MTFCA Forum

With ethanol fuel being about the only thing you can get at the fuel pump, has anyone installed a water separator in the fuel line? If so, what time do you recommend?

Isn’t the potato at the outlet/bottom of most Model T gas tanks a water collection point?
I open the petcock at the bottom occasionally and drain a bit into a small glass jar and check for water.

Jim
I am afraid that I can not directly answer your question. My approach:
1. Avoid ethanol if possible, some brands of premium perhaps where you live
2. Turn off the gas and run the carb dry. With the ignition on mag I just speed up the throttle until it quits
3. Drain the gas tank if you are not going to use it for a couple of months.
Hope this helps

Les: If you (and others) just follow your directions avoiding ethanol becomes moot. There's no need to go nuts with searching for "Old Style" fuel. To answer the water seperator question; it's been answered. The bulb is for catching H2O amongst other foreigners. Did a few years in a mower repair shop and though we did sell stabil and other junk of that type I can state without a doubt that it's garbage. Nothing preserves fuel. I've taken courses from Stihl, Husqavarna, Toro, Wright and a few others I've forgotten over time and every one without exception panned this junk as snake oil. Which it is. If it ran when you drained it it'll run when you re-fill it.

Jim- your profile stated that you drive a 1927 Canadian Tudor. If the fuel shut-off on the cowl is a factory unit, then you already have a bowl/separator. Just drain it regularly. If you drive often and use a tank full every month or two, or more often, you probably won't have a problem. If gas stays in the tank for several months, then you are asking for problems. Either drive it or drain it.

Run down to the Tahoma gas station on 70th east of the high school - they have "clear" !

IF you end up with a “bunged” up carb because it sat with gas TOOOO long I have a solution that has saved me numerous carb jobs.
SEAFOAM fuel treatment!!
Put a “appropriate “ amount in with some fresh gas into a drained tank. With a bit of luck you can get it to flow into the carb and get the engine to fire up. Now shut the engine off and turn off the gas. Next day turn on the gas and hopefully fire it up again and run a couple of minutes if it’s still miss-behaving. Shut the engine off and turn off the fuel AFTER it stops. Wait another day and repeat. By the 3rd or 4th day the fuel system is behaving properly for me!!

I REALLY don't understand this obsession with ethanol fuel attracting water. I have no doubt that this new fuel doesn't last very long and it may indeed be caused by the ethanol in it, but I don't believe the problem is moisture. In Chemistry class, they teach you that alcohol and water are 100% soluble in each other. That means they readily mix up until the point of saturation. It doesn't mean a gallon of ethanol in your gas tank is gonna suck a gallon of water in through the vent hole. 10 gallons of E-10 COULD absorb 1 gallon of water before the water comes out of suspension and separates. That water has to come from the air that is in the tank. It takes A LOT of REALLY moist air to contain 1 gallon of water! It has to come through that vent hole with the air and condense in order to mix with the ethanol. OR, in the case of non-ethanol gas, condense and sink to the bottom to be caught in your sediment bowl. The amount of water is the same. When did you last drain a gallon of water from your sediment bowl with non-ethanol fuel? NEVER. There's just not THAT much water available from that amount of air. Talk to a pilot. They drain fuel from their tanks and carburetor before each flight and look at it. When there is water present, it ain't much. The most I ever saw was on a J-3 cub that was parked outdoors and rain could easily run down the wire of the "gas gauge" into the tank. It was maybe 1 ounce.

A water separator is only going to remove free water that is separated from your fuel. It will not remove water than is entrained in the ethanol. People in cold climates add HEET to their gas tanks in Winter time to absorb water so it doesn't freeze in their fuel lines. HEET is ETHANOL.

I personally like to see the fuel, so all my vehicle's have a glass bowl water separator/fuel filter. I know the under tank bowl does a good job and the addition is not needed but I like it.


Bottom left of picture.

Contrary to popular opinion I run regular gas in everything. The trick is to run everything frequently. The newer gas does a better job of eating rubber etc than the previous fuel so I do replace the fuel lines with metal or newer rubber depending on the application. On many boats down here I deal with larger fuel tanks 100+ gallon tanks are common. I install water separators on everything and they collect a significant amount of water. By water separator I am referring to at least a oil filter sized canister designed to collect water. Operating this way I have little to no problems.

Chad

I was a disbeliever for years and never had a problem, until I had a problem. A family emergency, long vacation, or other lengthy project will someday push you past the "drive frequently" mark. Let us know how your trouble manifests itself, when it does...

When I say drive frequently I don't mean choose to drive the car frequently I mean use the car as the primary transportation. The fuel I run thru the car is comparable to the fuel you run thru the car you drive daily whatever it is.

Chad

if it's a daily driver then I agree with you that there will be absolutely no problem

Yes, the "potato" portion of the sediment bowl acts as a water separator. The only difference between it and a glass bowl is that you wouldn't bother to drain it off unless you could see water in it. NOTE: You will get water condensation in your gas tank regardless of what type of gas, ethanol or not, that you use because it is a vented tank and when you take the cap off to put gas in you also allow outside air in. The alcohol in the gas actually absorbs the water until it gets saturated or eventually evaporates. A good practice would be to drain a little gas out, as little as 25 cents worth, of the tank in a glass jar every now and let it settle. Then inspect it for water or dirt. If its clean you can pour it back in the tank.