Matt Gruber

You are on a cross country trip. You drive all day in hot humid weather. On your last tankful you begin your ascent into the mountains. You stop at a cheap motel with a gas station on the corner, which is a good thing because the gauge reads E.
Last year you made the same trip and got "bad gas" , it stalled out several times and you don't want this to happen again.
Should you:

standup

I remember that place.....their dinner gave me gas.....so I think I'll try their breakfast......

BTW.....is there a prize for this???? :)

Matt Gruber

only one guess?
Nobody has any theories about how water gets in the tank?

Larry B.

That happend to me a few years ago in Deltona. I got gas at an Amoco station and barely made it to Orlando. FIVE gallons of water came out of the tank. The station was in process of replacing the tanks. Maybe it was a one time problem at that place.

rollavette71

Get gas after dinner. An empty (especially unsealed) tank can form condensation due to the possibility the outside temperature will drop below the dew point. If the inside of your tank cools below dew point, water beads up on the inside of the tank, and if you fill up in the morning before the water evaporates back out, then you have water in your gas!

Hank

mrvette

About 4-5 years ago I had a bout with water in gas....cost me an injector set, a fuel pump, and two filters, and a complete gas tank cleaning....I did my own work...PIA!!!!!

and just the other day, I filled up and the engine died again...and I was PIssed...but this station has been fine for some years now....the other BP down the street is the one with the problems occuring when they changed their tanks out, EPA don't give a flying flip if they pump water into your tank, just as the ground samples are fine....lovely, you government looking out for YOUR interestes....

at any rate, so it seems the thing finally 'cleared itself'....what I should have done is energise the fuel pump for about a minit to recirculate it all again...
I have a suspeicion the water is back in the tank bottom and got sucked in again.....but thing is running fine now....

GENE

Matt Gruber

can anyone explain how condensation occurs?(when you have clean fuel to start with?)

rollavette71

In an unsealed tank, it doesn't matter how clean the original gas is - the water comes from humidity in the air that condenses on the inside of the (empty) tank. If a "sealed" fuel system is truly sealed, then water should not get into the gas unless the gas from the gas station is bad.

Hank

Matt Gruber

Well Hank
you are pretty close. When the fuel pump pumps out fuel, if the tank was sealed, the tank could collapse, or the vacuum would get too high and the fuel pump would stall. The engine would stop. So, even on modern "sealed" cars, they use a pressure/vacuum cap that lets air in as the fuel is pumped out. So on a trip, when say, 15 gallons are burned, 15 gallons of air comes in its place. That is the source of the water vapor. This cannot be prevented. You are correct about the dew point; once the water condenses, however, it falls to the bottom of the tank. it does not re-evaporate; it is trapped. Thanks for your input! :cheers:

red topless gator

Whats wrong with using some alcohol?..........LT :thumbs:

mrvette

I have used a can or two of alky a few times over the years up north...sold as gas line anti-freeze....and yes it does work for that problem, and YES I have had that exact problem, and proved it...much to my amazement....never figgered the water to be of such consistancy when jiggling around in the gas tank to ever freeze enough....just didn't SEE the problem...but YES, it does...beleive me....

at any rate down here in Florida...guess what??? water in the tank is a very common occurance, and we don't freeze gas lines...so you buy some painter's alky at a H Despot and have done with it..only a pint will help immensley....

freaking gasoline all of a sudden in the last few decades has become a 'political issue', instead of just a pump it an go issue....jeez....

mass transit and heaven on earth and the so called 'smart folks' want the world to go back to bikes and horses....

GENE

Matt Gruber

i just picked up 12oz at walmart for 74¢ i'll put 4 oz in each car. I don't believe i need it 'cause none of my cars use fuel socks(socks don't pass water until they max out, then they let it all in), but for 25¢ a car once in a while, why take a chance?

GREGG-73

Matt, try using the big black hose with the big silver nozzel on the end of it. It is located on the the GAS PUMP!

Stay away from that garden hose when you lurk around.

Is this the motel / gas stop in the original TERMINATOR movie? If so, well that explains a lot. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :cheers:

Matt Gruber

we all should get in the habit of looking into the tank frequently! Can see water on the bottom if you look with a flashlight(lit match not rocommended.lol)Few cars let you look in like ours. real easy on 68-74.
One sure way to avoid water in the tank is to not run it! I tried that for 10 years with my 61 and collected no water.(but had no fun either) LOL