Sea foam use with fuel/ water separator

[Slabbedout]

Just curious on anyones experience using sea foam or other fuel additives in their boats with fuel / water separators. I have added sea foam to my fuel in the past when I am not using the boat for a while. I was told not a good idea to run fuel stabilizer through the separator because any water will be trapped and then fill up the separator prematurely ? Is the idea of the separator not to trap and remove water from the fuel ?

I ran the boat yesterday in the driveway and it runs fine at idle but a bit of throttle and it sputters and runs rough, I am going to try it again and bypass the separator to see if that helps.

 

[Brando]

does your separator have a drain on the bottom? Just monitor the bowl and drain as required.. would replace the filter after that tank is run through.

If your filling the tank end of the season and don’t intend to run the boat for a few months try and leave it full and choose a fuel without ethanol added.

 

[Dorman Point]

I run a bit of Sea Foam or Mercury Quick Clean in every tank on my 90hp Tohatsu. I have a fuel separator and have not had any problems, and the engine definitely runs cleaner with the additives, in my experience. I don’t add much, just a couple of ounces with each fill.

 

[Corey_lax]

I run a bit of Sea Foam or Mercury Quick Clean in every tank on my 90hp Tohatsu. I have a fuel separator and have not had any problems, and the engine definitely runs cleaner with the additives, in my experience. I don’t add much, just a couple of ounces with each fill.

2nd this. I add Sea Foam or Startron to every tank. Never had an issue with the filter.

 

[BigBird007]

I have run Seafoam since before you could buy it in Canada in every boat I have owned. We use to buy it in the US by the case every trip over the boarder.

I use it in everything on my property including boats, ATV’s and generators that only get used a couple times a year.

Never have I had a problem with it or any of my toys fuel systems.

 

[Slabbedout]

does your separator have a drain on the bottom? Just monitor the bowl and drain as required.. would replace the filter after that tank is run through.

If your filling the tank end of the season and don’t intend to run the boat for a few months try and leave it full and choose a fuel without ethanol added.

My separator doesn’t have a drain just a screw on filter. I always get the marked fuel from co-op and use sea foam pretty religiously in all my small motors. Like you said run this tank through and swap out the filter.

 

[Brando]

My separator doesn’t have a drain just a screw on filter. I always get the marked fuel from co-op and use sea foam pretty religiously in all my small motors. Like you said run this tank through and swap out the filter.

You can likely get a filter replacement and add a clear bowl if you’d like maybe talk to your parts guy when it’s time. Does the motor have a fuel filter/separator as well? The optimax previously on our boat had this and we needed to remove the brass plug and drain the water out about once a year.

 

[Slabbedout]

You can likely get a filter replacement and add a clear bowl if you’d like maybe talk to your parts guy when it’s time. Does the motor have a fuel filter/separator as well? The optimax previously on our boat had this and we needed to remove the brass plug and drain the water out about once a year.

Motor is a 2001 Yamaha 40 4 stroke so has a inline fuel filter. I am suspicious of the separator causing issues only because a mechanic buddy suggested that it could be causing issues due to the sea foam.

I need to bypass the separator and see if that helps

 

[Barman]

I would just pour the contents of the fuel/water separator into a glass jar, then let it settle, to see if there's any water in the system.

 

[Prfisher]

As long as your fuel filter / separator isn't tucked away in a locker or below deck, you can add a clear bowl with drain kit. It is so nice to be able to check for water in the fuel at a glance. That was the first mod I did when I bought my boat. It drove me nuts to have to drain fuel from the filter, every trip.
I've never worried about adding fuel stabilizer. Most fuel systems have a filter of some sort & stabilizer use is very common. Can't imagine how it could cause a problem. If you use ethanol free fuel & keep your filler caps watertight, most fuel problems will never arise.