Trick for removing Ethanol from your gas.

[pkveazey]

I saw this on You Tube and it made perfect sense. Get a container that has a spigot on the bottom. Then fill the container with Ethanol Gas. Then add about a quart of water. Then stir the crap out of it so the Water, Gas, and Ethanol are well mixed. Then let it sit for a few hours. The alcohol will mix more readily with the water than with the gas and the water and ethanol will separate to the bottom with the gas on top. Then open the valve on the bottom of the container and let the fluid run out. The instant the fluid changes to the color of Gasoline, shut off the valve because you have drained off all the water and alcohol. It's so simple, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself.

[Nemo]

Do it and let me know how it works out.

Call me skeptical on the idea.

Nemo

[pkveazey]

Do it and let me know how it works out.

Call me skeptical on the idea.

Nemo

I have actually seen it done in a different way. Years ago, I used to go out to the local airport and catch rides with some of the pilots that I knew. One day, when I was actually paying attention, I saw the pilot go under the wing fuel tank and push a spring-loaded button and liquid came out. I asked him what he was doing, and he said that he was letting the water out of the gas tank. That's how I found out that Water is heavier than Gas and the water separates to the bottom. I asked him how the water got into the gas tank and he said something about condensation caused by hot and cold happening to the gas. Then he scared the shit out of me when he took out his ZIPPO cigarette lighter and pushed that same button and filled his lighter with airplane fuel. He was a WW2 fighter pilot and he said that during the war they couldn't get Lighter fluid so the pilots just filled their lighters that way.

[Jackalope]

   The situation with Avgas (100LL) is a little different than the ethanol/gas mixture.  Avgas is dyed blue, so when you're checking for water in the fuel system, it is readily apparent.  Most modern aircraft have test ports located at the lowest point in the fuel system.  There are specific fuel sampler cups that make the process easy.  Typically, in a regularly flown aircraft, you'll only have a few drops of water.

    However, with the ethanol/gas mixture, there would be larger percentage of ethanol/water that would need to be drawn off.  I understand the chemical process of adding water to the fuel, but it seems like a waste of time and effort.  Up north, during the winter, the ethanol would have been referred to as "dry gas".