more water then fuel!

[chucky112233]

Hello all. Just wanted some opinions on this issue. 1980 sea ray 245 da with a mercruiser 260 single engine. Runs good ,starts good.Tried to get it up on plane,sputtered and died. Fuel to carb,fuel in float bowl,spark, everything there would not fire. Reassemble the carb top and it fired up and ran good for the rest of the year. Last cruise of this year did it again. I checked and found the fuel filter/seperator over half full of water.I think i found my issue,but what should i do about it? Do i drain the fuel tank completely out for winter storage? I know the best thing would be to fill the tank but 500 bucks is not really in the budget and that fuel may go stall over 5 months,even with stabilizer.. Any ideas? Maybe add a lot of stabilizer and drain tank in spring?Is there a fogging agent for fuel tanks?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: more water then fuel!

Those filters will only trap so much water then they will bypass it and cause problems.
You could drain it or just keep changing filters....Either way the water needs to get out.

 

[robert graham]

Re: more water then fuel!

You have to get the water out of tank by pump, drain, siphon. Find out how the water got in the tank and fix/repair. Your fuel/water seperator has probably already saved you a lot of trouble. My brother-in-law got water in his 60 gallon plastic under-deck tank, pretty well ruined the motor, had to remove T-top, center console, cut deck, replace tank with new aluminum tank with stainless steel drain to bilge with valve/plug. Hope you can get this fixed and good luck!

 

[Bondo]

Re: more water then fuel!

and ran good for the rest of the year. Last cruise of this year did it again. I checked and found the fuel filter/seperator over half full of water.I think i found my issue,but what should i do about it?

Ayuh,... So how long has that fuel filter been On there anyways,..??

How much gas is still in the tank,..??

Is your season Over, or not,..??

 

[Grumman59]

Re: more water then fuel!

..Find out how the water got in the tank and fix/repair. ...

I'd check the vent line routing. I had the same thing, water in the carb, separator over half full of water. I knew it wasn't condensation because it was salt water (and I'd been in the Gulf).

The hose from the vent had got moved and was sloping towards the tank without taking an upward route first. It needs to go up from the vent and then back down to the tank to prevent a transom wave from flooding it.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: more water then fuel!

Chucky, Remember that gasoline floats on water. Remove the fuel gauge sender and stick a siphon hose to the bottom of the tank. Now suck out as much as you can into jerry cans. 10-12 gal should do it. Let the jerry cans sit a bit, and the water will sink to the bottom. Siphon the bottom of the jerry can into a clear container. You should see all the water. Return the gasoline to the tank, and dump the water. Add some stabilizer, and the gas will be fine next year.

 

[chucky112233]

Re: more water then fuel!

thanks for all the replies guys! The filter i did change at the start of this season. There is prob 35 gallons in the tank. I am done for this season,it is at home now.. I am prob gonna suck it all out and add maybe 40 gallons with lots of stabilizer and keep my filter changed frequently next year.. I will check that vent line. I only put 11 hours on the boat this year but it still did sit in water.Thanks again guys for the replies!!