Water in your Gas ? - Solutions ?

[DougVieyra]

Since the Fed. required 'Corn Gas' has taken over our gasoline supply, I have found that the Gasoline in my Ford Model A now comes with (or developes shortly after installing in my gas tank) WATER !

I had a leaky gas valve and a leaky carburetor. Until I had time to fix both the gas shut-off and the leaky carb, I put a 'catch' can under the carb. (resting on engine pan), to catch the leaking gas. Every morning I would empty the can.

In this process, I discovered that about 8% of the fluid in the can was water ! I have had leaking carbs. before, but have never had water in my gas. I suspect that this has to do with the new Ethenol formula and the corn ingredient somehow causes a portion of the gas to 'evaporate' into water.

Don't really know the reason, don't really care. What I DO care about is the issue of water in my gasoline. I suspect, while others don't get 'down and dirty' - in the trenches - with a leaky carburetor, they may not realize that there is water in their gasoline. I sure did not.

So my question to those who HAVE found the new gasoline does put water in the fuel - what solutions have you come up with to counter this problem ? So far I have been newly exposed to SEAFOAM, which is supposed to 'minimize' water in the gasoline. What else is there that we can do to negate this water in the gas issue ?

- Doug Vieyra, in Eureka, Calif.

[tbirdtbird]

are you sure the 8% is water and not alcohol?
One of the many problems with cornahol is that the ethanol will settle out after only 2-3 months at the most, often sooner. It will NOT stay blended. This has been well documented.

[Gary WA]

Heet- is a good water remover.

[tbirdtbird]

Heet is just a different kind of alcohol (methanol). He doesn't need any more alcohol than he has already

http://www.goldeagle.com/brands/heet-faqs

[J Franklin]

Ethanol is hydroscopic and attracts water, during the driving season if you use it enough your car won't care. Storage or infrequent use is a bad proposition with ethanol and you should only fill enough to use in a few months. You should find a source for clear non ethanol fuel for the cars you love. I use Marine Stable in my tank when I use ethanol, it has a bunch of lubricant in it as well as a stabilizer.

[DougVieyra]

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TbirdBird - Post #2 : "are you sure the 8% is water and not alcohol?"
______________________________________

Good point. No, I am not sure that the strange bubbly stuff is water. It may very well be alcohol, as you suggest. Or perhaps some other foriegn substance. But whatever it is - it sure does not look 'right'.

Also - I need to know - what ever it is - is it harmful to the gas and to the car's fuel system, etc.

- Doug Vieyra, Eureka, Calif.

P.S. - about 30 miles from here, in a small village called 'Petrolia', around about 1850 or '60, California's first oil was discovered - long before Bakersfield (and Buck Owens). It had no water (or alcohol) in it.

[huddy]

Doug,

If you can't purchase ethanol-free gas (don't think you can in the P.R.C. - People's Republic of California) you can easily (relative term, maybe better termed "simply") remove it by taking advantage of ethanol's tendency to mix with water.

Get a gas can and fill it about 90% with gas and then top it off with clean water. Mix thoroughly. Let it settle and separate. The water, now having absorbed the ethanol, will settle to the bottom. Pour the pure gas off the top. Dispose of the water-ethanol mix appropriately (perhaps ship to your congressman?). Use the gas for your Model A and other carbureted engines.

You can first try this with a jar and prove to yourself it does indeed work. A large calibrated measuring cup or graduated cylinder can be used this way to determine the percentage of alcohol in the gas - just measure the increase in the water from before & after and that's your percentage of ethanol.

I'm sure someone clever will figure out a more efficient way to do this.

The one drawback is that you start out buying ten gallons of gas and end up with about nine, with slightly lowered octane (which shouldn't be an issue for lawn mowers, chainsaws, & antique cars).

[J Franklin]

One good thing about the model A is the fact it is gravity to the sediment bowl and the water and all else heavier than real gasoline can be trapped and emptied at this point as often as needed.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Yes, the water and ethanol is harmful to the fuel system. That old gummy corn crap will plug the jets, especially in small engines with much smaller jets, and the water will rust the carb and gas tank.
Each winter try to store the car with the tank full to the top with ONLY good gas without corn crap.

[springerpete]

I think that different areas in the country have different gasoline mixtures. Temperature and humidity play a large part in what happens to present day gasoline. How much you run your car does too. My model A does not have gasoline problems and I attribute that to my adding the marine grade STA-BIL to the tank with each addition of gas. I drive my A 2-3 times a week. My T sits more than the A but gets the same STA-BIL treatment and I have no issues. I am in Maine but have no info on our gas mixture. Perhaps CA gas is different enough to cause added problems.

[C26Pinelake]

I use a product called SeaFoam. I previously used Staybil. I could not be happier with the SeaFoam. It is somewhat expensive but worth the extra money. Wayne

[Indiana A. Lover]

I have been using a product named Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment, It is found in the Boating and fishing section of Wal- Mart. Sorry it is the only place I can purchase it. It helps me. Don in N. W. Indiana

[bart78]

I've seen the ethanol removed with water. Put the gas in something that can be drained from the bottom. Make sure you can see through it. Put had in it. Then add the water. Mix it up real good and let it sit. The water and ethanol will collect on the bottom. Drain it off and have ethanol free gas.

[whirnot]

If it is water in your fuel, I would suspect that where you bought the fuel may have a leak into the tank. I have seen that happen before.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by C26Pinelake

I use a product called SeaFoam. I previously used Staybil. I could not be happier with the SeaFoam. It is somewhat expensive but worth the extra money. Wayne

I too was seeing water in my sediment bowl. I'm not usually an advocate of additives and such to oil and gas because I believe the engineers do a pretty good job with the original product. I'm retired from Chevron USA, El Segundo, CA and I think we made good products. And yes we had to meet a certain moisture level when blending gasoline.

BUT with todays gasoline and the mandated addition of alcohol in the gas (thank God we don't add Methyl tertra butyl ether, MTBE anymore) we buy The Refineries can't control the storage of their product once it is shipped.

The alcohol in the gas absorbs moisture (water) from the atmosphere and ends up in our gas tanks.

So I started using SeaFoam to suspend the moisture in the gas and allow it to be burned in the engine instead of dropping out rusting my gas tank and causing havoc in my engine.

I can't attest to SeaFoam's other claims but besides the weird name it seems to work for my purposes.

[pgerhardt]

Originally Posted by whirnot

If it is water in your fuel, I would suspect that where you bought the fuel may have a leak into the tank. I have seen that happen before.

During College I worked on the flight line at Danbury Airport. Every morning we smeared this paste that changed color in contact with water on the end of a very long dip stick and we had to test the under ground gas storage tanks for water. We had to keep a written log of our findings. Even with all these precautions you would never even get into a plane without first draining some gas out of the bottom of each tank (most planes have at least two) to check for water. I can't imagine they would put ethanol in aviation gas.

[TerryH]

Not sure if it helps much, but I use MMO regularly, and also drive my Model A several times a week, and in 8 years, no fuel related problems at all. I think driving your Model A infrequently is one of the worst things for it.....they like regular use! And folks in other states keep suggesting to find none-ethanol fuel....California is just one of several states where that is not possible.

[Brentwood Bob]

Humidity is probably part of your problem. Bob

[DougVieyra]

An old friend of mine ('25 Chevrolet Touring Car) was a retired Aircraft Mechanic. Continueing his passion for aircraft and flying, he restored a 1940 ? Aercope. Upon one of his flying adventures he invited me along.

As was his usual routine, he went through a thorough pre-flight inspection of his flying machine - including the engine. In this process, he opened a pet-cock to allow the collected water to be drained out of the gasoline !

That was the first time I had been exposed to the idea that gasoline 'made' water. While I never before had experienced water in my automobiles, with today's California gasoline, I now do. It looks to be a fact of life, at least here in California.

With this new concern, I now look for a reasonable, cost-effective, solution to the water in the gasoline - or at least learn that there is no problem with water in the gasoline (I have a hard time believing that). That is why I was prompted to post the question.

So now, I have learned that the solution is to add expensive 'nuetrolizers' to the gasoline - about .65 cents per gallon. $$$$, AND yet another maintenance step in preserving and using my 85 year old antique car.

- Doug Vieyra, Eureka, California. (gee, I wish I lived in Bandon, or Gold Beach, or Brookings/Harbour, OREGON ! )

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

I "think" old gas is the biggest problem. I drove Minerva 400 to 500 miles a month & NEVER had a problem, even with our "crap gas"!
Bill W.