Solution for Water in Gas Tank

[Rooster]

Sharing this for those who may have water in their gas tank.  Seems like every rainy season, The SUV shows symptoms of water in the gas tank. In the province, if you ask Auto Parts stores/Mechanics for products like Heet water removal or any water removal products they give you the blank stare. Their solution, drop the tank, drain it and refill. Ace Hardware has 2 products not so effective. My solution I've been using for years here is Isopropyl Alcohol. The molecules bond to H2O and burns via the system.

 

 

 

 

[JDDavao II]

Can't you just run the tank dry, raise the car, open the filler door, build a small fire under the gas tank and let the water steam out? 

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 hours ago, Rooster said:

My solution I've been using for years here is Isopropyl Alcohol.

Interesting concept.  Since almost all the gasoline available here is 10% ethanol I would hesitate to add more alcohol to the fuel.  Are you sure that works with 10% ethanol?  And if so, why isn't the ethanol bonding with the water as your Isopropyl Alcohol does?

[Rooster]

1 hour ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Interesting concept.  Since almost all the gasoline available here is 10% ethanol I would hesitate to add more alcohol to the fuel.  Are you sure that works with 10% ethanol?  And if so, why isn't the ethanol bonding with the water as your Isopropyl Alcohol does?

Research Ethanol and how it compares to Isopropyl alcohol. Iso is superior as a H2O bonding agent than ethanol.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2018 by Rooster

[Dave Hounddriver]

14 minutes ago, Rooster said:

Research Ethanol and how it compares to Isopropyl alcohol

I did not ask for homework, I just asked you a simple question.  I was concerned about how much alcohol one can actually add to the fuel before it is too high a percentage.  The problem I see is that you are adding isopropyl alcohol to E10 gasohol that already contains 10% ethanol.  So you may want to research just how much alcohol you can add in addition to the ethanol so as not to damage your engine, (or someone else's engine if they follow your advice).

Here's a popular mechanics article you can read up on.  
https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/a6244/e15-gasoline-damage-engine/

Quote

 

Keeping Water Where It Belongs

The ethanol in your gas tank is uniformly dissolved in the gasoline. Alcohol tends to absorb and hold water, and in concentrations in the tank up to about 0.6 percent, any water remains in solution, presenting no problems. (Yes, there are other problems with alcohol in the fuel system, but we'll get to them later.) How does water get into the fuel tank? It's possible that water dripped into the tank at the gas station or ­refueling depot, or a stray raindrop or snowflake made its way into your tank or jerrycan, but most water infiltration is from condensation. As the temperature in a tank changes, air has to be vented in and out or the tank will bulge or split. Incoming air carries moisture. When the H2O in the gas gets above a critical percentage—its saturation point—all of the water and alcohol drops out and settles into the bottom of the tank. This is what chemists call phase separation; the various components of the fuel are no longer a homogeneous mixture.

But phase separation does not occur only from increased water concentration, which is actually unlikely in a modern, emissions-sealed automotive fuel system. The temperature of the fuel is a factor as well. Here's the scenario: You fill up the car or gas can with fuel that, for a variety of reasons, is near its water-saturation point and at 60 degrees. Overnight, the temperature drops 20 degrees, and all the water and alcohol settle out even though no extra water has crept in. Guess what? The engine won't run when the fuel pickup is sucking up the alcohol–water mix.

Worse yet, the gasoline remaining above the water has probably lost three octane points, because today's gasoline relies heavily on the high-octane equivalence (130) of alcohol to achieve its octane rating. It's also missing a bunch of additives that stayed in the alcohol—so the entire tankful should be drained and disposed of as hazardous waste.

And no, adding more alcohol, in the form of fuel-line de-icer, lacquer thinner or cheap vodka will never restore that gasoline to usefulness. You don't want to add yet more alcohol, lest the increased concentration turns your ­carburetor float to Jell-O. The only acceptable way to attempt to save the gas in the tank is to add a large amount of gasoline that's got a very low moisture content. Problem is, there's no good way to tell if pump gas has a little or a lot of water on board. You stand the chance of having twice as much phase-separated, unusable gasoline as before. Better to dispose of the whole tankful.

 

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[Rooster]

3 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I did not ask for homework, I just asked you a simple question.  I was concerned about how much alcohol one can actually add to the fuel before it is too high a percentage.  The problem I see is that you are adding isopropyl alcohol to E10 gasohol that already contains 10% ethanol.  So you may want to research just how much alcohol you can add in addition to the ethanol so as not to damage your engine, (or someone else's engine if they follow your advice).

Here's a popular mechanics article you can read up on.  
https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/a6244/e15-gasoline-damage-engine/

 

The article you posted relates to carburetors.

You don't want to add yet more alcohol, lest the increased concentration turns your ­carburetor float to Jell-O.

I'm speaking in terms of Fuel Injection systems, not carburetors. 

[Jake]

When I had my Jeep Wrangler assembled near Manila, I asked them to place the inline gas filter within easy reach under the hood.  Sure enough, I was replacing filters every 4 months or so.  Yeah, they were pretty gross.  Apparently, many underground fuel storage tanks are contaminate with solid particles as well as water.  

By the way, I've been using Sea Foam here in the states.  It seems to clean out my injectors.  It smooths out the idle but I did not see any significant improvement on gas mileage.  

Yeah, your mileage may vary........

[bastonjock]

Salty sea dogs put a product in their fuel tanks to counter the negative effect of the ethanol that is in diesel these days 

The problem of water in the fuel is greater with boats as the fuel can sit in the tanks for a long time 

[Rooster]

Hawaii State passed a law banning Ethanol in gas sales. Interesting to see the mechanic explain how ethanol increased his business changing fuel pumps.

 

 

 

[Rooster]

5 hours ago, bastonjock said:

Salty sea dogs put a product in their fuel tanks to counter the negative effect of the ethanol that is in diesel these days 

The problem of water in the fuel is greater with boats as the fuel can sit in the tanks for a long time 

Motorcycles with carburetors as well. I get the carb cleaned every year and see the gelling effect because of Ethanol gas  

Video here of a Marine Mechanic (boat) explains how it effects boats.