Water in Gas....AGAIN!!

jwclbi · #1 07-31-2010, 03:05 PM

Well for the third time this spring/summer I have a tank of real nice gas/h2o mix! And I have to tell you its really pissing me off! Now what i have been doing is pumping the fuel out of the bottom of the tank when the boat sits at the dock all night when its calm so it all seperates. About 7-8 gallons and that seems to work. But thats getting old and im only guessing how much to pump out. I have tried dry gas and really should have just bought rubbing alcohol because thats all it is and that didnt work. Any thoughts would be great. Thanks

MasterBaiter · #2 07-31-2010, 03:29 PM

I hate to point out the obvious, but I would buy my gas somewhere else. Let the marina know what is happening and have them check thier tank. If your mad enough call the EPA because if there is water getting in there is gas getting out.

jwclbi · #3 07-31-2010, 04:09 PM

Thats the kicker, all three times have been from different places. First two times was fuel at gas stations, boat was on the trailer at that time. And have been talking to a whole lot of people about this and it has been very common here.

Capt Chuck · #4 07-31-2010, 04:17 PM

You might want to check and or replace the "O Ring" under fuel fill cap. That little sucker will crack over time from the gasoline (epecially E-10) & harsh additives. This results in water getting into your fuel every time it rains and every time you wash down the boat.

I would purchase a new one, add a little zipper grease to it and replace

Let me know if this solves your water intrusion issues

Chuck

everybody · #5 07-31-2010, 04:43 PM

check the gasket on your fuel sender, too.

Islandtrader · #6 08-01-2010, 09:27 AM

Not that this will solve your problem...but only add to your frustration.

One of the engine repair guys in our area was so fed up with people coming in with your problem, that he did a little experiment.

He had one of his workers go around to 4-5 different Marinas in the area and get a 5 gallon can of gas. He let it sit over night and then did the drain test. I think he said all except one had a significant amount of water in the tanks. Not just a little but a lot.

The only solution is to add additive every time you fill up. And who knows if that will work all the time.

I feel your PIA.

jwclbi · #7 08-01-2010, 12:00 PM

After the second go round I checked every seal/gasket in the system thinking I had a leak and everything was very clean. New tank and all the goodies 4 years ago. And yes Island, some guys have done a similar thing here and found tons of water.

bobbert · #8 08-01-2010, 09:18 PM

Have been dealing with your problem for at least 6 years here in the Northeast. Major problem is that E-10 is blended at your local terminal. Up here it has been found to vary between E-10 and E14. Any excess ethanol over E-10 is an instant problem. Down in your area things are made worse by the high humidity. Remember ethanol is a major component of DRY GAS. It traps the moisture in solution and in theory is consumed by you engine.
Up here I have found the only solution to be the constant addition of Startron.
Up here the high variability of Ethanol content is also wrecking havoc with gas station fuel tanks. Those special double wall glass tanks are starting to fail and they are installing EPDM bladders to seal them up.

Good Luck with your problem and hope and pray the dictators in Washington don't decide to make E-15 the new normal.

Last tip. Try to find out when the station of your choice gets their tanks topped off. Try to purchase right after they get filled up as the filling process remixes the ethanol and reduces the Phase separation in their tanks.

Blue_Heron · #9 08-02-2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

...if there is water getting in there is gas getting out.

Tucker's post reminded me of another possibility. If your tank is old and bedded in foam, you could have crevice corrosion that is allowing water to enter the tank. If this is the case, you will likely also have gas, or at least the smell of gas in your bilge. I had pin holes caused by corrosion in the tank in my action craft. The first symptoms were the smell of gas (but no liquid fuel) in the bilge, and water in the gas.
Dave

Fr. Frank · #10 08-03-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

...if there is water getting in there is gas getting out.

Tucker's post reminded me of another possibility. If your tank is old and bedded in foam, you could have crevice corrosion that is allowing water to enter the tank. If this is the case, you will likely also have gas, or at least the smell of gas in your bilge. I had pin holes caused by corrosion in the tank in my action craft. The first symptoms were the smell of gas (but no liquid fuel) in the bilge, and water in the gas. Dave

Most likely the primary culprit is the fuel has water in it when you put it in your tank. However, as you can read above, it may not be the only problem. I use Marine formula Stabil in my fuel, AND I buy Ethanol-free gasoline, AND I use a 10 micron Racor water separating fuel filter with a visible resevoir to drain water, AND I keep my fuel tank topped off after every use.

I read on the Hull Truth a 7-8 years back where a rep from a fuel tank manufacturer in Florida (RDS?) stated that their testing showed that here in Florida, a half-full 100 gallon Aluminum marine fuel tank in an uncovered and trailered boat could accumulate from 1-3 GALLONS (not quarts) of water per month just from condensation. The 1 gallon was the MINIMUM condensate accumulation in a month.

He suggested the only way to truly minimize that condensation was to keep the tank as full as possible, and that covering the boat (or parking it under a cover) to minimize heating and cooling of the tank was a good idea as well. He also said that fuel/water separators were a must and additives were also a good idea, although he didn't recommend one over another.

I got a new fuel tank in '04 from RDS, and the lack of a "well maintained" water-separating fuel filter will void my 10yr warranty on it.