Terry, of course there's a right way to use inline filters, but you're assuming the petcock is alright, and it doesn't sound like it is, and he's not yet checked it. I wasn't blaming filters per-se, but whenever i see them on a recent purchase, I can expect a tank or petcock issue created the need for them. It's rarely ever just some knowledgeable guy who likes redundancy, but more like a tank whose innards resemble the titanic.