[Farmall] Water (or something) in gasoline

[Tim Savelle]

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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