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Old 09-10-2018, 09:44 AM
sailhog sailhog is offline
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Water in fuel tank

Quick story: A week ago I swung by the boat to top off with fuel and take down the canvas in preparation for a TS Gordon. While refueling, an old friend stopped by to say hello, and that's all it took for me to get distracted in this simple task... So... yesterday, I dropped by the boat and noticed an oder of gasoline and more-than-trace-amounts in the bilge. I wondered how in the hell it got there but couldn't solve the mystery... Then I came up to the cockpit and nearly wet myself -- I saw that I'd left the fuel port open. Since then all the rain -- three to four inches -- from TS Gordon has had free entry...

After kicking myself, I pulled out the fluid extractor and sucked five of the 15 gallons out of the bottom of the tank. The fuel looked completely fresh -- no cloudiness that I think would indicate the presence of water.

So here are my questions: Should I evacuate all 15 gallons? Is it reasonable to think the Racor can handle whatever water is still in the tank? I'm assuming the water settled to the bottom and that the fluid extractor sucked it out... Is this a reasonable idea? Finally, is there anything else I should be doing? Fuel waste is a pain in the -ss to deal with...

The A-4 has been running like a top for the couple of years and I'm just mad as hell at myself for getting distracted...

Last edited by sailhog; 09-10-2018 at 09:52 AM.
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