Re: New Boater wondering how to use Racor filters
Andrew, the bowl is always full of fluid, the only question is whether it is water or fuel.<br /><br />I've used a Racor with clear/blue bowl for several years, and I honestly can't visually tell if it's water in the bowl or fuel. I suppose if I got down on my belly and looked at it very closely, I might be able to but I doubt it.<br /><br />What I do is simply drain it periodically (every few hours of operation, or before every trip if I remember) into a small glass jar that I keep on board. Any water in the bowl is on the bottom and will drain first and then when it changes to pure fuel, you can quit draining. If there's no water in there, you'll know immediately and can quit draining. At most, you will have just a few ounces of contaminated fuel to discard.<br /><br />I change the cannister every season, maybe mid-season also if I'm using the boat a lot - but I only put 30 - 50 hours on it a year. I first remove the entire cannister+bowl and then remove the bowl from the cannister. This second step generally requires two "oil filter wrenches" - one for the cannister and one to grip the bowl. Experiment with the various types of oil filter wrenches to find the one(s) that work on the bowl. Any sort of strap-type wrench will work on the cannister because it's just like an oil filter. Racor makes a special plastic tool to grip the bowl and I bought one - but becausse of the way my filter is installed, I don't have enough clearance to use it. Like oil filters, there are O-rings that need to be inspected and lubed.<br /><br />Your main danger is inattention - if you don't drain the bowl periodically, and it over-fills with water, it can affect the fuel going to the engine. But, again, that's easy to prevent with periodic attention.
