3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

BoatNoobie

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jun 17, 2009
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314
when used with the 3/8" adapter?


Just ordered a water separator kit and didnt realize it had 1/4" inputs. Is this going to create a fuel flow restriction?
It's a Racor 120 model.

Or should I cancel.


*edit*

2005 Mercury 60 4-stroke.
 

nash1970

Seaman Apprentice
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Aug 22, 2007
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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

Can you return it and get one the right size ?
 

Beefer

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

I'd cancel and order the correct size. I envision restricted flow in your future.
 

Bob's Garage

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590
Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

If this is a typical canister type separator filter then I would think the brass fittings are replaceable with the correct size.
 

Gary H NC

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

If this is a typical canister type separator filter then I would think the brass fittings are replaceable with the correct size.

Agree....any hardware store could fix you up with the correct brass fittings if it is too late to cancel.
 

BoatNoobie

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

If this is a typical canister type separator filter then I would think the brass fittings are replaceable with the correct size.

Yes, there are brass adapters to make the nozzle a 3/8", but I'm concerned about the restriction in housing.
 

JustJason

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

It's probably talking about 1/4 pipe thread for the fuel barbs. 1/4 pipe is not the same thing as saying "this circle has a diameter of 1/4 inch".

When you buy the FW sep kits they usually will come with 2 plugs to plug the 2 holes you don't use, but you have to buy your fuel barbs seperately. Lowes is cheaper than Depot BTW.
 

BoatNoobie

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

just an update. I was able to cancel the order without penalty, but now I'm not 100% I did the right thing, lol. :redface:

I never verified my line, I always assumed it was 3/8, because that appeared to be the norm....

So I went to look at it today. I couldnt find any markings for the measurements. It is labeled Mercury on there and a bunch of numbers with ISO and stuff.

I tried to remove the hosing at a connection, but it wouldnt budge. I removed the clamp and couldnt pull it off. On the other ends, it has these crimp rings I believe and I dont know how to remove that.

gasline.jpg
gasline2.jpg



The outside diameter of the hose appears to be 5/8" or maybe a hair smaller. Hard to tell for sure.

How can I find out short of cutting the line?
 

Bondo

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71,082
Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

Ayuh,... My guess is, it's 3/8"....

1/4" pipe is the standard fitting for filter housings, using 1/4"pipe to 3/8" hose barb fittings...
 

ziggy

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Jun 30, 2004
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7,473
Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

if ya got the length. the easiest way to remove an offending hose is to slit it lengthwise where it mounts to the nipple. cut the slit part off the hose and reuse, if ya got the length?
 

NHGuy

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

And if you need to hang on to every inch of line get a 90 degree pick, shove it between the nipple and the hose and slide it around the nipple while using it and a little tugging to remove the line. Those fuel lines are tight though! I just replaced my lines this spring and left extra at each end so I could slit & cut when they need to come off.
 

sasto

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

If she were mine.... I would replace the fuel lines made from a different material while your at it.
 

BoatNoobie

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

If she were mine.... I would replace the fuel lines made from a different material while your at it.

why is that and with what?

So today, I tried to complete my winterizing process and was pretty much a failure.

I had a zerk in the inner side of my hub to grease my bearings. I think it's one of the surelube models. Anyways, I had issues with the grease gun and couldnt get enough grease out.

So I sent out to drain the gas tank instead using the fitting by the transom in the picture. Assuming the gauge is correct, there's roughly 10 gallons out of a possible 27 gallons in the tank. I managed to remove the hose from the nipple in the picture. And confirm it is 3/8". At least it looks like it. But to my eyes, the inner diameter looks to be a tad bit smaller though, but not much. But definately larger than 1/4".

I got a siphon tube and bulb from the auto shop to pump the gas out. But the hose fitting is too small for the nipple. I tried to warm it up the hose to soften it, but just too small. *sigh*

So pretty much all I got done today was confirm the gas line hose size. :(


But now what water separater should I get? I would like one where I can see the water at the bottom and can drain out. Great feature.
 

sasto

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Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

Hi BoatNoobie,

Appears to me you have an older style grey fuel line. I have had problems with that type of hose running fuel with ethanol. The ethanol has a tendency to eat the center of the hose. Black rubber fuel line hose for me. Maybe others will have an opinion on this hose as well.....good luck...some days will be better than others.

There are many seperators to choose from......we use Racor.
 

Home Cookin'

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9,715
Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

your winterizing efforts sound like my typical project day--every simple task expands to either a half-day or failure. Typical with boats; grin and bear it, and tell yourself it's fun. My BIL says, "Always beware the 20 minute project."

When you rig your filter, don't put pipe tape on the threads; it melts and gets into your fuel system. Use the blue pipe dope instead.

I don't think that the 1/4 - 3/8 is going to be an issue at the filter; the fuel dumps into the cannister, so the restricted area is only the size of the barb. But I'm not the expert.

Also, I think the newer alchohol-resistant hoses come in gray now, but if you think yours are 10 years old, replace them while you're at it.
 

MrBigStuff

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Joined
Aug 7, 2004
Messages
497
Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

I recently replaced the fuel line on one of my boats, appears to be exactly the same set up you have there. That "grey" line is stiff as heck and very difficult to remove. Slitting works good or heat if you need to keep it the original length. Mine was so stiff, I decided to replace it.

I saved all the old connectors and fittings and just replaced the line. I used fuel line from an auto parts store. About $10 for 8 feet of line.

Like you, my old separator had smaller hose barbs than what fit good over the old connectors to the motor and fuel bulb barbs. I thought about buying new hose barbs for the separator but just ended up using 5/16" line to the separator and 3/8" line to the larger fittings. A bit of lubrication helps to work the smaller line over the larger fittings if necessary.

Those clips shown in your lower pic (to the motor connector) actually come right off fairly easily. I used a duck billed pliers to lightly pry the upper lip of the clamp over the mating protrusion and they popped right open. Hard to describe. Probably pop off with a flat bladed screwdriver just as easily. They're sized for that thinner walled tubing so I just replaced all the clamps with screw type stainless hose clamps from the hardware store.

All my other parts were in great shape so I probably spent about $18 for the hose and clamps compared to the $60 they wanted for the entire set up at the marine store. Even their clamps were 3x the cost of the same material at the hardware store...
 

BoatNoobie

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 17, 2009
Messages
314
Re: 3/8" Fuel Line To 1/4" Housing... Bad Idea?

your winterizing efforts sound like my typical project day--every simple task expands to either a half-day or failure. Typical with boats; grin and bear it, and tell yourself it's fun. My BIL says, "Always beware the 20 minute project."

When you rig your filter, don't put pipe tape on the threads; it melts and gets into your fuel system. Use the blue pipe dope instead.

I don't think that the 1/4 - 3/8 is going to be an issue at the filter; the fuel dumps into the cannister, so the restricted area is only the size of the barb. But I'm not the expert.

Also, I think the newer alchohol-resistant hoses come in gray now, but if you think yours are 10 years old, replace them while you're at it.

The hose is no more than 5 years old, so I assume it's safe for ethanol gasoline. The only part that was hard is the part that was around the nipple. The rest of the line seems is soft. I cut off the hard section, maybe about an inch or so.

I finished up today. Took a chance and bought a new grease gun and fluid pump from Harbor Freights :eek:.

The grease gun worked great! Loaded up the hubs with fresh Green Grease. Dont know what the previous owner used, but got most of the red grease out of there.

And the fluid hand pump actually worked! I was hoping to just use the hose and let gravity do all the work, but that didnt work. :( So I had to pump just under 10 gallons of fuel by hand.

So now I'm all done. Gonna wait until Spring to buy my water separator, so plenty of time to decide on which one.
 
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