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Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
Re: Fuel Issues
Posted By: Peter In Response To: Re: Fuel Issues (Walter Kaprielian)
Date: Thursday, 29 June 2006, at 6:02 p.m.
When water gets into ethaol modified fuel it stays in solution until it reaches a certain concentration, and then all the water comes out of solution at once, taking most or all of the ethanol with it. The gas that remains behind is inferior and lower octaine because it hasn't any ethanol left in it.
If you are getting water in your filters now, this phase separation has occured. Add some dry gas and thereby raise the alchohol content of the fuel, and see if the water goes back into solution. If it doesn't you need to drain the tank and get rid of all the old gas.
For general purposes only bunker as much gas as you will be using in a couple of days, and run the tanks as dry as you dare before refueling. This assures that the water content of the gas in your tank doesn't gradually build up over time. Also that when you do put in new gas that there is a high ethanol to water ratio of the overall load keeping the water from separating out.
Keep in mind, though, that the water may be getting into your fuel from other sources along the way; like from leaking fill covers at your local marina's large storage tanks, or in the trucks that bring the fuel to them, and you have no way of knowing how wet the fuel is when you buy it. It might be just fine, or it might be one cold morning away from phase separation and a pile of headaches.
BTW check out the new spam free board:http://Bertram31.com/newbb/index.php
Peter
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