The Problem: Need  a Water Trap for Vehicle Fuel

Solutions:

FLUSH DRAIN  SAMPLER CUP FUEL/WATER SEPARATOR FUNNEL
8" bowl dia.                                                   www.wicksaircraft.com part#    FSF-4     $25.50
Replacement element 8" bowl dia.                  www.wicksaircraft.com part#   FSF-5     $9.75
 Utilizes a special thermoplastic-coated stainless steel base with a high-flow hydrophobic,
 mesh separator membrane that has an affinity for petroleum but repels water. The element can be
 removed easily, cleaned with a solvent and a soft non-scratch brush low air pressure, steam or
 approved liquid cleaners. Funnel can be used for fast checking of potential contaminates, passes fuel,
 collects water and solids. Replacement elements available when required.
[tim- made for gasoline. would it work for diesel?]

See-Through Fuel Tank Filter
Use this filter with diesel, leaded, and unleaded gas.Transparent nylon bowl allows quick inspection. It removes
particles of rust, dirt, scale, and lint. The bowl has a simple sediment drain valve.
Filter includes a 10-micron standard cartridge.Water-block cartridge (sold separately) removes water
and particles as small as 15 microns. Water-block cartridge not for use with fuels containing alcohol.
Maximum pressure is 150 psi. Filter has a 5 gpm gravity flow with 24  head pressure. Maximum temperature
is 150! F. Top cap is die cast zinc with 1 NPT female fittings. Size is 4  Dia. % 9 1 Z2  Lg.
Each
Complete Filter .................................... www.mcmaster.com part# 4340K33...... $24.56
Standard Replacement Cartridge........... www.mcmaster.com part# 4340K12...... $4.93
Water-Block Cartridge ........................ www.mcmaster.com part# 4340K14...... $9.96

PERMA-COOL ® FUEL FILTER/WATER SEPARATOR SYSTEM  www.jcwhitney.com part# 73ZX5034W   $48.99
REPLACEMENT FILTER ELEMENT                                                  www.jcwhitney.com part# 73ZX5036A    $10.99
Removes virtually all water from fuel Filters particles as small as 2 microns
Prevents damage to injector nozzles and injector pump. For use with all types of fuel
(excluding nitromethane) and additives. Meets or exceeds original-equipment specifications.
Ensures delivery of clean, water-free fuel to your carburetor for better performance and
improved efficiency. Kit includes: 24,000 mile filter element; cast aluminum filter mount;
high-pressure/high-temperature/flame-retardant hose; fittings; hardware; instructions.

Andair Gascolator                 www.wicksaircraft.com part# AND-GAS     $152.90
GASCOLATOR - by Andair Built into the  gascolator is an 1/8" NPT
 top outlet for a pressure sender/primer line and a rear 3/8" anchor hole that
 allows it to be firewall mounted without need of a bracket. A reusable 70
 micron strainer mesh may be removed for easy cleaning. Gascolator has
 an 1/8" NPT tapped bottom hole which accepts curtis or aeroquip
 remote drain. Comes supplied with 9/16" unf male end fittings.
[tim- made for gasoline. would it work for diesel?]

Diesel Filter/Separator, 500FG
RACOR-PARKER part# 500FGSS-2     www.westmarine.com  part# 411264     $171.99
These Racor filters use a three-stage filter system to remove virtually all of the water
and 99% of the solids that are present in almost all fuel. The primary stage centrifuges
the fuel, which sends the large particulate matter and water droplets down to the
sediment bowl. The second stage uses a coalescing ring, which causes the remaining
water to form into droplets and fall into the sediment bowl while the dry fuel continues
upward. The third stage is a 2-micron filter, which removes the remaining minute grit.
Built-in check valve keeps fuel from draining back into your tank.

Baja Fuel Filters
6.5'' Diesel Fuel Filter       www.westmarine.com  part#  547729       mfg part#  6.5-1.5-BFC      $209.99
This is a funnel with a filter in it that blocks water. Fill your tank through this unit.

CRC Marine-Bio-Con Diesel Fuel Slime Remover and Conditioner
CRC CHEMICALS model# 6065     www.westmarine.com  part#  279554         $4.49
This is a biocide to stop bacteria from growing in your diesel. A yachtie in Majuro told me that
bacteria engineered to eat oilspills have gone wild and now grow in yacht fuel tanks. So now
people have to put biocide in their fuel. Particularly in boats, because the ambient air is humid and the
fuel tank is surrounded by cold water so there's lots of condensation.

---

    History of this consultation

***********here's what I read******************

Riders for Africa

Barry Coleman bcoleman(at)riders.org and Mike Gatton rfh(at)africaonline.co.zw
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 10:37 AM
 
All the fuel for all the vehicles we manage in Africa is contaminated or adulterated. 
In particular we are having a serious problem in DRC (Congo, Kinshasa) 
with water in diesel.
 
All our vehicles (not motorcycles, unfortunately) are fitted with what we 
call superfilters. These filters are very, very tightly-wound paper filters 
that take out massive amounts of contaminants out of both the engine oil. 
And the fuel. The oil filters are fitted outside the engine (sometimes more 
Than a meter away, which helps cool the oil) and we change the elements every
10,000 kilometers or so. So fabulous is the filtration that we very rarely 
change the oil (though we do sample it regularly). Nothing wrong with that.
 
The fuel filters are another matter. Good as they are, there is so much water 
in the diesel that it gets through anyway.
 
What we need is a simple, non-motorized, light, foolproof, cheap, easily 
distributed device for taking the water out of the fuel before it is put in, 
or maybe while it's going in. I have talked with Mike briefly about this 
And his first thought was some sort of gravity-driven device using filters 
similar to our fuel superfilters. But of course there may be a much better way.
 
It's certainly a real problem and it's certainly pressing. Failure to sort 
it out might mean parking trucks and interrupting the polio surveillance work 
on which they are engaged.

**************the rest of this file is our email corresponence***************

                here's a list of these email messages:
13235  05/15 bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.o Re: water in the diesel<<Dear Tim Thank you --this 
13233  05/15 tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu Re: water in the diesel<<Hi Barry, are you 
12721  04/06 bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.o Re: water in the diesel<<Hello there, Barry is i
12621  04/02 tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu Re: water in the diesel<<Finally and most obviou
12613  04/01 tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu Re: water in the diesel<<If you've been using in
12590  03/30 tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu Re: water in the diesel<<>Meanwhile, I don't thi
12586  03/30 bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.o Re: water in the diesel<<Dear Tim Thank you ery
12581  03/30 tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu water in the diesel<<Is it just water in the fue
*****************************
12581 
From: tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
To: bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org, rfh( at - nospam )africaonline.co.zw, tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
Subject: water in the diesel
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 01:45:31 -0500

Is it just water in the fuel, or are they adding other things to make it
stay mixed? How do the locals deal with it?

diesel boils at 287C
Water boils at 100C
Diesel is lighter than water.

And they're famous for not mixing too well. This could  cause problems with 
your very fine-porefilters, where one substance will block the passage of 
the other.

You can let your fuel sit and drain the water off the bottom.
To remove the rest of the water, heat up the diesel above the boiling point
of water.
If you have clear or translucent jerrycans, like those thick polyethylene ones,
you'll have a better idea what's going on with the fuel. And you'll be able 
to stop pouring it when you get to the water.

Light airplanes have a lot of trouble with water in the fuel, because the
tanks at the little airports don't get used enough. They and the wing tanks
of the airplanes get condensation from temperature cycling. My friend always 
went around and drained the water from the bottom of his tanks with little 
valves as part of his pre-flight ritual.

You could add drain valves to the low point of your fuel tanks
or use a siphon. Drain a gallon or so of fuel into a clear container,
untill you're not getting any visible water. Let it sit and separate.
pour the fuel back into the tank. Gravy skimmers are little pitchers
where the spout draws from the bottom of the vessel. One of these
would be good for pouring off the water first.

If your vendors are adding surfactants or something to make them stay mixed, 
maybe they they could make millions selling the technique to oil companies. 
People have been trying to do this for a long time. see the links.

Water or water vapor increases the temperature and pressure necessary for
detonation to occur.
Forinstance in my youth people were using low-octane gas in high 
compression gasoline engines. This causes pinging, also called "dieseling"
and is detonation just like in a diesel engine. They made it stop pinging 
by pulling a attaching a vacuum line from their carb to suck air bubbles
through water. Just like a bong. "Billy" beer cans were used for style.

here's a process for making seed oils (forinstance hemp) into a 
replacement for diesel fuel. His chemical process mixes water with the diesel,
which he separates by letting it sit and separate, draining most of the water 
off the bottom, and heating the diesel to 300F=150C to fully dry it.

http://www.hemp-cyberfarm.com/htms/hemp-products/bio-diesel/bio-diesel.html

Lots of people WANT to mix water with their diesel, not just
your vendors. It reduces pollution and increases power. Elf Aquitaine is
now selling Aquazole, a milky mix of diesel fuel, surfactants and 13 % water.
Many others are working on similar schemes.

http://www.cheresources.com/aquadiesel.shtml

here's a table of properties of fuels and how to stretch your diesel 
with alcohol:

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/PUBS/FARMMGT/05010.pdf

hope this helps,

tim

*****************************
12586
From: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>
To: <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: water in the diesel
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 16:52:45 +0100
Organization: Riders For Health

Dear Tim

Thank you very much indeed for this work. Let me think about it and
circulate your thinking around the system.

I am most grateful. I'll be back to you.

Meanwhile, I don't think they put in anything but water in DRC but it is
sometimes a lot. It stays mixed for a bit and then comes unravelled, by
which time it's in the system. We are looking at micro-filter pumps, but we
are also looking for something cheaper!

Don't be surprised if you get a lot of emails on this from all our
interested parties. How's your French?

Best wishes

Barry Coleman

Chief Executive (Operations) RfH
*****************************
12590
From: tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
To: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>, tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
Subject: Re: water in the diesel 
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 11:32:45 -0500

>Meanwhile, I don't think they put in anything but water in DRC but it is
>sometimes a lot. It stays mixed for a bit and then comes unravelled, by
>which time it's in the system. We are looking at micro-filter pumps, but we
>are also looking for something cheaper!

The way those micro-filters block water is that they first get saturated with 
oily diesel. Then the water can't enter the pores because it can't wet the 
fibers. It can only enter as droplets that are too small to cause problems.
If you saw what was going on you probably wouldn't like it, with more and more
water accumulating in your tank til the filter is mostly immersed in water.

The cheap instant solution is to have them fill your jerry cans rather than
your vehicle tank when buy your diesel. Then pour it in later with what? 
A glass pitcher maybe? so you can look at it.
I bet if you could actually look at the fuel in a clear container you'd have
ten solutions that work in no time. 
In compressed-air systems they have a thing called a "water trap" which
is just a low point in a tank which can be bled from time to time.

Regardless what you do, you should drain the water that's built up in your
tanks now. I think it can cause problems with your fuel injectors.

>Thank you very much indeed for this work.

thank you for doing the right things in the right places,

tim
*****************************
12613 
From: tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
To: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>, tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
Subject: Re: water in the diesel 
Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2001 19:37:59 -0400

If you've been using in-line filters to block water for a while,
you should probably run a hose as deep into your tank as you can
and siphon out the accumulated water. There will probably be a lot of it.

What kind of filter housings do you have? There are some that are really 
made to work as a water trap. They stand vertically, have inlet and outlet 
fittings at the top, and a a drain valve in the bottom to bleed out the 
collected water. Your filters may already have drain valves to remove
accumulated water.

A couple of the vendors below sell big funnels with water-blocking filters
in them to pour the fuel through as you're getting it at the gas station.

You could have a local tinsmith make one of these for you with one or more
of your used filters in it. Howabout that? And a cap or can to keep it in
so the fumes don't bug you and it doesn't get too dirty.

tim

p.s. more details:

Mcmaster-Carr has a filter/watertrap in their catalog with a see-through body 
for $25

http://www.mcmaster.com/cgi/loadpage.cgi?pagenum=281&descid=13870

See-Through Fuel Tank Filter
Use this filter with diesel, leaded, and unleaded gas.
Transparent nylon bowl allows quick inspection. It re-moves
particles of rust, dirt, scale, and lint. The bowl
has a simple sediment drain valve.
Filter includes a 10-micron standard cartridge.
Water-block cartridge (sold separately) removes wa-ter
and particles as small as 15 microns. Water-block
cartridge not for use with fuels containing alcohol.
Maximum pressure is 150 psi. Filter has a 5 gpm
gravity flow with 24  head pressure. Maximum tem-perature
is 150! F. Top cap is die cast zinc with 1 NPT
female fittings. Size is 4  Dia. % 9 1 Z2  Lg.
Each
Complete Filter .............................................................. 4340K33...... $24.56
Standard Replacement Cartridge..............................4340K12...... 4.93
Water-Block Cartridge ................................................. 4340K14...... 9.96

They also offer a sock full of of gel that you can stuff into a fuel tank. 
It will soak up water but not fuel. intended for home fuel-oil tanks.
Interesting but probably not for you. It costs $10 to remove a quart of water
this way.

Small aircraft run on gasoline rather than diesel which is more viscous,
but I think these would work. Especially in a hot climate which makes things 
runny.

http://www.wicksaircraft.com/showPage.phtml?pagenum=248

Here's a $20 8" dia funnel with a built in filter that blocks water.
If you made your vendor fill your tank through one of these,
you might not have to pay for so much water. I don't know how fast
it will flow in. The vendor or manufacturer could tell you.

They also have small expensive filter/watertraps/air bubble vents called 
"gascolators" for a hundred bucks or so.

http://www.wicksaircraft.com/showPage.phtml?pagenum=246

They also have little drain valves and clear cups for draining water from a 
tank's drain valve or a water trap.

Poeople on yachts and fishing boats have the same problems you have, buying 
fuel in very remote places.

www.westmarine.com  has a variety of fuel filters and water traps.
ranging from $30 to $200.

One "the turbine series" has a centrifuge (actually a funny impeller in the 
clear bowl of the bottom) as a first stage to separate water and large chunks
of dirt. It looks like one has a pair of conductivity probes in the bowl to 
test when to automatcally drain the water out of it. (into the bilge where 
it can stink and burn the boat up)

They have a funnel with built in water-blocking filter called the 
"Baja filter" made for filtering your diesel as it comes from the pump.
one that's 6 1/2" in dia with a 3.9gpm flowrate is $199.

Airplane stuff is usually cheaper than boat stuff.
*****************************
12621
From: tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
To: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>, tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu
Subject: Re: water in the diesel 
Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2001 13:12:57 -0400

Finally and most obviously, auto parts stores carry "water separator" filters.
which are just like some of the things listed in the previous message.

for instance:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=14750

I asked my  friend Drew about your problem. He drives a diesel suburban
and is something of a historian.
He said his fuel filter has a drain valve in the bottom. He sometimes
drains a little into a shot glass or jar to look at it, then pours it
back into his tank. He hasn't had much water in it for a long time.

He said old cars and trucks always used to have glass bowls with drains 
on their filters so you could see the water building up and then drain it.
There were problems with these devices. The gasket could leak around the
bowl, or it could break in an accident, spilling fuel.
Then the quality of the fuel got a lot better, and they quit putting these
things on. In gasoline you can get rid of a little bit of water by adding 
Isopropyl alcohol "dry-gas" to your tank.

Now of course, there are silicone gaskets and polycarbonate plastic bowls,
so you can make a see-through water trap with none of the old problems.

hope this helps,

tim
*****************************
12721
From: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>
To: <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: water in the diesel
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 11:23:38 +0100
Organization: Riders For Health


Hello there,

Barry is in Gambia at the moment, and i am sitting in for him. My name is
Ngozi Nebuwa and i came from the Riders for Health office in Nigeria.

Please let me know if i can help you in anyway.

Best wishes,

Ngozi.
----- Original Message -----
From: <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
To: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>; <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 12:37 AM
Subject: Re: water in the diesel


> If you've been using in-line filters to block water for a while,
> you should probably run a hose as deep into your tank as you can
> and siphon out the accumulated water. There will probably be a lot of it.
        ****etc. etc. same as the message I sent hm
*****************************
13233
Ngozi's response seemed incoherent and I never heard back from Barry. 
I suspected Barry never got my message. 
So a month later I sent it again.

*****************************
13235 
From: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>
To: <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
Cc: "Mohale Moshoeshoe" <mmoshoeshoe( at - nospam )riders.org>
Subject: Re: water in the diesel 
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 18:30:34 +0100

Dear Tim

Thank you -- this is new!

Indeed thank you for all this. We are having a forum to discuss the water
issue while a couple of our key people are in the UK next week. All your
excellent observations have been circulated (this one will be) and we will
have some organised feedback after next week. Thanks again for all this. It
has cheered us up no end! We haven't yet taken any action, because we want
to make sure that whatever we do really sticks, and that needs a bit of
consultation/agreement.

We'll be back to you shortly.

Best wishes

Barry
----- Original Message -----
From: <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
To: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>; <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: water in the diesel


> Hi Barry, are you back?
> I'm not sure you got this, it's my most recent search for ways to take
> water out of your diesel.
>
> tim
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
> To: "Barry Coleman" <bcoleman( at - nospam )riders.org>; <tim( at - nospam )media.mit.edu>
> Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 12:37 AM
> Subject: Re: water in the diesel
>
>
> > If you've been using in-line filters to block water for a while,
> > you should probably run a hose as deep into your tank as you can
> > and siphon out the accumulated water. There will probably be a lot of
        ****etc. etc. same as the message I sent hm****
*****************************
*************end of file****************