June 7th, 2007 - Solving Diesel Fuel Issues |
This section is dedicated to providing information sources, re the topic, while the middle column provides product information. Cruisers forums discuss many topics about boats and this one is about Diesel fuel.
Marine Engine is dedicated to engines and has a vast supply of information plus a discussion board where you can ask fuel related questions.
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Leonard Voyagers Handbook
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Boattech Fuel system Maintenance
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Fuel News Solving Diesel Fuel problems
"Give your Diesel Engine clean Fuel and it will run forever" This adage is very true. The RNLI, Sea Tow, USCG and many organizations will tell you that the most calls they get for assistance start by being engine related. They will also tell you that 90% of engine failures are due to Fuel issues. Bad Fuel is not a inconvenience issue its a safety issue. What causes Fuel problems The two biggest ways to ruin a tank of fuel, on a diesel or gasoline powered yacht, are water contamination and long-term storage. Water can get in Fuel so many ways, even if you get dry clean fuel, your tank system is vented (unlike a car) and the vent will let in humidity. Water also condenses on the tank walls due to temperature fluctuations, especially true in winter. The more air in the tank the more condensation. Its recommended that you keep your tanks up to 95% full to combat this. Fuel sits on top of any water that will eventually settle to the bottom. Bugs can thrive in this water. You can kill these bugs with BIOCIDE? but you will still be left with their carcasses, which when disturbed in rough water can get to your filters. No water in the fuel no bugs or algae Fuel clogging can be a problem. It always seems to happen at the worst time. You are in rough water and the motion stirs up the sediment in the tank and the filter gets clogged. You need to shut down the engine but your in a nasty channel and need the engine. Filling with the wrong Fuel. Gasoline in a Diesel Fuel system is disastrous and could involve the risk of explosion, so make sure the fillers say Diesel only.
Steps to take to help your engine survive Filter fuel before it gets to engine Stabilize Fuel that's stored or sits idle Additives to help deter growth Separate & Remove water from Fuel Polishing Fuel systems onboard Inspect your tank and if you have any doubts clean it. Mobile services are available to clean your tanks. They are commonly know as Fuel polishing services. They come and pump the fuel in your tanks through a filtration system. This can give you clean Fuel at the beginning of the season. Quality Yacht Services Marine Fuel System is a company based in Florida covering the Florida Keys, that is an example of a tank cleaning service. Check your local area for a similar service. Here is an example of the type of unit they might employ from RCI Technologies.
Buy Fuel from a reliable source, that you can be confident in. If you have an source unknown to you check the fuel. Pour some fuel in a container and let it settle. Water and dirt will settle to the bottom. If you see either, filter the fuel before it goes into the tank, or better yet, buy your fuel somewhere else. Or use one of these filters. This is your first defense. West Marine Baja Filter
Disposable funnel for spill free fueling or oil fill
The above filters can remove water and solids down to .005 inch but cannot remove emulsified water. For the you will need a turbine type water separator (like the Racor spin on ).
Most boats have two filters between the engine and the tank. The filter on the engine is know as the secondary filter and the engine manufacturer expect that only very small contamination is going to get to this point. The vessels primary filters do the most work and remove water & contaminates from the fuel. These primary filters should have clear bowls underneath., which make it easy to see what's going on. You can drain the bowl when necessary. Even with good filtering you can still get clogged filters and the engine can get starved of fuel and shut down. You will have to turn off the engine and replace the filter. One way to get out of this is by having dual filters. A valve can divert the fuel from the clogged filter to a new one, while the engine is running. This allows you to change that filter underway, in case of another incident. The American boat & Yacht council, (ABYC) recommends a metal heat shield for these fuel filters because the heat from the engine can melt the plastic bowls.
The best-known name in fuel filtration for recreational boats is Racor. Racor makes a wide variety of spin-on filters with clear contaminant collection bowls and drain valves for gas and diesel engines. Its duplex Turbine Series models are good for high-capacity water separation and fuel filtration.
Allows for two filters to be installed one online and one offline that either filter can be selected at any time. Built in fuel pump allows easy engine bleeding with or without the engine operating. Also allows filter bleeding and servicing, fuel pump can also supply fuel to the injector unit, if lift pump fails. ON-BOARD FUEL POLISHING can be done using the fuel pump and FilterBOSS system. See the installation manual for information.
Depth Filters provide sub micron filtration which is better filtration than edge type filters and have much larger capacities than edge type filters. The majority of wear in diesel engines is caused by particles smaller than 5 microns. Depth Filtration consists of a fixed matrix of fibers arranged in random fashion. They provide a large number of flow passages through which particles must find their way. The result of this arrangement is a broad pore distribution with the ability to remove many smaller sized particles, in contrast with the narrow pore distribution found in surface filters.
Stabilizers provide stabilizing chemistry and are needed when fuel sits for extended periods. Additive manufacturers are numerous, but some specialize in recreational marine needs and remain in the forefront of fuel technology.
Starbrite, manufacturers of storage stabilizers for marine fuels, recently
introduced Star*Tron.
Star*Tron
is an enzyme-based additive for gas or diesel fuels that solves a host of
fuel-related problems. PRI-D is a super concentrated; one quart treats 512
gallons, is a complete fuel treatment that improves all diesel fuels
enabling them to perform to maximum potential. PRI-D's industrial
strength, enhanced thermal stability chemistry reacts with fuel upon
contact, and provides multiple benefits:
Biocides Practical Boat Owner in the UK recently did an exhaustive test on Biocides . The best products from their test were; When using biocides it important to remember the carcasses are left in the bottom of the tank. You have cleared up one problem but another is potentially still there so check your filters, clean the tank or polish. Even pure diesel fuel will pick up about 5 percent (that’s fairly high) water through distribution channels. Any container that holds fuel will have some humid air and will be a source for water. For this reason, water separators have been the chief line of defense for diesel engines. Alternate ways of removing water CQip wins innovation award for its new Super Soaker a device bag type device that sinks to the bottom of the Fuel tank and soaks up water. The super soaker absorbs water from beneath the fuel. Tie off the
For many the only true way to get clean fuel is to use a fuel polishing system. I have read reports of guys opening up their tanks and see them looking like new after a couple of years. A polishing system is remote to the fuel engine supply. The polishing system draws fuel of the bottom of the fuel tank goes through the filtration process (spinning out water and sediments) and is returned to the same tank. The system can be run 24/7 if necessary and does not need the engine running. When building a polishing system, its important to allow for easy inspection and changing of filters. When sizing polishing systems it seems larger yachts are turning over their tanks every 3 hours or so. That means the equipment you choose should be able to pump the full capacity of the tank in 3 hours. You can get vacuum gauges that will mount at the helm station to let you know about a clogged filter. PassageMaker magazine May/June 07 has a very good article on polishing. Here is a diagram for a Fuel system on a custom Catamaran including a polishing system. The Owners of The Adagio Steve & Dorothy Darden are kind enough to put this on their site and share it with the cruising world.
Gulf Coast supplies filtration systems for the Military, Diesel pickups, RV's, the Trucking Industry and Marine environments. Fuel polishing system for large capacities these units can handle 120 GPH or the next size up 240 GPH. The 120 GPH unit retails $4000 approx.
ESI Clean Fuel System™ products exist to prevent engine failure by filtering contaminants from fuel in the tanks before it cycles through the engine. ESI Clean Fuel System™ products are available in various configurations, and can be custom-fitted to your engine room.
Shown above is the integrated filter model. Reverso Pump’s 150DC Fuel Polishing System
“If a filter becomes heavily clogged, it can create vapor lock,” says John Napurano, president of Reverso Pumps, manufacturers of fuel-polishing equipment for diesel-powered yachts. “If the filter is too fine, or too clogged, the amount of vacuum necessary to keep fuel flowing to the engine spikes and turns liquid into gaseous vapor with air bubbles, which can be as damaging for the engine as water in the fuel.”
Algea-x This system cleans the fuel in the fuel line and is not really a polishing system like the others. You can add a pump and another circuit to clean the fuel in the tank.
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The
RC-PTCU.HV 
The
Baja Fuel Filter 
Fast
funnel
KTI systems
PRI-D
Diesel Fuel Treatment
c
quip super soaker
Reverso
Pumps’ newly designed FPS-150DC Fuel Polishing System uses a Racor
Turbine filter with a high-capacity Aqua Block II element. The system
processes 150 gallons an hour and removes 100 percent of water and any
algae buildup in fuel tanks to keep diesel fuel clean and reliable.
Reverso Pumps also produces systems with Separate filters, including one
that processes up to 500 gallons per hour.
copyright 2007