How Does Fuel Water Separator Work?

Water and other contaminants can cause a lot of damages to your vehicle. Having these elements inside your engine or mixed with your fuel can cause various problems like abrasion, pitting, rust, and bacterial growth.

Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire way to prevent water and other contaminants from entering your vehicle’s engine. According to an article published by Husqvarna’s website, contaminated fuel is difficult to detect because there is no way to check its quality before it goes inside your vehicle.

Luckily, there is a filtering device that can be installed in your vehicles which can help minimize and prevent fuel contamination, explains SWA Water Australia, who has expert experience in fuel water separator processes. This handy and useful mechanism that helps protects your engine from harmful contaminants is called the fuel water separator.

What is A Fuel Water Separator?

A fuel water separator is a device that is used on various types of vehicles to ensure that the fuel that is delivered to the engine is clean and free from contaminants. It is typically a small filtering mechanism that removes water and other elements from the fuel before it is delivered to the vehicle’s engine. 

How a Fuel Water Separator Works

Based on the information provided by the It Still Runs website, using fuel that is mixed with water can cause damages to your engine and affect the performance of your vehicle. This is the reason why a lot of manufacturers install a fuel water separator mechanism on the vehicles that they produce in order to prevent any build-up of harmful elements that can damage the engine in the long run.

Generally, the fuel water separator works in two stages. The first stage of the device is usually composed of pleated paper elements that aim to change any water particles that are mixed with the fuel into larger droplets so that it can easily fall down into the water pit that is located at the bottom of the filter.

The second stage of the fuel water separator mechanism is typically made from silicone-treated nylon materials that serve as a safety net that prevents the smaller particles that avoided the first stage of the filter from passing through into the vehicle’s engine. 

The Two Types of Fuel Water Separator Systems

The two most common types of fuel water separator systems that are installed on vehicles today are the Diesel Fuel Water Separator and the Marine Fuel Water Separator.

Diesel Fuel Water Separator

A diesel fuel water separator is a type of fuel water separator device that is commonly made of aluminum materials. It is available in various sizes that are customized based on the type of vehicle that it will be installed on.

Most of these types of fuel water separator mechanisms feature a sensor that informs you whenever the amount of water that has been filtered from the fuel is getting high. When this happens, you simply need to remove the drain plug that is attached to the fuel water separator device to enable the filtered water and other components to be drained from your fuel tank.

Marine Fuel Water Separator

A marine fuel water separator is a type of fuel water separator device that is usually made of plastic or aluminum materials. It is generally used on water vehicles to prevent any water from getting into the boat’s motor.

This type of fuel water separator can be used as part of the primary filter or may be installed as a second filtration unit. When used as part of the primary filter, this device works by siphoning off water and other contaminants through filtering.

Alternatively, when this device is installed as a second filtration unit, it works by utilizing a siphoning mechanism that pumps the fuel into the filtering device and subjects it to a rapid spinning motion to separate the water and other contaminants from the fuel. 

Some types of marine fuel water separator systems are even designed to clean the vehicle’s exhaust system in combination with its fuel filtering functions.

It is recommended that you replace your marine fuel water separator mechanism each year in order to ensure that the engine of your water vehicle remains free from harmful elements that may affect your vehicle’s performance.

Importance of Fuel Water Separator Systems

The fuel water separator is an important part of your vehicle’s fuel system because if for any reason that it fails to filter the water and other contaminants that are mixed into the fuel, then the harmful elements that were able to pass through can wear down the lubricants on your fuel injectors causing a lot of damage to the engine which will surely affect your vehicle’s performance. 

Final Words

Making sure that the fuel that you use for your vehicles is free from water and other contaminants is a great way to protect your engines from deterioration and damages. Utilizing a fuel water separator device is an effective preventive system that will not only prolong the life of your vehicle’s motor but will also save you a lot of money in repair and maintenance costs in the long run.