.  It has a 40 gallon fuel tank.  I was thinking of siphoning the gas into my trucks and replacing the gas with frsh fuel.  I will then trat the gas with Stabil so it will be ready for next year.  I appreciate your response.

[Long Mike]

You have a 40 gallon tank in a Bass Tracker?  Wow!  Without sacrificing flotation foam, it was everything I could do to install a 16 gallon tank in my '89 seventeen footer.  Since you have a tank that large I highly recommend that you install an inline fuel/water filter.

I'm not sure where you live geographically, but if weather permits, I suggest you hook a water hose to your motor and attempt to start the engine.  If you can start it and it runs OK I wouldn't bother replacing the gas.

[fishingfourfun]

It is a Tournament V-18.  It has already been winterized.  I was thinking I could just siphon out gas into my trucks and replace with fresh gas.

[farmpond1]

Unless the gas currently in your boat has been treated with a preservative like Sta-Bil or Startron, there is a very good possibility that the carburetors are gummed up and your motor will not start. In this case, you will need to have them re-built.

:oThe above might be a bit alarmist.  "It may not start" is probably a safer thing to say.  But you certainly don't want to wait until you've driven 50 miles and backed your boat down a boat ramp and into the water before you find out.  It's a good idea to run some good gas with stabilizer in it before you shut 'er down for the season.  And begin the next season with fresh gas.

Unless changing a light bulb is a major challenge for you, installing a water separator/filter should be relatively easy with simple tools.  You can probably find numerous websites which will explain the process.  I only glanced and I immediately found one for Evinrude filters.  I'm sure there are others.

[fishfordollars]

Simple job. Anyone can do it. Even your wife, if you have one.

[OnthePotomac]

Fishingforfun, I don't know if this will help you , but I have a 175 Pro G3 with a 21 gallon tank and a 60 Yammie. It is now 8 years old. I have always used Ring Free and Stabil with each fuel addition and stored the boat with a full tank for up to three months through the winter. It has never failed to start right up. When E10 hit the pumps two years ago, I began using StarTron Enzym with the other additives and now have switched to StaBil Marine and the Ring Free. No problems so far without a fuel water separator, but they are nice to have. If you decide to install one, buy a 10 micron filter.

The new StaBil Marine is an excellent product for E10 and should be used each time you add fuel. StaBil has impressive corrosion test results on their web site with this product.