How often to change fuel filter?

John Fraser

John Fraser

Well-known member
When I bought my boat, I had the dealer add an external Yamaha brand fuel water separating filter. The motor is a Honda 60hp 4 stroke, I always use ethanol free gas, I add stabilizer at the end of duck season, and the boat always gets parked in the garage between trips. The boat averages about 18 trips a year (usually only burn about a gallon per trip aside from an occasional long run or tubing) and the longest it sits is about 3 months between duck season and spring perch fishing.

I have been changing the screw on filter about once a year. Is this adequate?
 
John, If you don't change your filter enough your fuel flow would be interrupted by the filter apertures being clogged with debris and/or water and subsequently the engine would not perform as well. If you have never had a problem you are changing it enough.
I have had boats that did not need much filter changing and others where it was an ongoing concern... I owned a boat with an internal fuel tank with a sending unit that got water through it constantly and was impossible to reach and therefore the fuel always had a bit of water in it. The engine would bog down as the fuel flow decreased. I could drain the water from the bowl of the filter and proceed. It was a pain. The filter on Diesel engines are replaced at engine manufacturer specified times based on hours the engines have run. They assume dirty fuel and there are great concerns a bout clogged injectors.
I hope this helped.
Frank
 
(4) Four boat & motors
(4) Four Racors
(1) Once a year on each & I have no water or sludge issues on any of the boats.

All the Racors have the lower bowls with a peacock valve to drain water & other contaminants.
 
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My 93 60hp Mercury usually sits idle for 10 months a year.

when I'm preparing for duck season I usually drain my tank (24 gallon) and then change the inline screwon filter I installed when the boat was new.

I've never had any fuel problems or had any fuel system work done in 20 years.
Actually I've never even changed the stock filter under the hood but I probably wouldn't recommend neglecting it this long.

once a year should be plenty
 
your lucky you can get non ethenol gas.
Thats the culprit for 99% of the fuel related problems from phasing out and seperating in the tank
 
John-I do what jeff does, also never have a problem. The only real gas I can get in my neighborhood is at a small airport and you are looking at $5 a gallon, and then for me, transport 60 miles to where I would use it. Not practical. I would pay the price for gas for my small outboard it it was closer, I probably don't use but 6-8 gallons in a year for that motor.
 
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