Continuous water in fuel

[Dano]

To preface this, this is a 2004 Osprey 200.

This is becoming very frustrating. I have had the fuel tank cleaned once already, put a new gasket over the sending unit for the fuel gauge and after a little bit of sit time of about a month i ran the boat for over an hour today and drained the racor filter to find yet more water. WIth the water are some light brown floaties as well, kind of like tiny shredded leaves. Im not sure where to go next. its a poly tank but under the floor of with no access. I visually checked the connection from the fill line, spray tested the fill cap as well to see if water gets by it from raining.
This boat sat for quite some time before i bought it and the owner was using a tank on the deck because he wasn't using the boat and had previous problems. I am using NON ethanol fuel so its manageable, but i want to trust that I won't get stranded.

Im getting to the point where i may look into opening up the floor to replace the tank, fill lines etc.

[Capt. Bob]

Thought,

Here's one I've experienced before and that is the fuel source itself. When I kept my CCP  in the Keys (and purchased fuel at the local marina) I had a steady stream of water in the bottom bowl of my Racor. Since that's what a water separator was designed to do, I just went with the fact that the gas supply was contaminated. It was non E and as such, water in fuel was common in those days since it doesn't mix like it does (to a point) with E-10.
Checking your source is not mentioned in your post so that's one you might want to eliminate.

[gran398]

Another consideration is the position of your gas vent (exterior hullside).

If pointing straight down, it could ingest water while you're running.

[Dano]

Thanks for the help… been buying rec90 in 5 gal increments. As to the vent, i have the combo fuel fill and vent cap all in one. I have been reading where some have changed this setup to a standard fill and separate vent. I do get some water on top of the tank after washing down the boat from a leaky pie plate but not sure if that is leaking thru the fuel level sender as i put new gasket and goofed it up good with silicone.
No real fuel smell below deck either which leads me to think no leaks in the tank itself.

[Aswaff400]

i had a water in fuel issue one time on my osprey, i believe it was the vent allowing water to creep back in. my oldvent was plastic and missing the cover. also found that the loop in the vent hose had fallen so it was just going straight down to the tank... i replaced the vent with a flush SS one when i had the boat painted, also fixed the loop

the old vent is the forward one...


new stainless vent

[Dano]

I have the combo unit… Gas fill cap and vent. As my browsing on the interwebs shows, many have had problems with this setup. Im thinking of getting new deck plates and a new fill with separate vent.

[gran398]

I have the combo unit… Gas fill cap and vent. As my browsing on the interwebs shows, many have had problems with this setup. Im thinking of getting new deck plates and a new fill with separate vent.

That may well be your culprit.

[icemanbryan]

i had a water in fuel issue one time on my osprey, i believe it was the vent allowing water to creep back in. my oldvent was plastic and missing the cover. also found that the loop in the vent hose had fallen so it was just going straight down to the tank... i replaced the vent with a flush SS one when i had the boat painted, also fixed the loop

the old vent is the forward one...


new stainless vent

I had the old style and a couple of times, we had very little, but some water in the filter.
I did what Big A did and have not seen the problem since, it may help but gas at the pump source id possible as well.

[wingtime]

The flaky brown stuff is varnish from old fuel that is working loose from the inside of the old tank.  Usually ethanol breaks the stuff down causing that problem.  Are you sure your rec90 is truly non-ethanol?  I think the combo vent fill could be a problem depending on where it is located.  Also if your fuel tank is only partially full you will get condensation in the tank with all the wacky temperature changes we've been having.

[Dano]

Thanks again for the replies. I originally used regular ethanol pump gas when if first bought the boat. it had some water evidently in the tank already as it immediately phase separated and looked real cloudy. I drained that and have been refueling it with non ethanol since. That make sense then that the flaky stuff may have broke loose. its nowhere near as bad but i managed to clog up a racor. I guess it can only get in there two ways….. either seeping in from the top( fuel sending unit due to pie plate leaking) or the fill/vent combo cap.

[wingtime]

Yup if you put ethanol in it that is what started the problem. As soon as ethanol gets put in a older fuel tank it starts breaking down the varnish that has built up in the fuel system.  The reason is the ethanol is a very strong cleaner so it lifts off all the build up.  All you can do is replace a bunch of filters as it works it's way out of the system.

[CTsalt12]

Thanks for the help… been buying rec90 in 5 gal increments. As to the vent, i have the combo fuel fill and vent cap all in one. I have been reading where some have changed this setup to a standard fill and separate vent. I do get some water on top of the tank after washing down the boat from a leaky pie plate but not sure if that is leaking thru the fuel level sender as i put new gasket and goofed it up good with silicone.
No real fuel smell below deck either which leads me to think no leaks in the tank itself.

I've had a boatload of these problems so I have some experience.  #1-you need to make sure no more water is pooling up on top of tank.  Fix that pie plate or whatever it is.  Water will find it's way in through the sender in my experience, and additionally it will screw up your sender readings.  

#2 pretty sure gas will eat right through the silicone so it's basically useless, but someone else on here can say whether that's true or not.

[futch13]

#2 pretty sure gas will eat right through the silicone so it's basically useless, but someone else on here can say whether that's true or not.

Gas will soften/gel silicone when exposed.  If any squeezed out inside of tank, it will eventually find it's way to the pick up and clog the screen.  We use a bead of silicone around the outside edge of the sender, then cake waterproof grease (Merc 2-4-C, Farley ) on top of the sender and electrical connections.  Make sure the top of the tank is clean and we scuff it up a little where the silicone sits for better adherence.

[fitz73222]

#2 pretty sure gas will eat right through the silicone so it's basically useless, but someone else on here can say whether that's true or not.

Gas will soften/gel silicone when exposed.  If any squeezed out inside of tank, it will eventually find it's way to the pick up and clog the screen.  We use a bead of silicone around the outside edge of the sender, then cake waterproof grease (Merc 2-4-C, Farley ) on top of the sender and electrical connections.  Make sure the top of the tank is clean and we scuff it up a little where the silicone sits for better adherence.

2-4-C and Perfect Seal.... Mmm Mmm Good!

[CTsalt12]

I may have to try Perfect Seal or some of these other gas proof sealants I'm reading about now like  Permatex #2.  Anyone have experience with this?