STUPID STUPID STUPID

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Well the hits just keep on coming for me. <br /><br />Realized late yesterday that the filler cap on my gas tank was hanging by the chain. Neck was wide open. It rained once or twice. About 60-70 gallons of gas in the tank. Must have not tightened it down when I filled the tank last week. Boat ran fine since the last rain when I pulled it out of the water Thursday (yesterday) so it does not seem whatever water may have made it in the tank ever got to the engine. I have a fuel/water separator inline.<br /><br />Can I add a pint ot two of 91% alcohol to the tank to absorb the water in there? Or should I put dry gas in it? <br /><br />Thanks! I think what I might do is keep the boat up on blocks, and just sit on it and drink beer and pretend I'm fishing. Cheaper and less aggrivating.

 

[ebsworj]

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I say drink beer and pretend your fishing

 

[dajohnson53]

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That's what you have the water separating filter for.<br /><br />What's the diameter of your fill opening? How many inches of rain fell? That will tell you how much water got in your tank. I'll bet it's not too much for your filter to handle, maybe change it. A lot easier than dealing with gas, and won't interrupt your beer-drinkin' boat-sittin (I thought I was the only one who liked to sit in the boat in the driveway and drink beer).

 

[ZmOz]

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Originally posted by Stiff Nibbles:<br /> I think what I might do is keep the boat up on blocks, and just sit on it and drink beer and pretend I'm fishing.

Works for me.

 

[WillyBWright]

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Agreed! Spin it off every once in awhile and dump it out. Then spin it back on. Don't wait until the motor starts running bad. The more you run your boat, the quicker you'll get it out. And the richer the Saudi royal family will get. (I wonder if they adopt? )<br /><br />Toward the end of the year, I'd add alcohol. You want to burn that gas up before storing. But at first, you'll get more water out if you don't add alcohol. That'll keep the water and gas separate. Alcohol allows them to mix.

 

[rodbolt]

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leave the snake iol out. if your concerned about water in the tank remove the fuel sender. jack the tonge of the trailer as high as you can and use a suction pump rated for gas and a hose on a coat hanger wire suck along the back,bottom edge of the tank. this will remove as much water as possible while leaving as much gas in the tank. if you add dry gas or other snaake oil it has a tendancy to emulsify and do nasty things. usually the emulsion can pass the seperator but not the carb. remember all things equal water will seek the lowest point in the tank.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

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Thanks for the advice everyone. <br /><br />Filler neck is 1" I'm guessing. Didn't rain too much, maybe an inch total.<br /><br />Glad we're all not alone in the sport of driveway boating. <br /><br />Later,

 

[Mark42]

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I second rodbolts suggestion. Its best to remove as much as possable rather than try to pass it through the system. You can probably just siphon it off - but you should use clear hose if your gonna use your mouth to get it started so you can see it coming! A primer bulb might also work to get it going.

 

[Mahoney]

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Set aside a Saturday or Sunday and plan on removing the tank if possible to drain all gas and rinse with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol. This was the best decision I made when dealing with the same problem. It will also give you a great opportunity to check vent hoses, feed hoses, senders and the like for problems as well.<br /><br />Sounds like you got a pretty large size boat, mine had an underfloor 50 gallon tank, and was done pretty easily.

 

[crazy charlie]

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I dont think you could have gotten enough in there to be overly concerned.I would add some MDR water absorber and change the fuel water sep.I would not add dry gas.Dry gas and boats dont go well.I use to use something called X2 from the auto parts store that worked really well.MDR is about the best product you can get at a marine store.Charlie

 

[lakelivin]

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Seems like a good place to ask:<br /><br />As I replaced my spin on gas/ water seperating filter the other day, I wondered whether one could just dump out the contents (which you have to do anyways) and reuse the filter instead of putting on a new one. I only had maybe 40 hours on the boat at the time I replaced it and couldn't tell how much water vs. gas it contained when I dumped it out (if any). <br /><br />I relaced with a new one since I already had it, but for future consideration, any reason these couldn't be emptied & reused? And if so, is there a limit to the number of times you might want to do so before replacing with a new one?<br /><br />'89 4.3L OMC

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

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The boat has a full fiberglass deck liner and removing the tank is completely out of the question. <br /><br />The sender is however easily accessable through an access hatch, I'm going to put it nose up on the trailer (when it's back on the trailer), let the water settle to the back, then use the hose and coat hanger trick to pull whatever is on the bottom corner of the tank out. Seems like the best solution. <br /><br />Thanks everyone.

 

[Realgun]

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STUPID STUPID STUPID

What! <br /><br />You probaly got a pint of water is all in the tank my best guess. I would add some fuel dyryer and run it half way and refill the tank.

 

[prockvoan]

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When you go to put it up,shake the hell out of the boat.The batfuls in the tank will block some of the water.I myself don't think you have too much water in the tank.<br />Fuel filters,once they absorb water,its' not going to dry out.Why would you reuse a oil filter when changing out the oil in a car?Same thing,spend the $5.00 or $2000 for a new power head,$1200 if you do it yourself!

 

[cc lancer]

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I would rather put on 20 filters than pull one gas tank, it is a pain in the butt to do.<br /><br />If the fill is on a 90 degree top edge of a gunnel you might have got a lot of water. If it is on a flat surface you got very little.<br /><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>><><><br />Lake Living: About 5 years ago I spent hours trying to find why a boat was running rough. I knew it was sucking air somewhere in the fuel system.<br />Then I saw scratch marks on the W/S filter, had to get a filter wrench to get it off. The gasket was deformed. Put on a new filter, and in less than a minute it cleared up. The owner told me that "I just take it off, turn it up side down, and let it set in the sun to dry out, then put it back on."

 

[jeff_nicholas]

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I might try something like this if I was really worried:<br /><br />~~~Testmaster™ paste detects and locates water in fuel oil and gasoline tanks. Shows exact volume present by turning fluorescent yellow-green on the dip stick. Does not separate or turn color in jar. If water is present, use Aquasorb™. Specified by U.S. Armed Forces for use in jet aviation fuels.~~~<br /><br />from this website --<br /> http://www.rectorseal.com/htn.htm <br /><br />But I towed my rig 800 miles in the rain with the gas cap off and never had visable water show up in the clear bowl of the water separator.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

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The filler is on a 45 degree angle on the back of the boat. Not vertical and not horizontal. I think maybe I overreacted with the rest of the boat stress lately. <br /><br />OK well I'll keep checking the bowl on my water separator, and wish me luck because I repaint the bottom tomorrow!<br /><br />Thanks!

 

[lakelivin]

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Thanks for the info. Question was based on ignorance on my part about how they work . Got confused by people talking about the 'clear bowl' fuel seperator type; was envisioning some type of one way barrier (like they advertise for Pampers, say, lol) where the water gets seperated into a different chamber where you might just dump it out. Obviously not, will continue to use a new one each season.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

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I have the one with the clear bowl. It has a drain plug at the bottom that you can use to periodically drain the filter into a can to check for water or to remove any water you see. Still need to replace the filter once per season to keep it's filtering ability peaked.