->> the problem is a 5gal black plastic tank on a generator that
->> appears to condensate quite a bit and i'm about tired of
->> having to drain the tank and disassemble some of the gas flow
->> stuff to flush out all the water just to get the damned thing
->> running...

 TW>  Yes they do. It is called Alcohol. It is Sold Commercialy in
 TW> the Coldere Climates as "Dry GAs" and under several other
 TW> brand names.
 TW>  Since Alcohol likes top absorb water it does in the gas tank.
 TW> In the case of the Cold Climates of course it is to prevent
 TW> the water form freezing and blocking the gas lines.
 TW> It would work for what you want also. But don't put more then
 TW> 10% alcohol in the tank. First that would be gross overkill.
 TW> And more then that will upset the Fuel to Air ratio and the
 TW> running of the engine. Typical in the Cold climates you put a
 TW> pint in 10 gallons of gas or so.

excellent info... thanks... i actually found some fuel stabalizer that we
had gotten last year when this first became apparent... then i took the
fuel feed assembly apart (again) to get all the water out of that and added
the stabalizer to the fuel in the tank and shook it very well... then just
put everything back together and three pulls on the starter cord later, it
was running... now to just keep it working through and excercised in case
we need it during a power outage during the spring storms that are just
around the corner...

we've also been talking about building another tank or something in the
middle of the fuel line to let the water settle into as well as to be able
to tell when there is water in the fuel... kind of like the old glass
settlement bowls on the old tractors and such... we've got a couple of
decent ideas... now to look at them real close and see which is the better
to implement... we already know that the generator is going to be taken off
the current frame and mounted permenantly so with that in mind, we can
build a larger fuel tank (20 gal or more if desired) and include some sort
of water sump with some sort or sight glass tube to be able to visually see
the fuel level and any possible water in it... with the water sump, we can
have a petcock to open and let the water out without wasting all the
fuel... i'm thinking of a sight glass like the old coffee maker/server
has... glass tube in a metal shell... the big problem is going to be
getting the parts and putting them all together...

)\/(ark