water in tank problem

[sc0ttie]

The last week or 2 I have noticed water has filled around the rim of my fuel tanks filler cap when I have opened it to fill with fuel. It never used to have water collecting there, so I can only assume there is a blockage in the drainage system from the filler cap. I reckon water has got into my fuel tank too, that would explain why the low revs stutter has returned.
My question is, what should now be my procedure? How do I make sure water is removed from my tank and do I need to drain the carbs? If so how do I do that?

[Fazerider]

The usual cause of a blocked filler cap drain is a kinked hose under the tank, otherwise it could be debris that will probably shift if you have access to an airline.
Emptying the tank is always a pain: it holds a lot and it's tricky to get the last couple of litres out, but it's worth doing to get rid of any remaining water. If there's rust in there, clean or replace the filter and consider lining the tank: I used a kit by a French company called Restom, POR15 is another make of tank sealant.
Draining the carbs is easy, there's a drain screw at the bottom of each one. I fit a short bit of plastic tubing over the spigot and drain them into a jam jar so that I can see what the fluid looks like.

[sc0ttie]

Thanks, after draining the carbs and refuelling the tank, do the carbs refill themselves or do I need to do something to initiate that?

[darrsi]

Make sure you use a proper fitting screwdriver on those drainage screws, they fall into the "made of cheese" category, and you can very easily chew them up if you go in heavy handed with an ill fitting tool.

[Fazerider]

Thanks, after draining the carbs and refuelling the tank, do the carbs refill themselves or do I need to do something to initiate that?

The fuel pump will do that for you, though it will probably time out before they're full... switching the ignition off and on again resets the pump timer.

[joebloggs]

I had to purge my tank of petrol before hitting it with a grinder, I removed the fuel tap, cap and fuel level sender, steam cleaned it then sat it in front of my fan heater for a few hours, was bone dry when finished., may be a little extreme for what you need but it will remove all the water

[darrsi]

I had to purge my tank of petrol before hitting it with a grinder, I removed the fuel tap, cap and fuel level sender, steam cleaned it then sat it in front of my fan heater for a few hours, was bone dry when finished., may be a little extreme for what you need but it will remove all the water

99% Isopropyl Alcohol will soak up water in your tank and burn it off as fuel, and is a damn sight less kerfuffle. 

[acid drop]

I had to purge my tank of petrol before hitting it with a grinder, I removed the fuel tap, cap and fuel level sender, steam cleaned it then sat it in front of my fan heater for a few hours, was bone dry when finished., may be a little extreme for what you need but it will remove all the water

99% Isopropyl Alcohol will soak up water in your tank and burn it off as fuel, and is a damn sight less kerfuffle. 




So will a pint of methylated spirit

[sc0ttie]

I had to purge my tank of petrol before hitting it with a grinder, I removed the fuel tap, cap and fuel level sender, steam cleaned it then sat it in front of my fan heater for a few hours, was bone dry when finished., may be a little extreme for what you need but it will remove all the water

99% Isopropyl Alcohol will soak up water in your tank and burn it off as fuel, and is a damn sight less kerfuffle. 

How is that used? I.e. do you put it in the empty tank or does the tank need fuel in it to mix with? I just looked it up on eBay, seems quite cheap to buy so I might use that. I cleared the breather hose, I think, used a bit of single core speaker wire and pushed it down the hole. Bike seemed to be better today, more responsive and pulled better at low revs than it has done in a while. Unless that was my imagination.

[darrsi]

I had to purge my tank of petrol before hitting it with a grinder, I removed the fuel tap, cap and fuel level sender, steam cleaned it then sat it in front of my fan heater for a few hours, was bone dry when finished., may be a little extreme for what you need but it will remove all the water

99% Isopropyl Alcohol will soak up water in your tank and burn it off as fuel, and is a damn sight less kerfuffle. 

How is that used? I.e. do you put it in the empty tank or does the tank need fuel in it to mix with? I just looked it up on eBay, seems quite cheap to buy so I might use that. I cleared the breather hose, I think, used a bit of single core speaker wire and pushed it down the hole. Bike seemed to be better today, more responsive and pulled better at low revs than it has done in a while. Unless that was my imagination.

To start with put about 300ml in a full tank of fuel, then let it do its thing. Use it over 2 or 3 tanks full if you suspect moisture in the tank.
Make sure you only get the 99% alcohol one though, as they also do a 70% alcohol/30% water version for cleaning with.


To be honest you may as well go for the 5 litre container, as it's so cheap. I use it every couple of months in the tank, so you easily get a year out of it.
It won't affect running in any negative way at all.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-LITRE-PURE-99-9-ISOPROPANOL-IPA-SOLVENT-5L-CLEANER-ISOPROPYL-ALCOHOL-/191935352021?hash=item2cb03d0cd5:g:N14AAOSwPhdVR6F3

[sc0ttie]

Thanks Darrsi, I will do that. it seems my bike is working fine now since I unblocked the fuel tank breather hole/tube but I am still going to get some of that as i am pretty sure at least a few drops of water entered the tank through the filler cap when i opened it up in recent weeks to refuel so it will still be worth me doing it.

[celticdog]

Interesting thread some good tips. I've had water dripping into the tank too through the filler cap. It's made the key lock difficult to turn and turned the inside a bit rusty.   I now always fill at a BP garage where I know they stock the soft paper towels which I use to soak up as much moisture as I can when I fill 'er up in wet conditions. A smear of petroleum jelly around the lock, seal and lip seems to have kept the worst of it at bay.

[BBROWN1664]

If your cap seal is in good condition, it not only stops fuel and fuel vapour coming out, it stops water getting in.

don't worry about water in the fuel, just make sure the drainage channel isn't blocked.

[Fazerider]

If your cap seal is in good condition, it not only stops fuel and fuel vapour coming out, it stops water getting in.


don't worry about water in the fuel, just make sure the drainage channel isn't blocked.

My Fazer was almost always parked under cover, the drain was kept clear, and yet the tank rusted through from the inside. I can't blame ethanol in fuel either as regular use meant the petrol was always fresh.
Inspection is easy nowadays though, a USB endoscope only costs a few pounds.