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Water in gascolator

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24 Jul 2023 15:01 #7 by Larry Snyder
Replied by Larry Snyder on topic Water in gascolator
In my 20 years I’ve never found water in my tanks, even at OSH where the plane sat outside during thunderstorms. In 2018 the plane sat on the ramp in Tucamcari, NM, for two days in the pouring rain with nothing getting into the tanks.
That water HAS to be coming from somewhere! Condensation, maybe? Has it been humid with big temperature shifts?
Puzzling!

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  • RPJ
  • Topic Author
24 Jul 2023 14:12 #8 by RPJ
Water in gascolator was created by RPJ
I have been finding a lot of water in my gascolator over the past month. Ive tried using different fuel sources and even completely drained the fuel system. In Addition to sumping Ive been using a syringe to check the bottom of the wing tanks(behind the bung in the tank) and header tank. After all of this I flew for two hours and upon return the gascolator was 1/3 filled with water. I'm at a complete loss as to where the water is coming from. So, Im contemplating adding a second gascolator to the firewall. My questions:

Is the firewall location a better location for the gascolator, being that it is lower than the carb bowl? If so, why did the AD add brackets to the gascolator to fix an issue when it would have been easier to solve by relocating it to the firewall?

Dumb question here but could the gascolator close to the engine susceptible to heat somehow cause internal moisture in gascolator that is not perfectly sealed? 

Does anyone ever use 2 gascolators in an airplane? Its common for diesel trucks.

Please no beuracrat responses! This is about 2023 knowledge, data availabilty in the 21st century, best practice, and SAFETY. It seems the firewall has been decided to be the best location since the 1950s and that two gascolators on a gravity fed system will have no detrimental effect on fuel availability to the carb. Am I wrong?

note: If I force land because of water in fuel do not let the faa say 'pilot did not sump the tanks'!

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