water in the gas

Hey, can anyone tell me whats the ratio between, wood alcohol & parts per gallon of gas? I just used a brand new gas tank, new gas & oil, and discovered there is still water in the engine. Saw where it was mentioned about "wood alcohol".. I have a 6 gallon tank...Thanks

 

Your fuel probably already has alcohol. The alcohol mixes with water and separates from the gas depositing in the bottom of the tank. If you have a two stroke, it will damage the engine because the oil stays dissolved in the gas and there will be no lubrication. The best way to take out the water is to pump it out.

 

You mean the water settles to the bottom, and to use like a siphon pump or something in the bottom of the tank ?

 

A site which lists gas stations in the US and Canada with ethanol-free gas
http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=FL

 

Yes, pumping the crud off the bottom is the best way to do it. It is often possible to run a small hose through the fill.

 

My tank is just but a 6 gal plastic tank. Is very dumpable, however, gas isnt our friend right now. Will wait until prices drop again....Thanks Gonzo...

 

The ethanol blend is typically up to 10 percent ethanol, the water content should be very small. The problem is the ethanol is hyrophilic and when it sits around in the tank or storage cans, it will settle out in a little as 11 days. When that happens it can attract moisture from the air, or from condensation from normal daily temperature cycling. So there is no "percentage" of moisture, but it collects it when it sits in storage.

That crappy federal gas will ruin small carburetors if left to sit inside them. It ruined the carb with corrosion in both my lawn mower and generator (used only seasonally). I am tired of rebuilding the carbs, I converted my generator to run on propane (which I have delivered to our house for heating anyway, at only $1.80/gallon). For the lawn mower and garden equipment I might consider a conversion for those as well, but my intrim solution is to buy gas at the ethanol free gas stations from the pure-gass web site, and add "Stabil" fuel stabilizer to it.

There is a company in Texas that is selling pure gasoline in sealed cans for emergency storage with a shelf life of 10 years, but it retails for $7 a quart.

For now, the best thing to do is just to drain the tank and carb when you are done using it. A hassle, but it is only way to prevent damage from the ethanol in the fuel. Or switch to an alternative fuel like propane.