Carver 3607: water in fuel tank

[rjcress]

I wasn't paying attention and left the cap off of the starboard gas tank last weekend. A storm came through and the run off from the bow (the only part sticking out from under the covered dock) went down the side decks and a bit funneled down into the gas tank. I would guess it was less than a 1 gallon, but am not positive, as I had forgotten that the cap was off until my daughter screamed that there was water flowing in to the tank a minute or two after the rain started.

The tank has about 65 gallons of gas in it.

I was thinking of pumping the gas from the starboard tank, through a water separator, and into the port tank, then pumping it back to the starboard tank.
I am due to change the fuel filler hose that goes from the deck to the gas tank. So, I figure that I can use the tank filler hole to visually inspect the tank after pumping it out to be sure it is empty.

Thoughts on how to deal with this?

 

[imspacemancraig]

You could try adding Sta-bil or Seafoam into the tank. Both will "neutralize" the water of sorts, at least makes the water pass through and burn off. I think the way it works, there is a bit of ethanol in them that break the water down and allows it to be burned off through the engine. But, if a lot of water got in, then you would need to pump it out and start over.

 

[Carvervirgin]

Unless you haul the boat and have it perfectly still, it would be hard to siphon off the bottom layer of water. Draining the entire tank bone dry will be the only answer. Since it is hard to determine how much water actually got in there your best bet maybe to buy extra fuel filters and run the boat. I had a similar issue and I was able to work through it with time and several filter changes.

 

[rjcress]

Well.
I had the issue the day before leaving for Boy Scout camp with my son.
Was "off the grid" for a week and literally FORGOT about this issue!
Was talking to my father about his boat, and how he had degraded performance recently until he changed the fuel filter and THAT is when it hit me that I had flat out FORGOT about the water in my tank.

Based on the prior 2 posts, I think I'll start with fuel additives and filters, and see how that goes.

Might also try to siphon from just the lowest point in the tank (pretty much directly below the filler) to see if I can get some of the water out in bulk.

 

[Carvervirgin]

Good Luck and let us know the outcome!

 

[Billylll]

Forget additives they won't do anything for you.
Drain the entire tank which might include removing the fuel sensor plate to get to the bottom of the tank. Nothing short of that will fix this problem.
To believe otherwise could be fatal for the motor.
You are dealing with explosive gasoline/ Ethanol be extremely careful.
Bill

 

[sabrejocky]

Get a fuel service to pull the fuel out of the tank. Sometimes they run it through filters to get the water out but if that does not work, get rid of the fuel. Like Billy said if you try anything with additives and running it through your engine it can cost you fuel pumps, carbs/injectors and probably the engine it self.
Take the loss on the fuel, cheaper than replacing the engine! Live and learn.

 

[pdecat]

I don't remember how this works but water may cause the ethanol to separate from the gas. You don't want to run on very low octane gas so removing the gas is probably the nest answer then keep checking filters for any residual gas.

 

[rjcress]

Well. I didn't see any replies after my last post, as I was off to the lake and largely off the grid again. Something about packing WAY too many people on the delicate internet system at the lake brings it down most holiday weekends. That whole area isn't set up to handle such an influx of tech a couple of times a year.

Anyhow... I stumbled across this picture which inspired me:

I made something similar, but the bulb on the pump that I had turned out to be to weak for the vertical lift required. So I used my hand-pumped oil change pump and sucked out about 3 gallons from the lowest spot in the tank (just below the fuel siphon, which was easy to access and remove). About 1.5 gal was either pure water, another 1/2 gallon or so was too contaminated to put back in the tank.

The whole process took about an hour, much of which was consumed by dealing with the stuff after it was sucked from the tank.

Added about a 1/2 gallon of seafoam after the water was sucked out, just in case.

Later in the weekend I ran the engine that is fed by that tank a few times for a total of about an hour and a half and had zero issues.

Used this $4 tube from harborfreight

with a $5 bulb pump (which wasn't worth $5)

to get to the tank through an access hatch beside the stairs

and into the tank via removing the fuel siphon

Which didn't work, so I inserted the oil change vacuum pump to draw out the water

 

[rjcress]

Originally posted by rjcress

Well. I didn't see any replies after my last post, as I was off to the lake and largely off the grid again. Something about packing WAY too many people on the delicate internet system at the lake brings it down most holiday weekends. That whole area isn't set up to handle such an influx of tech a couple of times a year.

Anyhow... I stumbled across this picture which inspired me:
http://s126.photobucket.com/user/rtkenny/media/menemsha/fuel pickup/pump.jpg.html

I made something similar, but the bulb on the pump that I had turned out to be to weak for the vertical lift required. So I used my hand-pumped oil change pump and sucked out about 3 gallons from the lowest spot in the tank (just below the fuel siphon, which was easy to access and remove). About 1.5 gal was either pure water, another 1/2 gallon or so was too contaminated to put back in the tank.

The whole process took about an hour, much of which was consumed by dealing with the stuff after it was sucked from the tank.

Added about a 1/2 gallon of seafoam after the water was sucked out, just in case.

Later in the weekend I ran the engine that is fed by that tank a few times for a total of about an hour and a half and had zero issues.

Can't figure out how to post images, so I'll post links to the pictures below in case it helps anyone else that has gets water in their tank.

Used this $4 tube from harborfreight
http://gear-report.com/images/carver3607/water_in_boat_gas_tank_1_431x768.jpg

with a $5 bulb pump (which wasn't worth $5)
http://gear-report.com/images/carver3607/water_in_boat_gas_tank_5_1024x768.jpg

to get to the tank through an access hatch beside the stairs
http://gear-report.com/images/carver3607/water_in_boat_gas_tank_8_1024x768.jpg

and into the tank via removing the fuel siphon
http://gear-report.com/images/carver3607/water_in_boat_gas_tank_7_1024x768.jpg

http://gear-report.com/images/carver3607/water_in_boat_gas_tank_6_1024x768.jpg

Which didn't work, so I inserted the oil change vacuum pump to draw out the water
http://gear-report.com/images/carver3607/water_in_boat_gas_tank_3_1024x768.jpg

 

[bleger1]

Been there done that with my 32 Carver aft when I discovered there was no O-ring on the cap. Drain it bone dry or there abouts. Your alternative is to dump the fuel water seps at every outing to insure you have a good day.