Community Forums

laj77 · 07-11-2013, 11:08 AM

Apparently I have water/condensation in the gas tank as when I get higher than 40 mph it loses power. I can overcome some by shifting down. Is a Workhorse 8.1 Fleetwood. Is there a drain plug on the gas tank? If not is siphon a good option? Any rec on additive to overcome? Thanks for your help.
Laj77

Brockx · 07-11-2013, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laj77

Apparently I have water/condensation in the gas tank as when I get higher than 40 mph it loses power. I can overcome some by shifting down. Is a Workhorse 8.1 Fleetwood. Is there a drain plug on the gas tank? If not is siphon a good option? Any rec on additive to overcome? Thanks for your help.
Laj77

There are a number of additives to help with a moisture problem. Auto Zone, Advance auto, Wal-mart they all carry them, Sea Foam is good.

However; I would look at a plugged fuel filter, or air filter first. Been in storage awhile, birds nest, rodent nest in air intake quite possible.

Skip426 · 07-11-2013, 11:28 AM

You have an odd problem to be , diagnosed as water in fuel.
Water in fuel should be more of a rough run / sputtering at any speed even at idle.
Can you achieve speeds over 40 in the lower gear?
Have you changed the fuel filter ? Any tune up records ?
A gas line anti freeze will help dissipate small amounts of water in the fuel system. I don't think your tank will have a drain, and trying to siphon will not completely drain the tank.
I think there are things that have to be considered, low fuel pump pressure, plugged fuel filter even a plugged catalytic convertor, can give the problem you describe.

jamesrxx951 · 07-11-2013, 11:57 AM

Water sinks to the bottom of the tank. The water is typically the first liquid to be picked up by the fuel pump because the pump is also at the bottom of the tank. If you think there is water, remove the fuel filter and cycle the key a few times and drain some fuel. However, if there is water, as previously stated, the engine would likely run poorly at idle also. Because it is a load based symptom, it could be fuel filter or pump related. It may also be a misfire condition from the spark plugs or wires. There are many possibilities including a damaged wire to a sensor or even a vacuum leak to the map sensor if equipt or a damaged mass air flow sensor if equipt. Check the air filter for proper seating and check the induction system for anything loose or damaged.

Denniscw · 07-11-2013, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laj77

Apparently I have water/condensation in the gas tank as when I get higher than 40 mph it loses power. I can overcome some by shifting down. Is a Workhorse 8.1 Fleetwood. Is there a drain plug on the gas tank? If not is siphon a good option? Any rec on additive to overcome? Thanks for your help.
Laj77

Suggest you go to an automotive store and purchase "dry gas". That should solve the problem.

Dennis

gemini5362 · 07-12-2013, 05:54 AM

I agree with some of the other posters water in the gas would be more problems than just higher power usually. Would be hard starting for one thing. You can get chemicals to put in your tank which will bind with the water I would look at a few other things also. Vacuum leaks will cause problems. Also dirty carburetor if you have anything in the high speed jets. If the MH has set for a while the gas in the carb will dry out and leave varnish in the carb which can give you problems. You might try to burn out as much of the gas in the tank as you can ( less gas less cost to add chemicals) poor a can of sea foam in it. let it run for a few minutes to get the sea foam in the carb and let it set for a while. That might help. If you dont have a vacuum leak, and you have pulled at least one spark plug to see if it is clean and gapped correctly. and you have checked the rotor bug and distributor cap then you might have to take the carb off and get it rebuilt. Of course if you have a reason to suspect water in the gas the gas dry chemicals are fairly cheap and easiest first try to fix.

CampDaven · 07-12-2013, 06:11 AM

I had a 96 fleetwood on a P30.

Same symptoms.
Replaced fuel filter. 90% better but still rough.
The doghouse heat had fried stuff.
Plugs, wires, rotor, cap. 100%

Best wishes

**TonyDi** · 07-12-2013, 11:00 AM

I hope your power problem is easily resolved. To eliminate the chance of water in the gas in the future, always make sure the tank is full before going into storage. Condensation cannot form in a full tank.

Brockx · 07-13-2013, 11:10 AM

If you suspect, or know you have some "varnish" build up, do an overdose of Sta-bil in the fuel. In years past I always had something in storage. Boats, mowers, snowmobiles, snowblowers etc.. No matter how careful, something would just not be running right when it was start of it's "in season". A heavy dose of Sta-bil in the tank would always clear it out, usually 1/2 hour or so.

wa8yxm · 07-14-2013, 07:40 AM

Question: Are you using regular gasoline with 5-10% alcohol in it? If so water condensation is **NOT** your problem.

Why do I say this? For many years, in the wintere, Standard Oil (now BP) advertised "My Advice Sir, Get De-Icer" in the colder states like Michigan Where I live.. I took that advice (After several evenings thawing my fuel line) and never had a problem.. What is De-Icer... Alcohol, what else, Alcohol dissolves water, mixes with it and takes it allows it to go through the system and out the exhaust where it becomes... harmless.

mrv8outboard · 07-14-2013, 09:07 AM

First thing is to know what fuel is in your tank. If it is ethanol extended fuel do not use gas line antifreeze or and water absorbing removers as they are alcohol based. If you do not have ethanol extended gas do not used any gas line antifreeze or water absorbing products. The alcohol is corrosive, it can absorb 100 % of it's volume of water now even more corrosive. Water in regular type gas will be at the bottom of the tank and if you can go 40 MPH you have sucked it all up by now. If you have ethanol extended gas (or used a gas line antifreeze or water absorbing product) the alcohol has absorbed the water and is mixed with the fuel. If you do not have phase separation then the fuel is bad, all of it, why? Because the ethanol extended fuel uses the ethanol as the oxygenator and the octane contributor. This now can no longer do what it was intended as it is now full of water and you octane has dropped to around 80 to 83 depending on if it was super of regular. You can not add octane booster to fix. I spent an hour and a half with a chemical engineer from the most talked about stabilizer talked about here and the products out now will not completely stabilize E10.
They have just now come out with some newer technology that will work better, but I have not seen it in retail yet. You can not burn water and alcohol does not produce the same BTU's as gas (less power per pound) your engine will run on it but won't like it. Most of the time in a boat it leads to an engine failure as people try to use 100 gallons of gas rather than pump it out and start fresh. I bring up the boat analogy because I run a marine business and they are always under heavy loads, just like a motorhome.

Hooligan · 07-14-2013, 09:29 AM

Discussion of phase separation here: Phase Separation in Gasoline

Most discussions online are from companies that want to sell you a product, I have no idea how well or if any of these cures work...

Recent discussion on ethanol fuel here on IRV2: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f84/e15-m...vs-165981.html

TXiceman · 07-14-2013, 02:52 PM

I would be looking at a plugged fuel filter or a weak fuel pump.

Ken

ga traveler · 07-14-2013, 05:22 PM

As some others have stated, You are already running 10% alcohol in your tank. It is not water. I have had problems with rust. Rust in fuel is not the huge slabs of metal you see by the ocean. It looks like fine sand. It can stop up the filter. I have had it happen on several coaches. Bad Ignition wires can also cause this, as can problems with the engine sensors and computers. A stopped up catalytic converter is also a possibility.