water in fuel
 

what are some of the symptoms I might have if I have water in my fuel tank. What about putting an additive in the tank that suppsedly removes the water?

As the droplets of water go through the carb or injector... the engine momentarily loses power... almost like you cut off the ignition... then after the water passes... runs fine again... on a carbureted engine it will start to rot the fuel bowl if left in there for a long time... on injected engines it plays havoc with the needle and seat of the injector. Water starts to rust them and then they can't meter the fuel properly or spray properly.If you go to a paint store and buy 100% denatured alcohol.... pour it into the gas tank and the alcohol will absorb the water and pass it harmlessly through the fuel system. One quart will treat about 100 gallons. Or you can go to an auto parts store and buy some fuel system antifreeze and add that. Does the same thing.

Drain the water separator and chase it with 4 oz straight alcohol and slosh it around and dump it too. Then refill it with good gas and put it back on.

Fire it and run it a few minutes. Do it again.

If you use much alcohol, get it run on thru it soon (all the way to empty) and then refill with fresh gas and run it some more to chase the alcohol out of the fuel lines. Alky is hard on rubber - makes it brittle.

Boy, have I been down this road.

Some boats will idle fine with water in the separator,
(enough fuel makes it over the water, since the fuel sits on top of the water) but then die when you raise the bow before getting up on plane. (water cuts off fuel when the angle of the filter tips back) Plus, if the bubble is big enough, it rolls back to the back of the tank (where the pickup probably is)

If you dump your separator into a clear jar, you'll know right away. Since your water bubble (if any) will be laying at the bottom of the jar.

The former owner of one of my boats took a bad load of gas once. He tried the alcohol trick. I ended up with a big water bubble after a while.
I'm not convinced that alcohol is your friend in this situation. Since the fuel pickup is at the bottom of the tank, and so is your bubble, running the boat should bring most of it up sooner or later. In my case I went through a couple filters, and then it was over. (and I didn't have to force a water/alcohol/fuel mixture through my carb)

What the gas treatment (alcohol) bottles don't tell you is that the reaction of the alcohol "dispersing" the water
is temporary. It will settle back down in your tank.
Then you have a water bubble and alcohol.
(and corroding jets in your carb)

It should make sense that from a chemical standpoint, even if pouring something new into a solution changes it, it doesn't "remove" anything.
The molecules are all still there, they just temporarily find new "dance partners."

Maybe in warmer, drier climates than mine you can get away with the alcohol. We have too much condensation around here, it's a losing battle.