posted 03-31-2013 10:16 AM ET (US)        

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At the end of last season, I found water in my auxilary tank due to not having used it in the latter half of the season. Due to the location of the tank in the (former) rear fishwell, I don't like to keep the tank full with all the weight in the rear of the boat.

As a result, I'm thinking of placing a primer bulb before the water-separating filter. This would allow me to open up the water drain on the filter and pump the water out of the tank. The normal primer bulb is in the fuel line just before entering the engine, useless in the case of water in the fuel.

Any thoughts?

posted 03-31-2013 12:01 PM ET (US)            

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That is fine and it makes priming the fuel filter easier.

Some people will say that some filter instructions say not to put on a pressure fuel line. That is meant that the filter cannot be installed between an engine fuel pump and the motor, it does not mean that you cannot use a primer ball.

posted 04-01-2013 08:13 AM ET (US)            

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In all the fuel-water separating filters that have a drain that I have seen, the drain is always at the bottom of the filter, and water can be drained from the filter by gravity. You do not need to pump out the water; gravity drains the water from the filter when you open the drain cock.

If you opened the drain cock on the fuel-water separating filter and moved fresh fuel from the tank into the filter with a primer bulb, the incoming fuel would drain out of the filter immediately through the open drain cock. You would not just be draining water; you would be draining unfiltered fuel.