Water in the tank : lawn mower
Water in the tank : lawn mower
- Water in the fuel tank can cause the motor to agitate and lock. Maybe you left your lawn mower exposed all winter, causing the water to seep through the vent on the tank lid, or you could have gotten bad fuel from your gas station. Leaving gas in the tank during the winter may cause moisture to accumulate, especially if you use fuel with an ethanol content. Ethanol attracts some moisture that normally exists as a suspension in the gas (such as cream in the milk). If you leave a lawnmower sitting for months, it may eventually settle down to the bottom of the tank, and only a couple of teaspoons may be sufficient to cause difficulties at the start.
- The water is denser than the gas and will sink to the bottom of the tank. If you light a flashlight inside, you can see water globules at the bottom (a maglite is useful for this kind of thing because the beam can be focused to light the bottom of the tank).
- If you drain the gas tank, you may use a cloth or sponge pushed to the end of a long screwdriver to absorb any remaining water at the bottom of the tank. If a lot of water has accumulated at the bottom, it may also have passed through the fuel line in the carburetor. In this case, you must remove the floating container as described below, and drain the contents of the container plus whatever is left in the fuel tank.
