Fuel Selector Valve

[Bdflies]

(Playing the role of Captain Obvious). It appears that you’ve found the problem!

Bill

[whee]

Haha. Yes Bill, I think you are right.

I do not know how the water got into my system but I’m concerned that this valve was a poor choice for me. Hopefully this is a fluke and won’t actually be a problem when the plane becomes operational.

[jaredyates]

Always good to find the smoking gun so to speak. Please run lots of fuel through the system and make sure there isn't any more water coming through before you fly! Also being Captain Obvious, but better safe than sorry.

[Battson]

This has never been an issue Jon, water in the BH fuel system is unheard of in my experience. I guess the question is where did the water come from.
We've been rained on and frozen many times, never had any water come out of the sump. Not enough to see in a fuel drain-cup at least.

Would a different valve be resistant to freezing...? Perhaps not.

Glad to see you found the problem. That is the main thing.

[whee]

Always good to find the smoking gun so to speak. Please run lots of fuel through the system and make sure there isn't any more water coming through before you fly! Also being Captain Obvious, but better safe than sorry.

For sure! Can't be too cautious or assume someone has thought of everything.

This has never been an issue Jon, water in the BH fuel system is unheard of in my experience. I guess the question is where did the water come from.
We've been rained on and frozen many times, never had any water come out of the sump. Not enough to see in a fuel drain-cup at least.

Would a different valve be resistant to freezing...? Perhaps not.

Glad to see you found the problem. That is the main thing.

I have no idea where the water came from.

The design of this valve may be conducive (due to vertical passages) to collecting a small amount of water at the inlets which may freeze and jam the valve. Some other valve don't have vertical passages and may be less sustainable to trapping water...maybe.

Since Idaho is cold and I'll be fueling with mogas out of a pickup bed tank water contamination could be an issue. Hopefully this will turn out to be a none issue.

[jaredyates]

There is such a thing as a funnel that will trap water. I have one but the downsides are that it is slow, and that it traps a little unused fuel that can be tricky to reclaim. These days I fuel from a 100-gallon aluminum tank that is mounted to a utility trailer, with a pump, filter, and retractable hose. I'm truly living high on the hog as they say.

[yateselden]

Seen it numerous times with snowmobiles, if you keep them in a warm garage, then move them outside in the cold or vice versa with less than topped off fuel tanks they will sweet/condensate putting water into the lowest point in a fuel system. Doing so, tanks must be full to minimize condensation.

[svyolo]

It is amazing how much water that condensation can generate over time. I have been leaving vehicles parked and unused for 6 -12 months at a time for 30 years. I always fill up before parking them. Fuel injected vehicles always start right up. Carbs, not so much. There is usually a bunch of water in the exhaust systems on start up. The tailpipe drips until the engine and exhaust get up to operating temp.

[whee]

It is likely that condensation is where the water came from. Hangar is not insulated or heated. The plane has been sitting in the hangar since June with empty tanks. First fuel was added in October but was just enough to flush the the lines, flow test and determine unusable fuel.

[svyolo]

Whee. I have to disagree this time. There is very little that you have ever posted that I disagree with. This might be the first one. I would argue that condensation is the only place it could have come from. And it migrated to the bottom of the system.

[whee]

Whee. I have to disagree this time. There is very little that you have ever posted that I disagree with. This might be the first one. I would argue that condensation is the only place it could have come from. And it migrated to the bottom of the system.

Differing opinions is an important part of these kinds of discussions and often lead to a better resolution. In this case, however, I'm not sure that we actually disagree. Condensation is almost certainly where the water came but it is possible there the gas can we used was contaminated or that something other than gasoline was used to rinse the tanks after drilling the return ports, etc. Too many possibilities to state that condensation is the only option.