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hwess - I have only been a Fordson F owner for about a week, and have had the same question. Although I do not have a solution, I thought I'd bring up a couple points. If your air washer is working properly, the engine will not run right, and probably will not even start unless you have water inside the air washer. Once the floats get too low, they cut off the air supply. This sounds like kind of a safety feature to be sure that you have some means of washing the air before running. If your tractor runs without water in the air washer, then the air washer probably wouldn't work right even if it had water in it. It is real interesting why the floats are there. They allow the air to always enter at a certain distance below the water level, and keep the pressure loss through the air washer the same, no matter what the water level may be. The down side of the water system is that Ford recommends that the water be drained after each use, while the tractor is warm, so that the dirt doesn't have time to settle. Then you are supposed to flush the system with clean water until the drain water is reasonably clear. In many photos of Fordsons, I noticed that the main air supply tube that connects the air washer to the Kingston carburetor assembly is missing. I suspect it has been removed so that water did not have to be in the air washer. This would by-pass the air washer altogether. Why not take it one step further, and put a K&N filter on the inlet of the carb? Are you going to work the tractor at all? If so, then it might not be a bad idea to use the water anyway, since the second purpose of the water is to moisten the air and help avoid pre-ignition. I am anxious to see what others have to say. Greg
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