Do gas stations really water down their gas?

I was just wondering if gas stations really do water their gas down to
make more money. I was told by my father and step-mother that Shell and
various other smaller gas stations (local companies) are doing this and
it stalls their car (1988 piece of junk).

Any facts behind this?
Is this illegal?
How can I tell?

Thanks,
Jason

:2cents: (Save it!) :2cents:


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DentShop
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On Thu, 5 Oct 2006 13:16:05 -0700, DentShop
> wrote:

>
>I was just wondering if gas stations really do water their gas down to
>make more money. I was told by my father and step-mother that Shell and
>various other smaller gas stations (local companies) are doing this and
>it stalls their car (1988 piece of junk).
>
>Any facts behind this?
>Is this illegal?
>How can I tell?
>
>Thanks,
>Jason
>
>:2cents: (Save it!) :2cents:

Of course its illegal. And I've no doubt it surely has happened
somewhere, sometime but I doubt it's being done with the knowledge of
Shell or any other major business entity. You can have the gas
analyzed if you want to go to the expense. The local TV here did that
a few years ago and discovered that while they were all within the
limits for gasoline composition some were closer to the ideal then
others. If those gas stations are not in an area with strict
formulating requirements on gasoline it's entirely possible that those
smaller stations are buying gas that isn't quite up to what it should
be even if they aren't adding water. Is it possible your folks are
putting premium gas in a car that's supposed to use regular? Some
cars done run as well on premium as on regular. I can tell the
difference in my Explorer, Premium makes it harder to start.

DentShop wrote:
> I was just wondering if gas stations really do water their gas down to
> make more money. I was told by my father and step-mother that Shell and
> various other smaller gas stations (local companies) are doing this and
> it stalls their car (1988 piece of junk).
>
> Any facts behind this?
> Is this illegal?
> How can I tell?
>
> Thanks,
> Jason
>
> :2cents: (Save it!) :2cents:
>
>

Water down gasoline? with what?.... water? no, you can't do that...
well maybe you can now! Alcohol has replaced MTBE in a lot of areas and
there can be up to 10% in your tank. (Gasohol is 10-15% and gasahol is
anything over that) Alcohol is a varnish remover and since varnish is
created by the older gasoline, it will wreak havoc in an old car, in the
gastank, steel lines and the especially, the carb. Until all the old
crud is dissolved and burned off, your car will probably run like crap.
Another facet of this, is that it gives the solution, a lighter
specific gravity, which will cause your carb float to rise slightly more
than necessary to shut off fuel. So now you may have a richer than
necessary mixture also. Rough running, stumbling, you guessed it..
Further, alcohol can absorb water, to a great degree, but the new
fuels will have a sensor in the pump to detect and shut it off, if it
exceeds a certain percentage. So you can ,now, get watered down gas,
legally. Love those oil company boyz!

DentShop > wrote in article
>...
>
> I was just wondering if gas stations really do water their gas down to
> make more money. I was told by my father and step-mother that Shell and
> various other smaller gas stations (local companies) are doing this and
> it stalls their car (1988 piece of junk).
>
> Any facts behind this?


Any water added to a storage tank - intentionally or accidently - would go
straight to the bottom and the gasoline would float on top. It is not
possible for gasoline to mix with water.....GASOLINE AND WATER DO NOT MIX!

Most oil companies have their pump pickup tubes located a specific distance
off the bottom of the tank in order to avoid picking up water....

Tank owners regularly apply a paste to the bottom of the measuring stick
that is used to measure how much gasoline is in the storage tank. This
paste turns color - it used to be from green to purple - in the presence of
water. If this happens, the tank owner calls the fuel distributor and the
bottom of the tank is pumped out.


> Is this illegal?

Doesn't need to be illegal since it is impossible to mix gasoline and
water......not to mention idiotic to even attempt.


> How can I tell?
>

Moot question..........

You might end up with water in your car's tank for a number of
reasons......

• You drive it in the cold and park it in a heated garage causing
condensation to form.

(I used to do factory-authorized Zamboni Ice Resurfacing Machine
maintenance and condensation was a huge problem, with the machine working
in the cold arena, then parked in the heated garage and filled with hot
water just before going out on the ice. First thing I would do with just
about ANY Zamboni service would be to drain the bottom of the fuel tank.)

• You gas up at a low-volume place that doesn't check their tanks
regularly.

• You have some sort of a leak in the fuel inlet, the fuel return line into
the tank or the tank itself - such as a rust hole on top - which allows
water to enter.

If you either drain or siphon a sample of fuel from the BOTTOM of the tank,
water will be very evident as a clear bubble lying on the bottom of the
container of gasoline.

SilverStude > wrote in article
<xsrVg.8634$Go3.1198@dukeread05>...
>
> Water down gasoline? with what?.... water? no, you can't do that...
> well maybe you can now! Alcohol has replaced MTBE in a lot of areas and
> there can be up to 10% in your tank. (Gasohol is 10-15% and gasahol is
> anything over that) Alcohol is a varnish remover and since varnish is
> created by the older gasoline, it will wreak havoc in an old car, in the
> gastank, steel lines and the especially, the carb. Until all the old
> crud is dissolved and burned off, your car will probably run like crap.
> Another facet of this, is that it gives the solution, a lighter
> specific gravity, which will cause your carb float to rise slightly more
> than necessary to shut off fuel. So now you may have a richer than
> necessary mixture also. Rough running, stumbling, you guessed it..
> Further, alcohol can absorb water, to a great degree, but the new
> fuels will have a sensor in the pump to detect and shut it off, if it
> exceeds a certain percentage. So you can ,now, get watered down gas,
> legally. Love those oil company boyz!
>


I worked with the State of Maine on a gasohol project in the mid-'70s, and
we found that adding water to a 90/10 gasoline/methanol mix would cause the
water to mix with the methanol and precipitate the methanol/water mixture
out of the gasoline to the bottom of the container.....just as water alone
would do.

So, while the water would, indeed, mix with the alcohol, and the alcohol
would, indeed, mix with the gasoline, water STILL doesn't mix with
gasoline.

* wrote:
> DentShop > wrote in article
> >...
>> I was just wondering if gas stations really do water their gas down to
>> make more money. I was told by my father and step-mother that Shell and
>> various other smaller gas stations (local companies) are doing this and
>> it stalls their car (1988 piece of junk).
>>
>> Any facts behind this?

Myth
>
>
> Any water added to a storage tank - intentionally or accidently - would go
> straight to the bottom and the gasoline would float on top. It is not
> possible for gasoline to mix with water.....GASOLINE AND WATER DO NOT MIX!


<snip>
>
> • You gas up at a low-volume place that doesn't check their tanks
> regularly.
>

Did this once at the start of a 300mile journey.

Didn't know about it for the first 2 hours while on the flat roads but
after a while and into the hilly section the water would settle out in
the float bowl. Then on uphill stretches the bubble of water would roll
to the back of the bowl and over the jet. Lots of spluttering until the
next downhill. Eventually I would have to get out and drain the floatbowl.

Not a good experience, young family in the back, moonless night, always
happened way out the back of beyond. Towing a trailer too.

PETROL AND WATER DO NOT MIX ! ! !

Sounds like BS to me. Granted, there is bad fuel and good fuel but to
my knowledge water doesn't mix with fuel...


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Alibi
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I've always wondered that myself. :dunno:


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alfonso2501
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gasoline is very highly regulated. if a company were putting water in
its gas, they would surely get shut down. it is VERY illegal, and
would do damage to a new cars engine.
if someone says X-brand puts water in their gas, then it is because
they are ignorant and that is what they have been told by someone who
doesnt like their brand.


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GreyGoose006
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When an oil company is accused of "watering down" it refers to the
practice of using less crude oil and more aromatic "additives" to
produce the gasoline. This lowers the octane rating but stays within
standard guidelines of what can be called "premium" grade fuel.

When a gas station is accused of "watering down" their fuel it usually
means they are selling regular grade fuel as premium grade, or a
mixture of regular and premium as premium grade.


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Gohan Ryu
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