After an hour waiting at the BP on Weddington Road Wednesday night I was the second to last person to get my 10 gallons before they shut off the pumps.Yesterday morning I went to start up the MINI but all I got was a few chugs and the CEL.First thought was fuel since it ran fine the night before.Opened the bleeder valve on the fuel rail and out comes WATER!So I figure I'll go to Autozone and pick up a bottle of water remover.I jump in my 914 and guess what it won't start either.So I disconnect the injector line and out comes WATER!I had filled the tank with 14 gallons at the same station two days before and had driven right home(less than a mile)and hadn't driven it since.I had also filled a portable five gallon tank which I gave to my mother for her Sienna.So I give her a call and she informs me that her van is at the dealer after the motor just quit running.Turns out she has 3 GALLONS OF WATER in her tank.To make a long story short I spent yesterday draining a total of 12 GALLONS of water from my 914 and after pulling the tank on the MINI about a gallon from it's tank.I picked up a rental(with 1/4 tank) and headed to the gas station to approach the owner with my evidence.At first he flat out denied even the possibility that it came out of his pumps but after some heated conversation agreed to at least have his tanks checked out.(big deal) Luckily for my case there are receipts,witnesses and cameras on the pumps.Both cars are back online now but there's no gas to replace.

Here's some pics:
MINI


914

 

OMGoodness!

I knew Charlotte was running out of gas. BUT HOLY CRAP! that has to be illegal. right? I mean? Your mom's car is in the shop because of it? right?

jeeze!

 

Takes lots of octane booster to make water burn right...

Sorry you got hosed.... no fun...yikes.

 

Unbelievable. Just when you think (some) people can't get any worse...

 

Mine had a sputter when i started her, changed to a better station and mine is perfect again

 

Talk about running lean.....

I'd be superpeeved if that happened to me.

I would strongly suggest you get a hold of the regulatory agency that certifies the pumps in NC and make sure they know of the offending station(s).

 

I'd also be contacting the Attorney General of NC. This is worse than price gouging.

http://www.ncdoj.com/consumerprotection/cp_about.jsp

 

I agree. People have enought to worry about trying to FIND gas let alone find a station that isn't a bunch of crooks. I'd give your story to the newspaper as well. Make sure everyone knows.

 

How is that price gouging in the OP's case??? Couldn't his tanks been contaminated on accident???

 

OMG - in my opinion I'd sue them! You need to turn them into the NC District Attorney's office!!!
Here's the link - it works - many years ago I won over a customer complaint about Gateway computers. Good LUCK!

http://www.ncdoj.com/default_contact...tionid=general

WOW!!!!!!!!

 

Calm down folks. While getting water in your fuel is a pain in the keester it's to be expected in the conditions we find ourselves.
It's normal for water to be in fuel tanks, even perfectly sealed tanks. Tanks are vented to the atmosphere and this allows the tank to "breathe" which allows moisture laden air to be drawn into the tank when it cools down. After a while the air layer in the tank is quite humid and when it comes in contact with the cooled tank water forms on the inside of the tank. Think of your cold beer sweating. This water then goes to the bottom of the tank and just lives there waiting to be pumped or drained out. (This is the same problem aircraft have when they are left overnight low on fuel. The tank cools much faster than the air in the tank and moisture forms very quickly and must be drained before the next flight.) When the gas stations run very low on fuel it should be no surprise when water comes out with the gas. We are at the bottom of the barrel. This was a common occurrence in '73 when every station ran out of gas regularly. When tanks are not allowed to get down as low as they have been water isn't a major factor.
All that being said, the station owner saying it couldn't possibly come from his tanks is ignorant or lying. Given that gas companies have pumping gas for longer than all of us have been alive I seriously doubt ignorance in this case. However, I don't think the water was a willful act, i.e., it wasn't put in the tank by the station owner/employees or the tanker driver or the tank farm folks. Tank farms have the same problem but on a much larger scale.
The volumes oxybluecoop got were remarkable but, as I stated before, we're tapping the bottom of the barrel. Unfortunately, the only sure way to test for water in fuel is to drain samples from the lowest point in the tank, the sump, and look for water. Sometimes you need to drain copious amounts to get to pure fuel, as was the case for oxybluecoop. I work on commercial aircraft and on occasion we have drained multiple 55 gal. barrels of water from the aircraft to get to fuel. oxybluecoop's photo of bottles of water/fuel best show what you'll need to see.
The only solution at present is try to get fuel from a recently filled gas station. I know that's essentially impossible to know unless you see it happening. Getting it immediately after replenishment isn't a safe bet either as any water the truck/tank farm may have had may still be in suspension and will need to settle out before you can be reasonably assured of not getting any water.
Bottom line: this sucks.

 

Hmm...thanks for all the helpful info., SSSSSS! What should one do? Having no idea if the gas station I used was near the bottom of its barrel or not, I really don't like the thought that I could have water in the bottom of my gas tank, just waiting to get to the engine. I avoid letting it get lower than 2 or 3 bars before filling up - this is good, right? Should I drain it as the OP did as a precaution (once fuel is normally available again, of course?) Or will the dealership help me check for water? Inquiring, over-protective, new MINI owners want to know.

 

There really isn't any efficient and effective means of checking fuel for water in your car as there is in an aircraft. One way we checked fuel before putting it in the wing tanks (while I was in S. America flying in the bush) was to run the first gallon or so into a container and see if I had a water puddle at the bottom of the fuel. If it was clear of water I'd use it, if not, keep pumping/pouring. A gas can will do the job. While effective it's not particularly efficient. I also used a special funnel with a stand pipe in that formed a sump that would allow me to see if water was in the fuel.
It might be prudent to carry around a bottle of anhydrous alcohol to put in the tank at the first sign of sputtering or be proactive and put it in at fill up. Anhydrous alcohol can be found at the drug store and is simply rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol with no water in it. The label will say whether there is any water content. Look for 99% water free.

 

I haven't bought any gas because if your pumping from the bottom of tank you not only get water but corision contamination. Soulution for me, I started walking to Big Als instead of driving. Hopefully we will have gas in a few weeks? We went to Mickey & Mini and found every gas station open with all octanes. I think the people in Charlotte area are getting hosed big time. Reg gas here is higher than Preimum we bought in Florida and Georgia.

 

In Augusta we are still hurting for gas too. Major lines and 4.79 a gallon for regular. ouch! As far as checking for gas/water. I'm not sure if this works or not but I felt better doing it; basically i turned on the pump and left the nozzle out of the intake and put a small amout of gas into the outside of the intake tube and inspected it. It was really easy to do on the Motorcycle but it was possible on the car too. If it looked/smelled like gas, I pumped. I stopped about every gallon and checked it again. Just about a teaspoon or two of fluid is enough to tell if it is gas or water. Maybe I'm wasting my time with my technique, but it seemed logical to me.

 

Yes, the people in Charlotte & NC are getting hosed!
Just over the border in SC - they have all of their pumps up and running.
Take I-77 - it's in just the first few exits - that they are serving premium gas.
If people aren't driving to SC - they are driving to VA.

Good luck!

 

Filled up yesterday at the Texaco on the corner of Nations Ford and S. Tryon. The gas must be contaminated. Almost immediatley the car started idling rough, I figured it was just a fluke. Soon after hopping onto 77 it dropped a cylinder and the Service Engine Soon light came on. The car went in between the limp mode and normal, causing a very interesting ride home.

Apparently its either got dirty gas, or water in the tank. Since the tanks were run dry all the junk at the bottom is getting mixed and pumped out. Seems like this gas nightmare isn't going to end!

Does anyone have a scanner so I don't have to make the trip to the dealer?

 

If you always buy your gas from the same place and they know you only buy there, most of them can get the cost replaced by the distributor. The person running or leasing the station can't but the person he buys from can. You will need receipts, dates etc. for your verification of bad water or debris in gas.