[Farmall] Water (or something) in gasoline

Mon Aug 15 05:50:33 PDT 2011

Tim, I'm not absolutely sure whether the water remover is safe.  I use the Sta-bil ethanol in my truck which doesn't get driven much anymore and it seems to work as designed.  Sea Foam & Sta-bil have been used in my 1941 JD LA and 1966 International Cub for years with no bad effects.

When we started having problems, we talked to several business specializing in boat engine and small engine repair; they fingered ethanol as the culprit.  Evidently the ethanol (alcohol) causes problems with carburetor clogs and deteriorates hoses & gaskets on the older engines.

Being somewhat reluctant to buy into each trend/fix that comes along, I am skeptical of the additive claims.  I do know that since going to ethanol free gas for my old tractors and small engines, there have been no more problems.

If you have trouble finding gas w/o ethanol, try finding "marine" fuel; it should be ethanol free.  Boaters or boat places may have info.

Harvey Fry 

On Aug 14, 2011, at 6:38 PM, Tim Savelle wrote:

> Thanks for the link to ethanol-free gas stations, Harvey.  There aren't any
> towns near me who sell it, but I occasionally travel to some of the towns
> listed.  I'll take gas cans next time I go and get some.
> 
> The cloudy clogs sound familiar.  That's exactly what I appear to be
> experiencing.
> 
> Are the fuel additives for absorbing water safe for these old tractor
> engines?  Today I bought some Sta-bil Ethanol formula, and also some
> Valvoline Water Remover, but thought I would ask before mixing it with my
> gas.
> 
> Tim
> 
> 
> 
> On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 10:46 AM, Harvey Fry <bald at tds.net> wrote:
> 
>> Tim, several of us have had problems such as you describe in our old
>> tractors and in our small equipment engines.  We figure that we've been
>> dealing with ethanol problems.   Our solution, and it has worked so far, is
>> to use gas without ethanol in it.  Some places here in Georgia sell it and
>> sometimes we have to get marine fuel.  You can find places that sell ethanol
>> free gas by going to http://pure-gas.org/  .
>> 
>> There are also some additives for use with ethanol gas.  Not sure how well
>> they work.  Stabil & Star Tron both make additives for ethanol gas.  The
>> problems we had were milky/cloudy clumps that clogged up filters and carbs
>> after fuel sat for a while in the tanks.  Have read several theories that
>> indicate ethanol attracts water and after sitting a while (?) the ethanol
>> begins to separate from the gas & forms those cloudy clogs.
>> 
>> Anyway, we have resolved out problems by using ethanol free gas and
>> treating it with stabil like we used to do.
>> 
>> Good luck, H. Fry
>> 
>> 
>> On Aug 14, 2011, at 10:01 AM, Tim Savelle wrote:
>> 
>>> The tractor has to stay outside because I don't have a shed large enough
>> for
>>> it, but I do keep a custom-fitted cover over it.  I purchase most of my
>> gas
>>> from a local Texaco/Chevron convenience store.  I also purchase some from
>> a
>>> Shell station, again a local convenience store.  All of this gas contains
>>> 10% ethanol.
>>> 
>>> I have tried draining off the bottom of the tank.  It works for a few
>>> minutes, and then water again shows up on the bottom of the bowl.  Once,
>> I
>>> disconnected the fuel line at the carburetor, put a hose on it, opened
>> the
>>> pitcock, and drained the gas into a bucket.  I wanted to see what the gas
>>> looked like flowing into the bowl.  I was cloudy at first, then cleared
>> up,
>>> but then I watched it for a few minutes.  It would run clear, and then a
>>> "puff" of cloudy liquid would appear, and then clear again.  If I turned
>> off
>>> the pitcock and let it sit, the water layer would reappear at the bottom
>> of
>>> the bowl.  This is after I had drained out a couple of gallons of gas,
>> and
>>> it continued until the gas tank was empty.  Twice I've had to completely
>>> drain the tank, and push a towel into the tank to soak up the remaining
>>> water in the depression at the bottom of the tank where the fuel
>> valve/bowl
>>> assembly attached.  This is a replacement gas tank that I got and had
>>> painted by an auto body shop.  There aren't any cracks in the top where
>>> water could get in.  I ordered and use one of the tall vented gas caps to
>>> replace the original for safety reasons.
>>> 
>>> Nobody is adding water to the tank.
>>> 
>>> Could the gas I purchase have water in it like this?  Could throwing
>> Stabil
>>> into the gas/ethanol mix cause problems like this?
>>> 
>>> This has gotten to be such a pain that when I run the tractor weekly, I
>> put
>>> just a little gas in the tank, drive it around enough to get it hot, and
>>> then drain the tank and fuel line.  I'm at a loss to know what's causing
>>> this and what to do about it.
>>> 
>>> Thanks for the reply, Barney.  Any additional thoughts or questions?
>>> Anyone?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 8:49 AM, Barney Van De Weert <bbvande at yahoo.com
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Do you keep the tractor inside or outside? Where do you buy your gas?
>> That
>>>> is a lot of water to be showing up from condensation or even if your
>> tractor
>>>> sits outside. Ethanol draws moisture but also absorbs it so it should
>> help
>>>> your problem not compound it. You should be able to let the tractor sit
>> and
>>>> drain the bottom of the tank off- you shouldn't have to dispose of your
>> gas.
>>>> Water and Gas do not mix and will separate when left alone for a while.
>>>> 
>>>> Also is there any way someone could be adding water to it when you are
>> not
>>>> around? Kids Grandkids etc?
>>>> 
>>>> Barney Van De Weert
>>>> 
>>>> From: Tim Savelle <tim.savelle at gmail.com>
>>>> To: Farmall/IHC mailing list <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>>> Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2011 9:45 PM
>>>> Subject: [Farmall] Water (or something) in gasoline
>>>> 
>>>> I've got a 1949 H.  I'm having a perpetual problem with what appears to
>> be
>>>> water in my gas.  I've tried keeping the gas tank full at all times, and
>>>> also tried Stabil.  Nothing seems to help.  After about 3 or 4 weeks
>>>> following a fresh tank of gas I notice a water layer collecting at the
>>>> bottom of the fuel bowl after I start it.  Twice I've had to drain the
>>>> entire gas tank and dispose of the gas.  Here in my part of Georgia all
>> the
>>>> gasoline is 10% ethanol.  Could this be an ethanol-related issue?  I
>> can't
>>>> imagine that much condensation inside the tank when I keep the gas tank
>>>> full
>>>> to the top.  It just seems like the gasoline "goes bad".  Is that
>> possible?
>>>> Anyone got any insight or suggestions?  Thanks, Tim
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