water in fuel lines

PROCOBOB wrote in article ...

Assuming you are in the USA, depending upon the part of the country in which you live, a 12-gallon fill-up of locally regionalized and seasonally blended gasoline could easily include up to 1.2 gallons of ethanol/methanol (10 percent) straight from the pump.

Another quart really doesn't do anything except encourage the water to precipitate more quickly from the fuel.

Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E. Chassis Analysis Services

Try a bottle of dry gas. It's Isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol). Don't use the methanol based ones. They're already saturated with water.

Right Bob, and yet all the stores are selling "dry gas" alcohol in tiny containers because people don't understand this. The shelves are full of useless crap. W.C. Fields would be proud of modern marketers.

Methanol is more corrosive, but it is not saturated with anything but alcohol. Where on earth did you get that notion? I guess that's why they get people to pay $4 per gallon for something they already have in their tanks at $1.50 a gallon.

Let me rephrase that. Isopropyl alcohol can absord 5 times as much water as methyl alcohol. Here's why:The molecular composition of isopropynol, made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, is set up in such a way that one end bonds with the carbon and hydrogen in gasoline, and the other end bonds with the hydrogen and oxygen in water. You end up with one long chain. . .the gasoline on one end, the water on the other, and the alcohol in the middle holding them together. The methanol doesn't bond with the water, but it reduces its surface tension so it stays suspended in the gasoline, kind of like little globs of oil in vinegar after you shake up salad dressing. Added to that, the cheaper methyl alcohol base dry gas is only about 70% methyl alcohol. The rest is water.

All methyl alcohol really does is seperate the water from the gas and since the alcohol/water mixture is heavier than gasoline, it settles at the bottom of the tank. Granted, by using methyl you won't have to worry about water entering your fuel lines since it's sitting at the bottom of the tank, but you also never really remove most of the moisture in your fuel system which is what isopropyl will do.

It you want it done right, use iso. At $.97 a bottle, it's cheap insurance

Plus... methyl alcohol is extremly toxic. It causes nerve deterioration with prolonged use and blindness if splased in the eyes. It's best to avoid all products that contain methyl alcohol.

MaxAluminum wrote in article ...

It all goes back to listening to Grampa's recommendations on car care/maintenance. "Make sure you use plenty of dry gas son, so your fuel lines don't freeze."

In the days of the Model A, it was common to carry a chamois in the car through which the fuel would be filtered in an attempt to remove water.

I wonder how many people would be doing that today if Grampa suggested it?

Yet, as you stated, they are pretty much lemmings when it comes to the use "dry gas" with today's technically superior fuels.

And, with the total amount of aluminum components in modern EFI systems, excessive amounts of methyl alcohol, or methanol, can actually eat away the aluminum.

Racers who use methanol set their fuel systems up so they can shut off fuel to run the fuel system dry and shut the engine down, so that no methanol is left in the system to drip on the pistons and etch them away.

Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E. Chassis Analysis Services

But Rob, you said the methanol is "saturated with water" and that is untrue. My state allows 10% ethanol so adding two cups of iso at $4 a gallon is throwing money away.

Can you rely on ethanol being added? In my area, the EPA in it's typical wisdom, requires MTBE during the cold months. It mixes well with water. Is MBTE an anti-freeze like alchohol?

Chas Hurst

Just a quick question for ya Rob. Where is the typical pickup for fuel located in the tank? I don't think it is at the TOP!!! Good luck .

I have used isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) for years and swear by it. I've seen cars of friends of mine stumble and act up. Adding just one

Now, there is a slight chance these vehicles would have cleared up on their own, but the "clearing up" came too close to the addition of the alcohol.

I use it and have no problems ... but you might say that I'd have no problems even if I wasn't using it. maybe, but friends and aquaintences with cars which don't start in the winter seem to benefit when I recommend they start using iso drygas ... especially in the winter.

I wouldn't use methanol if it was free.

--- Bror Jace