Now that you know the importance of having a water-separator fuel filter on your boat, the first thing you need to do is to find a location for the canister-style filter and head that's not going to be in the way. Shipshape Boating host, John Greviskis, decided to place the filter in a tucked-away spot (figure A) on the back of the boat's transom. To mount the filter, 1/4" diameter, 1-1/2" long stainless steel lag bolts (figure B) were used. First, Greviskis pre-drilled holes into the fiberglass that covers the transom using a 3/16" drill bit. Anything smaller and you'll run the risk of galling (severely change) the stainless steel hardware. For example, the head of the screw could be demolished. On the other hand, if the hole is too large you could run the risk that the hardware would not be held securely. So be careful when you drill the pilot holes. Installing the Filter - Use a pencil to mark out the pilot holes, and use a drill to carve out the holes -- carefully.
- Bevel out the topside of the holes by using a countersink bit. You want to counter out the topside of the fiberglass or the stainless steel hardware can fracture.
Tip: To make sure the pilot holes are water tight, you may want to seal up the holes with mildew-resistant marine-grade silicone sealant. Simply squeeze out a little dab into each pilot hole, and you'll be ready to run in the screws. - Prior to mounting the head of the filter, you need to pre-install all the fittings into the head. For the particular head (Tempo) that Greviskis chose, the hardware included brass plugs and barbed fuel-line fittings (figure C). For this filter, Greviskis wanted to be able to run the fuel line up through the phalange into the filter and exit going out on the same side. This enabled him to take another fuel line and run it through the transom so that it can go straight back to the motor.
- To do this, first you have to block off one side of the head with the brass plugs. But whenever you have two dissimilar metals on a boat, you can be asking for galvanic corrosion or a leak. To prevent either of those problems, simply wrap the threads of all the fittings with Teflon tape.
Tip: Whenever you're applying Teflon tape to a fitting, always wrap the tape in the "opposite" direction of the threads (figure D). That way, when you're threading the fitting onto the filter head it won't unravel. - Screw on the two threaded brass fittings to one side of the filter head.
- For the side that will have the fuel line, you'll need to use a 90-degree fuel-line fitting (figure E) because you never want a fuel line to make a sharp bend or hard turn.
- Install the 90-degree fuel-line fitting into the filter head, and tighten it with a wrench. Insert and tighten the other fitting -- and go ahead and make sure all four fittings are tight and secure.
- Once the fittings are on the filter head, it's time to lag bolt the filter into the transom.
Tip: Be sure to use a marine-grade silicone sealant on the lag bolts prior to running them in to protect against corrosion. Don't tighten too hard to prevent fracturing the fiberglass. In the next segment, Greviskis will show you how to rout the 3/8" fuel line from the fuel tank to the fitting on the filter head that was just installed.
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