What to do if water gets into the gas tank? Water that accumulated in fuel trucks and gas station storage facilities could get there or condense from the air due to temperature changes (by driving from the street into a warm garage). A lot of condensation accumulates if you often leave the car for a long time almost without gasoline.
Having a high density, water settles at the bottom of the tank. At the inlet to the fuel pump, a fine mesh is installed that does not allow water to pass through. It accumulates in the tank for years and does not evaporate, because it is covered with a layer of gasoline.
In summer, it causes corrosion of metal elements of the fuel system, and in winter it turns into ice.
If water freezes on the fuel filter screen, an ice plug will form, causing gasoline supply from the tank will stop. It will not be possible to start the engine until the car warms up in a warm room.
Here are some well-known ways to solve the problem: add acetone or solvent to the tank. However, these are strong solvents that can corrode non-metallic components of the fuel system.
You can add alcohol to the tank. But methyl is a strong poison, and ethyl is an expensive pleasure. It is better to choose isopropyl.
A bottle of fuel desiccant will help to cope with the problem, but its main active ingredient is isopropyl alcohol. However, a five-liter canister of such alcohol costs 1000 rubles, and 100 ml of branded desiccant costs 100 rubles.
In winter, at each refueling, add 200 ml to the tank. For 5 procedures for the expulsion of water, alcohol will be required for only 200 rubles.
Isopropyl alcohol does not contain the corrosion inhibitors found in specialty fluids. Tests have shown that these inhibitors do not always work effectively.
Isopropyl alcohol can also be used to defrost lock larvae (using a syringe). Or pour it into a spray bottle and quickly defrost the windshield. Even anti-freeze can be prepared from it – and at any temperature, depending on the concentration.