water in gas tank

[chuck mc]

Littoral: Thanks very much for your time and information. I was recently advised to use 100% isopropol alcohol to remove the water. I thought I might give it a try, but after reading your response, I think I will just try and filter out the water. The boat will do okay so long as I don't run it above 3/4 throttle. I think water in gasoline causes more engine problems than people realize. Thanks again

[littoral]

Chuck,
You are quite welcome...
If you do some "Google searching", you will find many discussions regarding the problem...and not just in boating. And there are lots of opinions on how to minimize damage...but nothing absolute. Up here in NY, we have the problem of what to do during the winter. Some people are advising the use of fuel stabilizers, while others are completely emptying their tanks by pumping or siphoning to avoid accumulating water during storage. Pros and cons to either choice...lots of opinions...but nothing definitive -- yet.
In any case, installing a good water separator is a good bet. The kind with a transparent bowl with a drain fitting allow you to watch for water, and drain it, without having to remove or replace the entire filter. That way, if your only problem is water accumulation, you don't have to spend a lot of money on replacement cartridges.
Ken

[gonzo]

Transparent filters with drains are only for diese fuel. They are ILLEGAL AND DANGEROUS with gas. Is your and your passenger's life worth saving $7.50 on a filter?

[tom kane]

Thanks to everyone for infomation on problems with Alcohol added to gasoline.Here in New Zealand Alcohol is not as yet added.The problems with fuel systems designed for gasoline and adding Alcohol have been studied for a long time.During WW2 in New Zealand many alternative fuels were tried,gas producers from coal mounted on autos and tractors,power kerosene (gasoline and kerosene) Alcohol and cooking oil (Peanutoil) to run twostroke outboards
.We were all very desperate for fuel.Injecting water into gasoline engines has advantages and a fuel such as Alcohol which absorbes water must make a good fuel for gasoline engines if seperation does not become a problem.