Do I really need a water fuel separator for my 2005 Nissan 6HP 4 stroke?

[austin611]

I'm a complete novice with outboards and just acquired this 2005 6hp 4 stroke. While trying to educate myself on the do's and don'ts I came across someone saying that every engine should have a water fuel separator. Is this necessary for even the smaller sized engines?

When I bought the boat (12 foot aluminum) and engine it came with a portable gas tank already so I'm not sure how old it is. The tank has some cap on it ever so slightly open (which I think you're supposed to have open while operating) and was sitting outside for a month at least so I'm concerned about water in the tank.

Does it make sense to get a water fuel separator or should I just change the gas and call it a day? Any other suggestions or comments to a novice are welcomed.

Thanks all.

 

[steelespike]

My experience has been for small motors. We never closed the vent and the boat and tank were in the water from April to November.
Where you might get in trouble is in spring and fall where snow might accumulate and freeze and thaw on the tank and as the tank warms and
cools water may be drawn into the tank through the vent.We had a minimal amount of those conditions in spring and fall.
Now my brother inlay left a loan mower out all winter exposed to those conditions. In the spring the tank was full of water.