water in the fuel

[RageShade1]

So, something amazing happened tonight that id been wanting to see for a while, loaded up fsx after having made a 1 hour trip the night before in the 172, did a very quick fuel and oil lvl check, instead of the full walk around, primed the engine and fired it up, all was well for about 20 seconds, started to "hunt" at idle then started to cut out and die, wouldn't re start...there was 2cm of water in the main tank fuel tester and in the nose strainer/ tester it was HALF FULL of water xD what the heck happened, did someone put a garden hose in my fuel tanks when i wasn't looking Also my 172 is at 1,646 hours and climbing....on a 26 hour flight now xD

[Piper_EEWL]

I'm anxiously waiting for that to happen to me

[Lewis - A2A]

Cool, so you managed to discover it all whilst still on the ground

thanks,
Lewis

[RageShade1]

yes i did, thankfully i usually idle till the oil is around 150f, even though i dont have to, i like it to be nice and warm before i give it throttle for taxi, by the way what combination of weather has to be around for something like this to happen, wasn't raining or overly hot so im curious lol

[RageShade1]

hahaha ok it happened AGAIN, got ready to fire up the 172 after flying 6 hours, its been sitting for maybe 3 hours, went to start it and knew right away i had issues checked the fuel testers...yep water in both tanks and in the nose strainer....except this time i got it on video, link will be posted when the videos up....but seriously lol what causes this know the fuel tanks can sweat ive been flying to Russia at 10,000 ft making a quick decent, and stopping at airports for a few hours, ground temp is 59F

[Oracle427]

Condensation in the fuel truck can end up bring pumped into your tanks. Someone could have also left a cap off, etc.

Usually an aircraft sitting for a long time will end up showing water in the fuel, especially if the tanks are mostly full of air.

[RageShade1]

ahh that explains it, there wasnt mush over 5-7 gallons on both tanks, i was running about a quarter full on both tanks when it sat, the 1st time the tanks were full though lol

[Oracle427]

For what it's worth, filing the tanks up and letting the airplane sit isn't a great idea either. When the sun heats up the wing and the fuel inside, the fuel will expand and drain out through the vent. If the tanks can cross feed then the fuel will drain from all connected tanks until a level is reached where the expanded fuel doesn't reach the vent.

This can account for a lot of fuel and once the weather cools off the fuel will contract leaving plenty of surface area for condensation to forn.

...and then I see this headline in my Feedly app on my phone.

http://generalaviationnews.com/2015/06/ ... d-landing/

[RageShade1]

here is my video of the watery startup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jtBUdH ... e=youtu.be

[RageShade1]

also LOL at the headline...perfect timing haha, thanks for the info though good things to keep in mind

[Bruce Hamilton]

I realize this is a simulation, but I can not believe how badly you are mistreating that little Lycoming engine.

[RageShade1]

haha yeah, i am pretty rough on the 172 to see what it can take, i baby the 182 though, the 172 has had no oil changes in 300 hours it has effectively ruined the oil pump but it just keeps running, did a flight from alaska to Moscow Russia in it almost non stop only landing for fuel has 1,670 hours on it now 2nd cylinder has 60psi of compression burns a little oil

[FuzzyDropbear]

here is my video of the watery startup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jtBUdH ... e=youtu.be

stick the boot into it!!! I loved that part of the video, nice work

[RageShade1]

hahaha right im heavy footed xD

[n421nj]

Can't wait to find water in my fuel