Separator

[Dave Mellor NJ]

This is an article I wrote in the AACA Forum

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/413469...omment-2663349

[Jim/GA]

I like my cast iron bulb separator on my car. Every now and then I will open the little drain valve and let some fuel run into a clear glass jar, to look for water in the gas.

We have discovered on tours, where the A's are parked out in the rain overnight, that the 1930/31 gas caps will allow rain water to get into the gas tank. That has caused problems while driving the next day. Many people had to drain a fair amount of fuel to get the water out.

[Big hammer]

Jim I found the same thing about the 30-31 caps letting water into my gas tank, after washing my Tudor and a drive to dry her off. She began spitting and sputtering and then died in one of the busiest intersections around town. No separator and after a fire drill of me checking things I found if I over choked her she would run poor, drove about 3 blocks home and put some gas line drier in the tank. Again went for a nice test drive !!!

[Bob Bidonde]

Wow! I never thought about water getting into the gas tank from rain / the garden hose. Now that you mention it, I can understand water intrusion via the vent in the cap. I have had condensation develop in the gas tank during the winter months, so I keep the gas tank full in the winter.

I think carrying a plastic bag or one square-foot of plastic sheet that can be taped over the gas cap will keep the water out.
Thanks for the heads-up!

[fried okra]

Or even a weighted plastic margarine bowl or similar over the fuel cap.

[nkaminar]

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There was some discussion about dirty fuel causing the ship that ran into the bridge to loose power.

When I bought my sail boat the Diesel fuel had sat in the tanks for years and was very dirty. I got a quote for cleaning the tanks which was very expensive. Plus they wanted to throw out the old fuel and I would have had to buy 250 gallons of new. I had to motor the boat against a head wind from Los Angeles to San Francisco and was not ready to just waste the fuel. So I bought a spare fuel pump and about 12 filters and changed them every few hours.

Large boats and ships are supposed to have duplicate sets of filters and pumps and pressure gauges to tell when a filter is getting clogged. If that was not done on the ship, then the crew is at fault.

[Herb Concord Ca]

nkaminar, San Francisco is a long way from Western Noth Carolina. But maybe that's another story?

[CarlG]

Here's my "separator" aka "Gascolator"

[Dave Mellor NJ]

It's actually nice to be able to drain water out of your car. Most cars you can't do that. A few gas stations around me had trouble with bad fuel recently and some engines were ruined,

[nkaminar]

Herb, The bad fuel was eventually burned up and new fuel bought. I sailed the boat to North Carolina. I took the short cut, through the Panama Canal. Took 3 years but most of that time was spent on the hook or tied up at a marina. I loved the Caribbean side of Panama, especially the San Blas Islands.

[GMCPASO]

CarlG. Living in Alaska you should know the advantage on aircraft. Each tank and the lowest point in the fuel system has a drain valve to drain the condensation from the fuel and what is sometimes in the local FBO storage systems. Always drain them before you take 0ff. The units you show is also drainable I see.