Water in Gas

gpits68

gpits68

Senior Member
Hello all . has anyone ever gotten water in there gas after a big Rainstorm ? After a rainstorm (car was parked)while touring to Lancaster , Pennsylvania , a friend of mine got a large quantity of water in his gas , enough that it wouldn't start until we drained it out . Cap appears to have a good gasket .
 
Wish we'd git sum rain, here! If yo' cap gasket is good, it must have "mysteriously" gotten in from the built in vents in the cap. Probably just a freak thing that happens once in awhile! Like the Dog sez, "SH*T HAPPENS"!!---Bill W.
 
1930 coupe said:
Even with no cap on it you would only get 1 or 2 ounces of water at the most, unless you parked under a downspout of a roof and you had a large stream of water from the roof hitting directly on the tank. I would ask to look at the security videos and see if some kids pored water in it.
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I also agree, no way there could be that much water moving up the tanks neck through the vent hole to keep it from running.
 
I cant say this is was what happened here but I have seen it happen on a few moderns, a customer drove in to a station to refuel, he filled up and went on his merry way until about 300 yards the car started running badly.
We found that he had a full tank of water, he check with the gas station and they discovered the cover for the tank had been left off, this during some heavy rain.
 
Brian T said:
I cant say this is was what happened here but I have seen it happen on a few moderns, a customer drove in to a station to refuel, he filled up and went on his merry way until about 300 yards the car started running badly.
We found that he had a full tank of water, he check with the gas station and they discovered the cover for the tank had been left off, this during some heavy rain.
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ive heard of this too...
 
FWIW: "Once in a lifetime experience:

Got a full tank of gas at a small convenience store gas station about 35 years ago; next, drove a few miles where later my then modern car stopped & would not re-start; got towed to a mechanic shop where the waterlogged gas tank had to be totally drained.

Later heard that this convenience store's submerged fuel tanks, buried below grade, rusted out & sprung a leak.

Water table at this time of year was 18" below grade.

Never went back to this place for a re-fill or anything else.

Even though appearing sort of strange, either something similar to reply #8 or #9, these appear most logical -- take your pick -- unless, your friend later relates that he drove through a highway underpass during the storm with 5 feet deep water with a snorkel tube on his Model A carburetor intake.
 
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In addition to my post above, there was more to it than just draining the tank, lines and flushing injectors, the engine ran poorly and acted as if the cam belt had jumped time, we found that the ultimate water injection had cleaned off all the carbon and deposited it under the valve seats, the insurance took care of it, ---- as HL says there' s more to the story.
 
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Brian T said:
I cant say this is was what happened here but I have seen it happen on a few moderns, a customer drove in to a station to refuel, he filled up and went on his merry way until about 300 yards the car started running badly.
We found that he had a full tank of water, he check with the gas station and they discovered the cover for the tank had been left off, this during some heavy rain.
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The station is supposed to have monitoring for water in the main tanks.Here is a case where the poor woman got bad gas and taken by the dealer.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05...to-pick-up-tab-for-damage-caused-by-bad-fuel/
 
Similiar to BrianT #12, had water in gas, cleaned the tank and all the lines, did not start. Finally replaced the plugs. Carbon, steam, something loused up the plugs.
 
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gpits, I can tell you that it happened to several car's at the Lexington MARC meet, I was one. The night before the Grand tour it rained incredibly hard. I believe it was 3 or 4 inches by morning. When I went out to the parking lot to dry off my roadster, there was a gentleman who could not get his car started. He had tried swapping out a few parts with the help of a few bystanders but nothing worked. I peered under the hood and happened to look at the glass fuel bowl, and it looked like milk. He drained the fuel line and took at least a quart and a half off, then got it started. I thought, boy is that bad gas. During the tour I had not gotten half a mile down the road and my engine started to sputter. I pulled to the side of the road and it started to pour again. I got out and after a minute of trying to figure out the problem, I looked at my glass bowl, and it had the same milky look. I drained off about a quart and was on my way. A mile down the road and it sputtered again. Same problem, so I drained it again and another quart and a half later I was back on the road. Several cars that day had the same problem and got towed in. At the touring class awards line up, another car had the same problem, and after draining the"milk" out it still would not start. I checked with the gas co where I had filled up last, but they said there was no problem at the station. The only answer I could come up with was that the alcohol in the gas had been absorbing the moisture, and the heavy rains put it over the top.
 
On a very humid day with a hard rain pour some gas into an open container and let it sit PROTECTED inside your garage for an hour or so. The alcohol will pull moisture out of the air and absorb it into the gas and separate to the bottom. It will be a piss yellow color. I can't imagine these cars would get so much water through the vent in a cap. I think Ed Saniewski has the answer.
 
If the Model A could have problems with water in the gas after a rain, don't you think that this would have been widely known in the 1920's/30's ?

Surely the owners of Model A cars would have demanded that Ford fix a fundamental problem like this.

Marc
 
vermontboy said:
Why would that only affect Model "A"s and not other cars ???
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Any older car with the open vent should be affected the same way, but all modern cars have a closed vent system that only breathes through the charcoal canister, so it isn't likely to absorb the humidity.

This is also why it's good to store the Model A with a full tank over the winter. There won't be much room for the air, which will cool and suck in humidity.
 
FWIW: In my humble opinion:

For example:

1. In our area, the Building Code required rain intensity for designing roof gutters, roof downspouts, & storm water drainage is the maximum in the U. S., i.e., nine (9) inches of rain in one hour -- when it rains like this, it is about as intense as a large cow peeing on a flat rock.

2. Also, in our rural areas, we have hundreds of vintage tractors, outboard motors, outboard motor gas tanks, exposed inboard motor boat gas tanks, & push & riding lawn mowers, all with similar vented tanks parked out of doors that never encountered this rain water problem with "all" of these intense storms occurring frequently.

3. Furthermore, my Model a Coupe was parked out of doors over 28 years with no problems with this same rain intensity.

4. In my opinion, as a last resort to try to determine what is going on, what may possibly be happening sounds like a possible, typical sneaky Political Problem in only some areas ............ where local Politicians can't acquire enough votes to greatly increase your taxes ........... so they start peeing in your gas tank when you are not looking.

Hope this helps !!!!!!!!!!
 
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