1. Use the full 4 digit year for everything you are asking your question about. Example: 1962, 1988, 2000, 2011
2. Include the correct name of your Whaler model. Example: Montauk 17, Montauk 170, Outrage 26, Outrage 260
3. Include the length when necessary. Example: 16, 17, 18, 20, 22
4. Do not post your email address anywhere on this site as it is already in your user profile.

Racor Fuel Filter Self-Destruct
tedious	#1  Posted on 10/05/20 - 4:58 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1072 Comments: 2 Joined: 09/07/08	So I lent my 15 to my sister for the summer (trying to hook her into boating) and she used it a few times, but it spent most of the time in the driveway under cover. I have a Racor filter installed, with the clear plastic bowl. When I visited her yesterday, she reported smelling "oil" the last couple of days. When I took the cover off, it was obvious that gas had been dripping out of the filter. I first tried the drain valve, and it was tight. Then I checked the tightness of the filter bowl, and with very little pressure (clockwise) the whole bowl dropped off in my hand, spewing gas everywhere. After taking the whole filter off and drying things out, it is clear that the threads on the filter or bowl or both are damaged in some way. Nothing to be seen with visual inspection, but the threads simply won't grab when you try to tighten the bowl onto the filter body. They will grab without the gasket in place - guess it gives just enough room for more engagement. The gasket does not seem to have swollen, but I don't have a new one to compare it to. Has anyone ever experienced such a thing? I have to admit this was fairly scary - if my inexperienced sister had taken the boat out and the bowl dropped off under way, it could well have ended badly. I do know that for situations where the filter is not in the open like mine is, a solid, rather than a clear plastic, filter bowl is required. I'm thinking to go that route for additional safety.
Phil T	#2  Posted on 10/05/20 - 5:34 AM
Administrator Personal Page Personal Album Project Albums Posts: 6994 Comments: 6 Joined: 03/26/05	Just to clarify. It is the clear bowl that would not seat properly in the filter cartridge? How old is the acrylic bowl? 1992 Outrage 17 I 2019 E-TEC 90, Viper 17 2+ 2018 Load Rite Elite 18280096VT
tedious	#3  Posted on 10/05/20 - 5:42 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1072 Comments: 2 Joined: 09/07/08	That's correct, Phil. The clear bowl would not properly attach to the threads at the bottom of the replaceable filter cartridge with the gasket in place. The bowl was not new, at least 10 years old.
acassidy	#4  Posted on 10/05/20 - 8:05 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 268 Comments: 1 Joined: 11/21/05	It sounds like it might had been over tightened and the plastic threads were compromised. If it was clear it should have been the correct bowl the ethanol fuel. That is very scary for sure. You are not the 1st person though that has had a bowl fall off like that. Another thing that could have done this is corrosion and swelling on the filter metal threads and broke up the plastic threads. Archie
tedious	#5  Posted on 10/07/20 - 3:56 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1072 Comments: 2 Joined: 09/07/08	Well after getting the setup home to look at, it’s still not obvious what the issue is. Neither the threads on the plastic bowl nor the threads on the filter, which are plastic too, seem damaged in any way. The threads on the plastic bowl are tapered, so it looks like it’s a jam fit, like a pipe thread. Turned out I had a brand new filter cartridge in my spares box, and it does not appear to work any better than the old one - I can get the bowl to grip if I really work hard to compress the gasket, but it’s clear that there’s not much holding it together. I am not happy with the design - seems prone to failure. At this point I am planning to remove the whole filter assembly and run without. The filter setup was installed by a previous owner and it’s overkill for portable tanks. Plus my F70 has an internal 10 micron filter (which, in fairness to the previous owner, the old Johnson 70 did not have). I’m still spooked by the whole thing - don’t think it helped encourage my sister to see gas splashing over the whole stern either. Just glad it happened in the yard and not on the water!
tedious	#6  Posted on 10/07/20 - 4:23 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1072 Comments: 2 Joined: 09/07/08	Well, after posting the above I did a search and found this: https://www.racornews.com/single-post/2017/07/18/Racor-bowl-look-like-this-Replace-NOW My bowl looks a lot better than the one in the picture, but I see that they do call out “shrinkage” as an issue, and the implication is that this can happen over time with the plastic bowls. That could certainly have caused the catastrophic failure I had. I am not home now and can’t check whether my bowl is marked as safe for ethanol or not. I will report back once I have that info. Still thinking to ditch the Racor entirely - more trouble than it’s worth for my boat. And I’m just not comfortable with a product that can shrink over time and dump gasoline all over. I guess I could go with a metal bowl, but not sure I’ll bother. Edited by tedious on 10/07/20 - 5:07 AM
biggiefl	#7  Posted on 10/07/20 - 8:15 AM
Member Posts: 890 Comments: 4 Joined: 05/08/06	Personally I do not believe in inline filters on portable tanks unless the manufacturer calls for it. The one under the cowl is plenty. The racor is more of a fuel water separator which is not really necessary with portable tanks as they do not build up condensation. The only way to get water in a portable tank is rain or bad fuel. 24 Whalers so far....
acassidy	#8  Posted on 10/07/20 - 5:27 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 268 Comments: 1 Joined: 11/21/05	I guess I missed the clear plastic bowl part in the original post and thought you meant clear clear. They have made three bowls, the yellow, the blue and the clear and the yellow does not work with new ethonol fuel and is too old to use safely. The clear clear is the newest and is safe.
tedious	#9  Posted on 10/08/20 - 3:42 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1072 Comments: 2 Joined: 09/07/08	The Racor site indicates the ethanol-safe bowls have markings to identify them. I suspect mine is not, and I will check it next week when I get home. I’m still planning to just ditch the whole thing - don’t really know why the previous owner put it on in the first place. One less thing to maintain, and one less potential point of failure!
tedious	#10  Posted on 10/13/20 - 4:32 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1072 Comments: 2 Joined: 09/07/08	Home now - as suspected, the filter bowl is not marked as safe for ethanol. So I guess that's on me. However, the Racor page linked above does describe bowl replacement as a maintenance item - certainly implies that even the ethanol-resistant bowls can eventually fail in the same way mine did. Everyone can make their own decision of course, but for me, I'm not comfortable with the plastic bowl. I'm going to simply remove the filter, since I don't really need it, but if I was going to continue to use it I'd be switching over to the metal bowl.
acassidy	#11  Posted on 10/14/20 - 3:41 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 268 Comments: 1 Joined: 11/21/05	I have always use a water separator filter because unlike the car which gets fresh fuel weekly my boats may set up for months between use during the winter and the fuel is no longer fresh. Just a extra piece of mind. The fuel water separator on the motor is not easy to pull and empty or even to check. Plus once water gets in there it is too late. With vibration and movement you are guaranteed to suck some water up in the motor. A couple times a year I drain my bowl to remove and water or trash in there. They do make a metal bowl also. If you do remove it you could replace it with a cut off valve or single barb male to male. Archie
biggiefl	#12  Posted on 10/15/20 - 8:12 AM
Member Posts: 890 Comments: 4 Joined: 05/08/06	True Archie but with portable tanks, I do not see the need for one outside of the filter under the cowling. 24 Whalers so far....
max366	#13  Posted on 10/22/20 - 6:05 PM
Member Posts: 77 Comments: 0 Joined: 06/02/15	You might use this fuel/water separator that screws right onto the Racor head you have. For $15 it's good piece of mind and as someone else mentioned, it's a much better separator than the engine-mounted one. https://www.amazon.com/NEW-RACOR-FILTER-WATER-SEPARATOR-PFF5510/dp/B00YMT45RO
tedious	#14  Posted on 10/27/20 - 7:09 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1072 Comments: 2 Joined: 09/07/08	max366 wrote: You might use this fuel/water separator that screws right onto the Racor head you have. For $15 it's good piece of mind and as someone else mentioned, it's a much better separator than the engine-mounted one. https://www.amazon.com/NEW-RACOR-FILTER-WATER-SEPARATOR-PFF5510/dp/B00YMT45RO Thanks, but for me, "piece of mind" is not having a fuel system component fail catastrophically and dump gas all over. I'm going with a factory Yamaha line from tank to motor inlet. My F70 has a very accessible filter at the stern, with a sensor to tell you if there's water buildup.