Fuel additive question

Maximus

Maximus

Member
Jul 28, 2014
34
Ontario
Boat Info
1998 400 sedan bridge
Engines
3116's
In a past post the question was asked about fuel additives and filling the tanks to keep moisture from collecting in the tanks and causing all sorts of problems. I asked what the sediment bowls were for on the racors. I was under the impression that any water in the fuel was separated there and could be spotted and drained. Am I missing something?
 
The problem in not the water itself, it is the saturation of the gas with water and subsequent phase separation in ethanol based fuel.
 
Gas and water won't mix. And we have ethanol free gas. But I have diesels so my question remains.
 
Maximus said:
In a past post the question was asked about fuel additives and filling the tanks to keep moisture from collecting in the tanks and causing all sorts of problems. I asked what the sediment bowls were for on the racors. I was under the impression that any water in the fuel was separated there and could be spotted and drained. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

No, you are right, clear bowls are there to hold and allow you to see crud and water in the fuel that has been separated out. Some bowls have sensors that will trigger a water in fuel light. This whole water separator thing is to help prevent water from entering your final stage of filtering and getting into your pump and injectors and causing premature wear and rusting of fuel system components etc.

But I also check for water in the bowls to know if we have a water problem in our tanks and then we can deal with it. The other thread deals with how water can get in the tanks (condensation) and dosing the fuel for long term storage. The microbes grow in the moisture laden air space above the fuel level and at the fuel/water interface in the bottom of the tank.

So assuming that the fuel pick up is a few inches off the tank bottom, I assume that if I were to see water in my fuel bowl, I would have a lot of water in my tank, so draining it off at the racor might be like taking a few eye droppers of water out of a bucket. The key is to keep water out, and as was stated in that post, filling the tanks up (and keeping them fueled up during the season as well, helps. Hope that helps a bit.
 
That does make sense,I guess I have been lucky for a long time and have never had a problem. Thanks for the response.
 
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