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Water in petrol?

pncarrerars

pncarrerars

New member
Every year my RS goes to bed with a full tank of fuel when the local council start chucking salty muck on the roads & comes out again when they finally stop. Normally everthing is fine but for the last two years I have found that the fuel pump has failed & had to replace it. On further investigation this year it looks like the pump has rusted up! Also the fuel level sensor in the tank appears to be very rusty as is the filler cap. Any ideas as to what is happening? I assume that it is water in the fuel but the tank was full & it is a sealed system. Getting a bit expensive now as this year cost a new pump, level gauge, filler cap & 92 litres of Shell super.

As I always fill up at the same Shell garage my guess is that there is a problem with their tank.

Pete
 
If your car is left standing, the water will separate from the petrol and find the lowest point. So, if you have a drain plug remove a sample from there and check it for a water fuel mix.

Following the debacle a couple of years ago (Tesco?) garages have their fuel specification checked regularly so contamination is unlikely.
 
In my opinion it is much better and safer to just store the car with no fuel in it.
 
Sorry, as usual thread is useless without picture.

rust.gif

This is the state of some of the rollers out of the pump & the base plate from the fuel level sensor.

Pete
 
Hi

Just for my 2 pence worth - apparently under EU legislation it is permissible for fuels sold on the garage forecourt to have up to 5% ethanol blended in with them. Unfortunately ethanol is 'hygroscopic' and therefore attracts moisture from the atmosphere if not protected by vacuum. It could be that this is contributing to the problem - not an issue whilst the car is running all the time and it remains blended in and gets replenished regularly - but once you leave it to sit for long periods the water and alcohol (ethanol) seperate and the fuel sits on top of this layer.

Hence when you start your car after a long period the water/ethanol is the first thing to be pumped through.

It has been a problem in the aviation (both light and commercial) industry for years (water in fuel) and it is common practise to drain off some fuel from the lowest point of the tank (water sediment drain checks) and therefore the water that has seperated. Water in fuel is particularly bad when you are sperated from the ground by a few thousand feet!!

I suppose you could use the resulting drained mix as a kind of 'moonshine' if prohibition ever came in!!

 
Good job i left mine with next to nothing in the tank for it's little lay up then. In the old days the theory was to fill up when leaving for a while to stop the tank from rusting. No air , no oxidation ? That doesn't take water into account mind you. And was probably a good idea on a metal tank. Nowadays with the introduction of plastic tanks i'd guess that doesn't apply anymore?
Pete, if that's what it's done to the base plate, would be interesting to see inside the fuel filter?
 
Thanks for the info about ethanol. I think that is probably why the water in the petrol has only become a problem for me in the last couple of years. Looks like it is now better to leave the car with an empty tank.
Laurence, I am going to change the fuel filter shortly. I will open it up & post a photo.
 
Rich, love the photo! Unfortunately, the common theory is that a tank full of fuel is more flammable than an empty tank but, in truth, it's the vapour that ignites not the liquid itself. A full tank is a much more stable thing, or it was when i did chemistry all those years ago. [;)]
 

ORIGINAL: sapex666

Rich, love the photo! Unfortunately, the common theory is that a tank full of fuel is more flammable than an empty tank but, in truth, it's the vapour that ignites not the liquid itself. A full tank is a much more stable thing, or it was when i did chemistry all those years ago. [;)]
Click to expand...

Unless it leaks out... [;)]
 
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