Draining the Fuel/Water Separator

[michguy]

I can't tell if there's water in my fuel separator or not. How can I tell? Also, if there is water and I drain it off, is there anything else that I need to do after that ?

[Norm4015]

I drain a couple of ounces in a clear plastic glass and it is easy to see it there is water present. But so far, 12 years of diesel pushers, I have never seen one drop of water.

[michguy]

Thanks, Norm. I've been on my knees under the coach every time I fill up and can't see a thing. Now I'm going to drain a few ounces and look at it.

[HD4Mark]

Emptied ours once and got nothing but fuel. Don't remove too much like I did because it would not start and we had to go through the turn on the key, wait 15 second then repeat until the pump primed it. I finally gave up, took the darn filter off and primed it myself by filling it from a can of diesel.

One of the two filters on our rig has a sensor connected to it that will light an idiot light on the dash. Should we trust that it works and not drain until the light comes on you think?

[Skip426]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD4Mark Emptied ours once and got nothing but fuel. Don't remove too much like I did because it would not start and we had to go through the turn on the key, wait 15 second then repeat until the pump primed it. I finally gave up, took the darn filter off and primed it myself by filling it from a can of diesel. One of the two filters on our rig has a sensor connected to it that will light an idiot light on the dash. Should we trust that it works and not drain until the light comes on you think?

Water in fuel sensor/light , always worked well in Dodge P/U's . However there was usually a large quantity of water in the system when the light came on. I would still want to drain the system before a long trip.
Multiple cycles of the electric lift pump may require bumping the starter( 1 sec ) to re-activate the 15 sec of run time. Check your owners manual.

[Gary RVRoamer]

If your filter has the electrical connection for a "water in fuel" light, you can rely on that to tell you if you need to drain. Otherwise, just drain out a couple ounces and forget about it. No real need to know if there was water in it or not. If you are curious, capture it in a glass jar and water will separate out from the diesel (if there is any).