LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

[ricwrocket86]

Took my 98 Bayliner capri out for the first time today. Got about 45 seconds out in the water and it just started bogging like crazy. Checked everything and didnt see anything out of place. It would rev fine in nuetral but would bog in gear. So I pulled a fuel sample in the middle of the lake and sat for about ten minutes. Sure enough, I got about half a tank of fuel, and half a tank of water. The boat sat for 6 years so I should have known better. So the question is, what is the best way to get ALL the $70 of fuel out of the tank and get the tank bone dry and clean. I can put a pump hose down the fill neck or the sending unit hole but I cant actually get in the tank to clean it. Any advice? Im sure Im not the only person who has had this problem before.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

Easy enough. Position the boat in such a fashion that you can get a semi-rigid syphon tube down into the low corner of the tank. Let it sit so the water settles to the bottom. Start the syphon into an open 5 gallon bucket. (have additional on hand if you have that much water in the tank) Syphon it until you start seeing gasoline come out, then stop.

Change your fuel/water filter cartridge then run the tank out. Refill and change the cartdrige again and you will be good to go.

Then go figure how you got so much water in the tank in the first place.

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

$70 of fuel 6 years ago? at the prices 6 years ago, would that make it a 65 gallon fuel tank? and if half of it is really water... then i would assume a 130 gallon fuel tank. correct?

im sorry... i cant control myself sometimes

 

[stonyloam]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

...Let it sit so the gas settles to the bottom.

I know you meant to say water there

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

Did you put new fuel in recently? Possible where you purchased the fuel has a water problem?

 

[WizeOne]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

I know you meant to say water there

Oops! Sharp eye there Terry.

I'll go back and edit it so that I don't end up confusing posterity.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

$70 of fuel 6 years ago? at the prices 6 years ago, would that make it a 65 gallon fuel tank? and if half of it is really water... then i would assume a 130 gallon fuel tank. correct?

im sorry... i cant control myself sometimes

I daresay that he doesn't have that much water, let alone that much gas. If he did, he would have never gotten the motor started. But even a couple of cups worth of water could wreak havoc if the fuel pump gets a full gulp of it.

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

If the gas was sitting in there for 6 years, you definitely have a ton of gunk and water in there.

I was a fueler in the army and we had a tanker break down for a few months and the fuel in the back was so nasty there was nothing we could do with it. absolutely nothing. all kinds of bacteria and sludge can grow inside a fuel tank as well as accumulate water. you need to drain all of it out and change all the filters and see what that does for you.

im surprised it ran at all.

 

[ricwrocket86]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

When I bought the boat the fuel cap was broke so over the years moisture and rain has been getting in the tank. The boat would crank and run fine on land so I figured the little bit of gas that was in there was ok. So I filled it up with premium and figured it would even out with the old gas. Dumb on my part, premuim doesnt compete with water. lol So now I gotta get it all out and start over with fresh fuel. I just dont wanna think I have it all out and fill it back up just to find out I still got water in the tank. But I guess if I let it sit and let the water settle it will get all that first.

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

after you get all that fuel out and change the filters, i would fill up the tank and run it out and change the filters again just to make sure. you could still have some crud left in the tank when you done as well as whats left in the fuel lines. after you change the filters again, you should be good in my opinion.

 

[gadget73]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

If you can access the top of the tank, usually there is a plate where the fuel gauge sending unit is mounted. Remove that, and you can probably get something all the way to the bottom of the tank without much effort.

 

[ricwrocket86]

Re: LOTS of water in fuel. HELP!!!

Will start working on it tomorrow. Thanks for all the help guys