[Farmall] Water (or something) in gasoline

[Tim Savelle]

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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