How to Know If There Is Water in My Boat Gas Tank?

by Brandon Hefner Custom Marine Fuel Tanks

Most of the boat gas tanks last for 15 to 20 years. They are almost inevitable only if maintained gently. Water is one of the biggest issues in boat tanks. Probably all experienced people who have sailing for more than one year might know the diseconomy of seeing water inside or around their fuel storage boxes. Unless you properly install aluminum fuel tanks and use adequate fuel, the tank is always susceptible to catching corrosion that may lead to many other issues.

There are many disadvantages of water and dirt in fuel. They are natural contaminants that promote bacterial growth, reduce lubricity in aluminum diesel tanks, and also affect fuel injecting system and other applications.

Checking Water in Fuel Tank

Boaters now are really conscious about keeping their beloved asset safe and efficient for every journey. They know the trouble caused by prevalent ethanol-based gasoline (E10). Water, kerosene, and other liquids have been added fluently at refineries and fuel pumps to earn extra profits.

The best way of checking the water in boat gas tanks is to remove the fuel line connected between fuel-filter and pump and then dispose of the gas into a clear container/jar. You may require calling professionals for disposing of it correctly. After dumping the fuel into a jar, let the gas content settle for a few minutes. After that break, you will notice if there are any water bubbles and other contaminant sitting at the bottom of that jar. The water will automatically layer out and you will see it with unassisted vision. If the color of the entire fluid is uniformly yellow or amber color, then there is surely no water in your aluminum fuel tanks.

Fuel Quality Matters

As mentioned earlier, the fuel is fluently replaced with water anonymously. To ensure that these additives do not make any harm to your boat engine in the long term, you should use ethanol-blended fuel in your aluminum diesel tanks. Make sure you ask first to your manufacturer of tank whether it is ideal to use E10.

Solutions to Keep Water Away

First of all, make sure you don’t have more than 90 days old ethanol mixed gasoline in the tank. Ethanol contributes to stale the gas fuel which is likely to condensate and cause issues. You can siphon any water accommodation from the tank. For additional help in keeping the water away from your boat gas tanks, you can contact to professional cleaning services and tank builders.