Water in my gas...

[njdpo 1]

Hi all,

running the commando 800 last night on a tank of gas that had water in it (if i knew then what i know now).

a feature I really liked on one of my sears tractors with a Tecumseh engine: the fuel bowl had a small brass tickler button which you press it upwards, the valve conveniently purges the water/debris from the fuel bowl.

that's a smart feature... and I've used it a lot... and i want it on my Kohler motors... Cant say enough about how convenient this is ...

Is there a fuel bowl / drain fixture for the carb on a K181S ? (OEM or after market ). Or some back yard garage project to add a drain to it.

Have any of you experimented with any type of water separation devices on any of your equipment (WH or otherwise). ( might be cool to find some old fashioned brass/glass bowl device).

If some type of drain could be installed, then I could quickly get past this nagging issue (like the sears).

......

now that im thinking about this - I guess I could cut the full line - add a "T" to it ... and add a 4-6 inch piece of full line to the T. From there end it with a cheapo plastic on/off valve. The 6 inches of full line would capture a bit of water ... and if I were using this quick drain off procedure every 2-3 weeks like I do with the sears that might help me avoid removing the fuel bowl. Attach some type of little clear bottle to it and I would see when its time to drain it off .

NOTES:

the Sears/Tecumseh motor was gravity fed. With the drain button at the bottom of the entire fuel system, draining off any mount of water was never a problem.

The WH/Kohler motor has the fuel pump in it ... when your draining the bowl the amount of water you get from the bowl may be far less than the water in the entire fuel system. Therefore I assume it would be better to capture the water before it gets to the pump/bowl (since there is no convenient drain at the bowl).

What have you guys done to combat this tormenting situation ?

(other than trying to ensure you dont put contaminated gas in the machine - it just happens over here in these parts ).

Thanks - Dave

[ol550 830]

I install one of these whenever possible. Mike

[tunahead72 2,346]

Dave,

Do you have an inline filter in your system? You should, it would at least catch debris, I don't know about water.

[stevasaurus 22,269]

Hard to believe you are having that much problem with water. That said, you might try adding a product called HEAT that actually absorbs water in gas...usually used in the winter months. I have a 2 gallon gas can that I fill when empty to fill up my tractors, lawnmowers, snowblower, etc. I always add about 2 oz of

Seafoam when I fill it up with gas. You might want to try to add about 2 oz of Heat to get where you want. Check it out. read the label...hope that helps :thumbs2:

[Horse Fanatic 49]

I think you should figure out where the water is comming from and start there. Is it where you get your fuel? Is your gas can outdoors? Is your tractor stored outdoors or do you wash it regularly and have a bad fuel cap?

You don't want to add alcohol to your fuel. It's already 10% ethanol right out of the pump. Alcohol is hydroscopic and attracts moisture. A partially filled fuel tank or gas can stored in an environment that can get condensation in it will end up with water in the fuel.

[wallfish 15,972]

I agree with Glenn. It's better to cure the problem instead of treating the symptom. Do whatever you can to stop it from getting in there in the first place.

If you are getting water from the pump then don't completely empty the gas can into the tank since most of the water sinks to the bottom and Change the gas station you use. Replace the gas cap if rain or wash water could enter through the existing cap. Cover the tractor if it sits outside in the rain. Keep the tank full to get less condensation.

A 1/2" box wrench will easily open the nut on the bottom of the carb bowl to drain it and one of those glass bowl strainers will collect some water.

$0.02

I guess you could take one of those bowl drains from another carb and install it into the Kohler's bowl by drilling a hole but I wouldn't do that.

[rmaynard 14,934]

:thumbs2: I've never had water in my gas. I agree that you need to find the source and correct the problem there.

[Coadster32 793]

Better than gas in your water I suppose.?

I would also try to treat the source, not the result.

[njdpo 1]

Hi all / OL550 / Tunahead,

OL550 - that is a cool looking device (something Ive been looking for ) and they are seemingly hard to find.

Tunahead - yes I do have an inline fuel filter.

Generally I try to be cautious with the gas and not empty the can into the machine - but there are times when it just gets past me (like a week ago in the dark - trying to get a fallen tree out of the driveway)...

So yeah - catching it before it ever gets in the tank is good... but being able to deal with it (easily) would be even gooder...

I saw a water/fuel seperator on ebay - maybe I should grab it .

Dave

[ol550 830]

and they are seemingly hard to find.

Part # 7-02350 At Napa, Carquest, O'Reilly, and any place that carries Prime Line

products. Mike

[wallfish 15,972]

OL550 - that is a cool looking device (something Ive been looking for ) and they are seemingly hard to find.

http://www.psep.biz/store/small_engine_fuel_filters.htm

[boovuc 1,090]

Hi Dave,

If you are getting water in your gasoline, and you made a reference to it being at the bottom of your gas can, I would get rid of that gas can. I have found that metal gas cans tend to "attract" more water through condensation than plastic gasoline cans. The plastic cans don't seem to change their shell temps as much as metal and in doing so, you don't seem to get as much condensation in it. You may also want to switch where you purchase your gasoline. With the amount of Ethanol in gasoline these days, I'm shocked you have water in your gas at all. Alcohols tend to absorb water. Case in point is your run of the mill rubbing alcohol in your bathroom closet. It's only 70% isopropanol and 30% water yet there is no seperation. It's a stable solution.

Keeping your gasoline cans off of a concrete floor also helps.

Just an observation. I use two plastic 2.25 gallon cans and a metal 5 gallon. I fill the 5 gallon can only when I know I can empty it into the tractors when I get home. I hope you can get to the root of it! You just shouldn't be having this problem.

BooVuc

Mill Hall, PA

[Coadster32 793]

but being able to deal with it (easily) would be even gooder

much more betterer :thumbs2: