Water seperator vs alcohol fuel

[Ghost]

I know my fuel is up to 10% alcohol and alcohol mixes readily with water, but what I don't know is will the Racor seperator be able to seperate out the water if it is mixed with the alcohol???

 

[roscoe]

Re: Water seperator vs alcohol fuel

I rather doubt it, as the alcohol attaches itself to the water and fuel on a molecular level. This keep larger pockets of water broken down and more evenly dispersed in the fuel.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Water seperator vs alcohol fuel

In the good old days when fuel was really fuel, one of the problems in the tundra of the U.S. (including Wisconsin and Minnesota) in the winter was gas line freeze due to water in the fuel. A product called Heet (mostly alcohol) was widely used to combat the problem and very successfully I might add. The engines did not mind the alcohol/water mix at all. Todays blended fuels don't need the additive except in extreme cases and your boat and it's water separator should not be affected. In the event the amount of water in the fuel exceeds the ability of the alcohol to mix with it, the separator should again do its job as it always did. The long and short of this is that the water separator will have to do less work than it did before.

 

[dajohnson53]

Re: Water seperator vs alcohol fuel

A lot of folks I know with aluminum built in tanks use HEET routinely - because it's impossible to avoid condensation in those tanks. I have a water sep. filter and decided not to use HEET - rationale in my mind is that I'd rather have the water sitting in the filter's drain cup rather than passing through the combustion chamber. Is this a faulty concern? Just curious.

 

[gss036]

Re: Water seperator vs alcohol fuel

If you are using Heet or other alcohol products, check the label, some will tell you not to use in 2 stroke engines, something to do with Methel/Ethel(one or the other) type blend scavaging the lube from the cylinder walls.<br />It has been a long time since I saw it on the bottle/can, maybe things have changed in the past 3-5- years.

 

[Scali]

Re: Water seperator vs alcohol fuel

With the E 10 fuel use MDR Water Zorb & not Heat or any other alcohol related priducts.<br />This is military spec stuff that removes all water without alcohol.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Water seperator vs alcohol fuel

Back to your original post regarding blended fuel, you will likely see less water in the separator and won't have a choice whether fuel with absorbed water passes through the engine. I believe the alcohol blended in your fuel is ethanol which is good old "corn squeezins". Here in the midwest we've had blended fuel for years and my workhorse '95 Evinrude has not gagged once on it.