Water in the fuel tank

[Greenhornchris]

So I woke up this morning after not spending a whole lot of time on my boat lately. I replaced the risers on the port engine yesterday then of coarse the boat won't start ! So I saw that the engine wasn't being primed with fuel. I decided to leave it for now , I knew it needed water in the tank so this morning at the Crack of dawn I stupidly decided to put some water in the tank. We'll like an idiot I put it in the fuel tank instead ! The tank was totally full of fuel so about 45 seconds later it came gushing out ! So the question is what do I do now!? Any suggestions would definitely help I don't know what I was thinking this is by far the dumbest thing I've done to myself with this boat ! Thank you for your help....

[km1125]

So you only put it in one of the tanks? (that was a dual-tank model boat, right?)

It would be a job to try and siphon the water from the bottom of the tank, but I think that model had the fill lines going straight down to the tank, so it might be possible. You'd probably have to siphon out a lot of gas with it to make sure you got most of the water.

You might want to go the professional route though. There are guys that "polish" fuel that would be able to remove the fuel that's in there and run it though some water-separating filters and maybe get most of it out. Make sure you carry some spare fuel filters on the boat for a while though and get good at changing them at inopportune times!

[ataylor233]

Sorry you are going through this i just went through something similar i purchased a 12 dollar fuel pump and some hose i removed one of the plugs on one tank i used a pex straight pipe and i used that to touch the very bottom of the tank .... i pumped out everything in the tank untill i could see that it was gasoline .... buy about 5 fuel filters run the engine and swap them out after a while of running pour the contents into a plastic bottle to see the filters water content.... good luck

[Cooler]

The water will sit on top of the gasoline. Do you have any idea how much water was pumped? Check with a couple mechanics in your area, maybe they can pump out the top third of the tank. Not a great resolution, but something to consider instead of pumping out 90 gallons. There should be 2 tanks. I would not try to run the fuel through until you catch it with fuel filters.
You are not the first person that made this mistake. er

[bud37]

Source of the post The water will sit on top of the gasoline

No the other way.....km and ataylor are correct...

[buster53]

Cooler is wrong on this…water sits on the bottom. A few years ago, I had a lot of water in both tanks. I had a professional fuel polisher come to the boat to do his magic. He has the right equipment and experience to do this job correctly. After watching him, no way would I try to do this on my own. Not cheap, but well worth every penny I paid him.

[Greenhornchris]

Guys I just want to thank you for all the information, my dad told me something similar that it will settle at the bottom. So the tank was completely full and yes the boat has 2 tanks so the hose was only in there maybe 30 to 45 seconds before it started rushing out the valve below on the hull and I realized what I did I'm guessing it's not more then a couple of gallons at the most. I think I'm going to take the suggestions buy 5 fuel filters and pump out several gallons from the bottom. I'm going to look for someone who might be able to "polish the fuel" as suggested and im spray painting the cap RED ! as the chrome is corroded and I can't read the labels although it's burned in my brain now. I'll keep you guys posted thank you so much this forum is awesome!

[Cooler]

Oh Geez! Yup, I was totally flipped over. That's why water seperators filter hang the way they do. What was I thinking? Makes that partial drain process a little easier. If a person can be sure the siphon tube can get to the bottom of the tank, the water should come out first. Sorry about the bad info. I must not have been awake from my nap when I posted that. er

[buster53]

Source of the post Guys I just want to thank you for all the information, my dad told me something similar that it will settle at the bottom. So the tank was completely full and yes the boat has 2 tanks so the hose was only in there maybe 30 to 45 seconds before it started rushing out the valve below on the hull and I realized what I did I'm guessing it's not more then a couple of gallons at the most. I think I'm going to take the suggestions buy 5 fuel filters and pump out several gallons from the bottom. I'm going to look for someone who might be able to "polish the fuel" as suggested and im spray painting the cap RED ! as the chrome is corroded and I can't read the labels although it's burned in my brain now. I'll keep you guys posted thank you so much this forum is awesome!

If you’re going to pay a guy to polish, as I suggested, just let him do the whole job. Getting water out is part of the polishing process.

[mjk1040]

Pump water off bottom of tanks, then put a couple red HEET dry gas in each tank, run it, then swap out fuel filters you'll be fine.