Water And Fuel Don't Mix!

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Fuel is clean and sterile when it leaves the refinery. During transport, fuel could lay on top of water ballast in tanker ships. Fuel may be delivered with a high water content. Water being heavier than fuel will drop to the tank bottom. Fuel tanks are warmed through the day and cool moist air is drawn in to the tank vents at night. As the tanks breathe water is condensed from the air and is pulled by gravity to the tank bottom. Water also enters fuel tanks through leaky fill caps and water filled sumps. In diesel fuel tanks colonies of filter clogging bacteria and fungus will grow at the fuel/water interface. The byproduct of these colonies is acidic sludge which corrode tanks and engine components.