water in gas - maybe

[Jay Negrin <jmnegrin@domain.elided>]

WEstphal50, in AD 1098, wrote: 

"Thanks to all who replied.  

I'll suggest everyone avoid ARCO - I'm very sure I have water in my gas 
thanks to a few fillups at ARCO.  Water comes out of the exhaust on startup - 
and it's DRY here in California right now.

I put some STP anti water additive in the tank along with some Techron, 5 
gallons of Chevron, and some 104 Octane booster.  The $64 question is:  where 
does the water go when the Anti-Water STP additive attacks it ?  

Any other thoughts on immediate future driving until I get rid of the ARCO ?  
keep diluting it with Chevron or run the tank down as low as possible ?  

Thanks again."



Seeing water coming out of the tailpipe is no big thang.  Remember the end
products of perfect combustion?  H20 and CO2.  Once everything, especially the
exhaust sytem, gets up to temperature the water is only a vapor.  If the
exhaust is cool, the vapor condenses on it way from the motor to the tailpipe.
 If you ever see a substantial cloud of it coming out of the tail pipe, that
would be a GOOD indication something has gone drastically wrong inside the
motor.  

That said, assuming that there is water in the gas (which may or may not be happening):

it depends on what the Anti-Water STP Additive is.  If it is an alcohol (a
good possibility) the alcohol absorbs the water, and if the concentrations are
tolerable, holds the water in suspension in the gasoline.  Water is a polar
molecule, and does not mix well with gasoline, which is non-polar.  Alcohol
has a little of each property, and can mix with either.  Too much water can
overrun the effect of being absorbed by the alcohol, and some will remain in
the tank as water (bummer).  The above is how it was related to me, leastwise.

You might also want to check your fuel filter(s).  I seem to remember that
there are some filters that are designed to (help) remove water from fuel. 
They, of course, have no where to dispose of the water they collect, and may
"plug up", due to XS water.  If the filter element has gotten wet, with water
that is, it may be time to replace the unit.

All of the above said, it stands as free information/advice, usually worth
what you paid for it.

Jay Negrin
ARO So Cal

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