Do we really need to use "dri gas" anymore?

Years ago it was common to put a can of "dri gas" into the tank with each fill up to absorb any water that might have gotten into the fuel. After awhile we were told that the dri gas was added at the refinery to prevent problems in the delivery trucks and so it as not needed anymore. Now with the 10 percent ethanol we have in the gas is it really helpful or necessary for that matter to even use it at all? Lenny

> wrote:
>Years ago it was common to put a can of "dri gas" into the tank with each f=
>ill up to absorb any water that might have gotten into the fuel. After awhi=
>le we were told that the dri gas was added at the refinery to prevent probl=
>ems in the delivery trucks and so it as not needed anymore. Now with the 10=
> percent ethanol we have in the gas is it really helpful or necessary for t=
>hat matter to even use it at all? Lenny

"Dry gas" was ethanol, or sometimes isopropanol. Adding more ethanol to gas
that already has a lot of ethanol in it doesn't help anything.

In fact, one of the problems with modern ethanol-containing gas is that it
will absorb moisture too easily.

I still buy "Dry gas" additive, but I put it in my windshield wiper solution
for better de-icing.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 11:16:43 AM UTC-10, wrote:
> Years ago it was common to put a can of "dri gas" into the tank with each fill up to absorb any water that might have gotten into the fuel. After awhile we were told that the dri gas was added at the refinery to prevent problems in the delivery trucks and so it as not needed anymore. Now with the 10 percent ethanol we have in the gas is it really helpful or necessary for that matter to even use it at all? Lenny

My guess is that you don't need any that stuff any more. I can't see why you'd need it at all since cars have a sealed fuel system these days.

dsi1 wrote:
> On Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 11:16:43 AM UTC-10,
> wrote:
>> Years ago it was common to put a can of "dri gas" into the tank
>> with each fill up to absorb any water that might have gotten into
>> the fuel. After awhile we were told that the dri gas was added at
>> the refinery to prevent problems in the delivery trucks and so it
>> as not needed anymore. Now with the 10 percent ethanol we have in
>> the gas is it really helpful or necessary for that matter to even
>> use it at all? Lenny
>
> My guess is that you don't need any that stuff any more. I can't see
> why you'd need it at all since cars have a sealed fuel system these
> days.

Show me a car that has a sealed system that actually runs. They are all
vented through the charcoal canister. Water vapor can still get in as
well as the amount that is already absorbed into the ethanol in the gas.

Dri-Gas can be helpful if you are using gas that has been stored a while
or that came from a store with low fuel sales. Or if you run straight
gas without ethanol like I do in all the small engines and vehicles when
possible.

--
Steve W.

On Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 10:42:30 PM UTC-10, Steve W. wrote:
>
> Show me a car that has a sealed system that actually runs. They are all
> vented through the charcoal canister. Water vapor can still get in as
> well as the amount that is already absorbed into the ethanol in the gas.
>
> Dri-Gas can be helpful if you are using gas that has been stored a while
> or that came from a store with low fuel sales. Or if you run straight
> gas without ethanol like I do in all the small engines and vehicles when
> possible.
>
> --
> Steve W.

There are valves in the fuel system to equalize tank pressure and the purge vapors from the charcoal canister. It's still a sealed system.

dsi1 wrote:
> On Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 10:42:30 PM UTC-10, Steve W. wrote:
>>
>> Show me a car that has a sealed system that actually runs. They are all
>> vented through the charcoal canister. Water vapor can still get in as
>> well as the amount that is already absorbed into the ethanol in the gas.
>>
>> Dri-Gas can be helpful if you are using gas that has been stored a while
>> or that came from a store with low fuel sales. Or if you run straight
>> gas without ethanol like I do in all the small engines and vehicles when
>> possible.
>>
>> --
>> Steve W.
>
> There are valves in the fuel system to equalize tank pressure and the purge vapors from the charcoal canister. It's still a sealed system.

Air must enter the tank or it would collapse during fuel withdrawal.

On Friday, March 9, 2018 at 9:23:45 AM UTC-10, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
> > On Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 10:42:30 PM UTC-10, Steve W. wrote:
> >>
> >> Show me a car that has a sealed system that actually runs. They are all
> >> vented through the charcoal canister. Water vapor can still get in as
> >> well as the amount that is already absorbed into the ethanol in the gas.
> >>
> >> Dri-Gas can be helpful if you are using gas that has been stored a while
> >> or that came from a store with low fuel sales. Or if you run straight
> >> gas without ethanol like I do in all the small engines and vehicles when
> >> possible.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Steve W.
> >
> > There are valves in the fuel system to equalize tank pressure and the purge vapors from the charcoal canister. It's still a sealed system.
>
> Air must enter the tank or it would collapse during fuel withdrawal.

You are 100% correct about that. That's why there's a valve in the fuel system to equalize tank pressure. My guess is that any air that enters the system through that route wouldn't contain much water vapor.

dsi1 wrote:
> On Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 10:42:30 PM UTC-10, Steve W. wrote:
>> Show me a car that has a sealed system that actually runs. They are
>> all vented through the charcoal canister. Water vapor can still get
>> in as well as the amount that is already absorbed into the ethanol
>> in the gas.
>>
>> Dri-Gas can be helpful if you are using gas that has been stored a
>> while or that came from a store with low fuel sales. Or if you run
>> straight gas without ethanol like I do in all the small engines and
>> vehicles when possible.
>>
>> -- Steve W.
>
> There are valves in the fuel system to equalize tank pressure and the
> purge vapors from the charcoal canister. It's still a sealed system.
>


No it is not. You have a purge valve at one end that allows the engine
to pull the fuel vapor that is stored in the charcoal canister. At the
other end you have the canister VENT valve. The only time it closes is
when the system runs an EVAP test. The remainder of the time it is open
to allow the fuel tank to vent. The charcoal canister is in between the
tank and the vent valve. It's job is to capture the fuel vapor and keep
it from escaping out the vent into the atmosphere.



--
Steve W.

There is still some use for these. Older gas stations
frequently have moisture in their tanks and some gas
is purposefully diluted by cheats. I remember my car
stalling badly about 20 miles after tanking at an Indian
reservation in New Mexico. Bad fuel was the culprit.

On 03/08/2018 04:48 PM, Basia wrote:
> There is still some use for these. Older gas stations
> frequently have moisture in their tanks and some gas
> is purposefully diluted by cheats. I remember my car
> stalling badly about 20 miles after tanking at an Indian
> reservation in New Mexico. Bad fuel was the culprit.

Or filling your tank when the station's tank is nearly empty. Back in
the dark ages when gas was leaded we siphoned some of the gas back into
a glass jar -- proof that it was roughly 1/5 water. I think we added
denatured alcohol, but I think it would have required a LOT of it, but
maybe not.

--
Cheers, Bev
"We need to cut more slack for the stupid; after all, somebody has
to populate the lower part of the bell curve." -- Dennis (evil)