Is it effective to drain the fuel tank from water condensate with fuel additives? Personal experience

My car is 12 years old and breakdowns occur in it or something appears wrong in operation. The most serious breakdown is the breakdown of the variator. But this is a separate story (if anyone is interested, I can tell you how to extend its working life). In the same article, we will talk about such a hidden process as the accumulation of water condensate in the fuel tank and what this can lead to.

About two years ago, the car began to start badly. Moreover, in the warm season, in the spring. I had to turn the starter longer. Gasoline engine. First thoughts - the reason is in the fuel pump or its filter (two years before that the filter was changed). Or the injector nozzles are clogged with deposits. I washed the rail with chemistry from a specialist. As a result, I replaced the fuel pump assembly. But the problem came back after a while. This was not always the case. For example, when the car is standing on a slope.

Recently I watched a video where the author explains why an absolutely serviceable car does not start in cold weather, although the starter confidently turns the engine.

The fuel pump is installed at the bottom of any fuel tank. And there condensate accumulates, enters the fuel filter of the fuel pump, freezes in the mesh and pipes.

There are folk methods for draining the gas tank - for example, pour 0.3 liters of acetone. But he decided not to risk it (it is not known how this will affect the rubber gaskets).

I purchased and poured a product from a car shop:

First, I filled in one bottle (the one on the left) when refueling 50 liters of gasoline. Yesterday I poured the second bottle at the next refueling (55 liters) - the one on the right (for control). Even after the first fill, the problem did not appear. And the feeling that the car even drove somehow better, acceleration improved. Perhaps due to the fact that the fuel filter was partially clogged with an aqueous emulsion - gasoline in the required volume did not flow to the injectors. Less fuel means less power.

The cost of some of these gas tank dryers is low:

Main component - isopropyl alcohol, which binds water (like other miscellaneous alcohols). It is recommended to fill them in for prevention before the first subzero temperatures (in autumn) and for prevention once a year. It is useless to pour into the cold, because the condensate in the tank is frozen into ice.

While writing these lines, I remembered one more moment. I have a pre-heater installed in my car. When I didn’t use it often in winter, it let me down several times in the cold, did not start. Especially after the summer period. Once in a more or less warm day (up to minus 5 grams) I specifically tried to start it several times. The engine of the gasoline pump and the crackle of the discharge of the candle could be heard, but it started only the third time with the release of gray smoke. Only now I realized what the problem is. The fact is that the gasoline intake pipe is installed at the very bottom of the gas tank and water (condensate) froze in it. The pump could not pump gasoline, or it did not do it right away.

So whoever has a pre-heater installed, it is also necessary to drain the tank with fuel additives. If someone had similar situations with condensate in the tank - write how you solved the issue.

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