How can you tell if you have water in your gas tank, and what do you do about it?

You need to take a sample out of the tank and see if the water phase seperates out of the gasoline. To remove moisture from the tank, the isoprophyl alcohol in SeaFoam will absorb moisture from the tank so it can be carried into the engine and be vaporized. Tester

A small amount of water in the gas tank is common, especially if your gas tank is usually half full or less. This is due to condensation, and is really nothing to worry about. If you have LOTS of water is your tank, you will know it because your engine will buck, stall, and otherwise not run corre…

McP, a couple of points. There is never any “condensation” in modern gas tanks. They are sealed and pressurized. All venting is out-gassing through the carbon canister…Todays fuel contains 10% ethanol…If ANY appreciable amount of water contaminates the fuel, the whole mess separates, “phase separati…

“Water in the gas” is a common scapegoat excuse when someone has no clue what the actual problem is though. Details on the car and symptoms might help.

I agree, although I was not aware of the lack of condensation in modern fuel tanks. Thanks for the info. I never doubt what you say, Caddyman. The ethanol which we cannot escape renders water in the gas tank almost a moot point. I was just trying to make the OP feel more comfortable, and I hoped…

As usual, I agree with OK4450. In my experience, a bad mechanic will frequently fall back on the old “water in the gas” excuse if he doesn’t really know what the problem is. And, all too often, friends and co-workers will automatically list that as one source of a car problem–no matter how irrele…

I agree that water in the gas tank is just an excuse for not being able to diagnose real causes (except perhaps in New Orleans cars), but I did want to comment on the question of condensation. Condensation comes in with the outside air as the gas gets lower and the tank breaths in. The charcoal bed …

Since most gas contains ethanol, how come it doesn’t scavenge the water like a bottle of dri-gas does?

Water in the gas tank

Maintenance/Repairs

oldschool July 12, 2008, 2:02am 3

In the extreme, remove the gas from the tank,pour it into another tank that has a drain on the lowest point open the drain and let it flow into a clear container (small diameter say 8 inches high) and see if this sample shows a gas water mixture. What to do with it,seperate the gas water mixture and put the gas back in the tank.(keep draining till only gas comes out)

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Water in the gas tank

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