water in fuel question

[therapy]

Gedday Ausfishers,
On the w/end, after filling up the boat with fuel, it would appear that I forgot to put the fuel cap back on and then drove 25k's through poring rain to the ramp. There must be some water in the fuel though I didn't notice the cap missing until the second day we were away and the boat ran fine. The motor went ok all w/end (fitted a spare cap) and all the way home though I am concerned about the fuel/water that must still be in the tank. Is there any treatment's you can get or is the answer to drain the tank and refill with fresh fuel?!?!

I would appreciate any advice from those that know more than me ( that would be most of youse!) I don't have a water seperator fitted.

Cheers......Terry..........

[Midnight]

Gday Terry,
If you think that a significant amount of water got into the tank, and you have access into the tank, you should be able to siphon the water from the lowest point in the tank. After the boat has been sitting a while, say overnight, the water will accumulate at the lowest point in the tank.

Otherwise, I would fit a water seperating fuel filter ( all boats should have one ) and keep an eye on it. Fit the filter somewhere easily seen and check it regularly. You will see the water in the bottom of it and you can drain it off as it accumulates.

Cheers,
Myles

[BaitThrower]

Hmm if it ran ok all weekend then obviously not enough water in there to stop the thing running. It might be salvagable!

You could try some Fuel Doctor (available from Supercheap Auto or Autobarn. It is a fuel treatment that supposedlyt scavenges for free water and converts it to a micro-emulsion allowing it to pass through your motor without any real effect.

www.fueldoctors.com

The other option is all new fuel, which is probably the most definite answer :)

[Whitto]

The same amount of Metho will do the same thing

[Daamu]

Try adding half a cup of metho to the tank. Does the same as the Fuel Doctor.

[Chimo]

I regularly add 1% metho to my ULP, when I remember:dizzy:

CC

[fish50]

I have previously had major dramas with water in my tank and never want to go back there again, ever...pin holes in tank which was in a sealed compartment which caught and accumulated salt and fresh water.

If i were you i would siphon from the lowest point as Myles recommended, add a filter with glass bulb with drainage hole (and keep an eye on it next trip) and add a little metho.

I learnt the hard way with the glass bulb filter that within a couple minutes of starting the engine the water will accumulate in the bottom of the filter and quickly fill and by the time you check it 5 minutes later you cannot see the line where the water and the fuel meet and thus you think its all clean fuel and its all good, following this your fishing trip comes to an abrupt end......as i said bad bad memories. A good option is to drain the water from the filter while the engine is running if you can, i would assume you would only have a cup or so in there.

[Noelm]

the Metho system is mainly an old wives tale! it does work up to a point, but before you do it, try a quick experiment at home, get some petrol in a container, pour in some Metho and see what happens, the Metho will dissolve/disappear as quick as you can pour it in, now try it with some water in the container as well as the petrol, pour in Metho and see if the water disappears, it won't, just like in your tank, you need to remove it or filter it, no other viable options unless it is a very small amount, in which case, some "miracle" stuff MAY help.

[Kero]

I'm sure that on the side of the metho bottle it says that the main ingredient is 99.99% ethanol (I could be wrong). With all of the warnings about NOT using ethanol fuels in boats, how can metho work?

[Roughasguts]

I'm sure that on the side of the metho bottle it says that the main ingredient is 99.99% ethanol (I could be wrong). With all of the warnings about NOT using ethanol fuels in boats, how can metho work?


Exactly bloody ethanol!

Now whats in fuel doctor I hope not hydrofuel carbons!
might have a look at the contents when in super cr@p in the morning.

Buuuut that there stuff might be better.

cheers.

[royslaven]

Therapathy,hi mate , bought some startron fuel treatment today becuase my 2 stroke is running a bit smokey, this is supposed to help, apparently, but it also says startron works by breaking water down into microscopic clusters allowing to disperse harmlessly in fuel and safely burned away, also says the enzyme formula removes water from fuel without using drying alcohol or emulsifiers which can harm rubber fuel lines and engine components, don,t know if this is right or not, but hell it must be cause it says so,,right? cheers ,roy

[blueline]

just be carfull useing fule doctor, it will losen up scale and alge and will clog up your motor, i used it once and it cloged up my filter, but now i use it all the time and have no worrys, its just the first time.

[oldboot]

I have had water in fuel in a couple of thing like mowers and such..... the best and simplest option is to empty the tank...... putting a bit of metho in simply does not cut it.

yeh metho sort of works but you have to have a large amount of metho in comparison to water... like at least 10 time as much metho....this assumes the metho is dry, unless you are buying " super funky meths" it will have up to 5% water in it so that doubles the amount of metho needed to get a result.

And yes metho these days is 95% ethanol and up to 5% water.....espcilay if the lid has been off.

where the role is for metho is cleaning the tank out to get the remnants of water out.....drain the tank....as dry as absolutely possible......pour in a generous amount of metho and slosh arround.... the remnant water should combine with the metho..........drain as much of that as possible....... pour in a generous amount of petrol and slosh arround....the metho will combine with the petrol.......drain as much of that as possible.

Refill the tank with petrol.

While you are at it drain the float bowl of the carby......water can sit at the bottom of the float bowl.... then you get a big bump or something and dose of water goes into the carby propper.....blurt.. pfttt...burb... borp.. splutter.....splutter.......then it will run fine till the next bump or such.

cheers

[northernblue]

I regularly add 1% metho to my ULP, when I remember:dizzy:

CC

Chimo, doesn't that make E-1?

[Chimo]

NB

Dont seem to have a problem after doing what I do and been doing it for nearly 20 yrs. ie on the previous boat 1 x 90HP Evinrude and this one 2 x 115 Evinrudes.

The metal fuel filters on the current motors get changed at the annual service and then opened to check for water and to see what other crud / crap was in the fuel. Sometimes a little water and a bit of crud / crap but no issues with the motor behaviour etc.

Maybe the metho is different now, not sure but it doesn't seem to be impacting.

Perhaps the other part of the fuel story is to be very careful about the fuel you put in the tank and how you do it. I mostly fill with jerry cans that I pour into the boat through an old diesel filter funnel, the one with the vertical tubular filter screen so the fuel does not pound directly onto the filter and push water etc thru.
Maybe the computer story GIGO applys here too?

So in fact metho or no metho if there is little water there to start with there may not be any real issue for me to worry about unless the tank gets water in some other way and my breathers have home made covers to prevent splash entry too now that I think about.

Bit like the belief that is held that tinnys cannot be on full roller trailers as they will dent. Sure they will dent if your too cheap and dont have enough to carry to weight appropriately spread over the keel and sides. If fuel is dirty and has water in it to start with or the tank leaks water into it, there will be an issue that metho IMHO can help with but probably not fully cure. The points made by others that you need to clean the tank out is spot on; in my case tho its hard to shake a 44gal drum etc to swish etc

Cheers
Chimo

PS I thought I had an issue this week with old dirty fuel in my 9.9 Mariner too but that turned out to be one of the power packs breaking down so life is just full of surprises aint it:'(

[ShaneC]

Put the fuel in your car. If it breaks down on the way to work, fix it and go fishing instead........ or use it in your lawnmower.

I accidentally put ethanol fuel in a jerry for the boat, have been using it in the lawnmower for 6 months without any hassles. May as well use it for something.

Shane

[Crocodile]

Assuming that it is a built-in tank.
Does the motor have a small filter under the cowl, check for water in there.?
Look for the petrol/water line, as the motor is running well it is unlikely to be full of water, but no line means all petrol or all water.
How much petrol is left in the tank?
When do you next plan to use the boat, if not for a couple of weeks you have time to use up the leftover petrol in the car.
Tilt the boat so that the siphon will suck all the way to the bottom of the tank.
Disconnect the fuel line to the motor and use that to siphon from the lowest point of the tank.
Siphon into an inspection container, transfer good petrol into the car.
When you start to siphon water/impurities into the inspection container keep going until the siphon runs dry.
Blow back through the siphon to check for blockages caused by sh##.
Listen for bubbles in the tank.
No blockages and no bubbles is what you want.
If there is a blockage this means that you are playing russian roulette next time you cross the bar, with possible engine stoppage, I hope that there is an inspection port in the tank.
The alternative is to trust the magic potion type remedies, which rate equally with snake-oil, oil additives, electronic rust prevention and the Murdoch press.

[oldboot]

It is quite likly that you will get away with adding ethanol (thats what metho is) to your fuel..... but you have to risk the same issues with commecial ethanol fuel........erosion of fibreglass tanks, perishing of rubber components, fuel seperation.........I would not be doing it.

On the subject of filter funnels....... the idea has been revived... there are filter funnels available with superfine filters that will stop water... so they say..... BCF stocks a full range others may also.

The problem with magic potion remidies is that for the most part people do not have the capacity to assess the effectivness.

Some of them may work effectively.......some of the diesel fuel additives are well proven at least one that I know of is a complete waste of money..........some oil additived do actualy work....some are a waste of time......electronic rust prevention can work ( a mate of mine was doing R&D on the process)...... but at least one of the systems on the market is completly ineffective.....as for the murdock press and snake oil...HHmmmmm.

When it real matters stick with the simple basics and the known conventional solution.........rather than a product or process that might work.

cheers