Ariel #414

[mbd]

There are certainly worse ways to spend your day...

[ebb]

Apart from the fact that you have Sea Glass moored in a Impressionist painting....

Mike,
that fuel tank situation sounds like a disaster!
Visited a site called Diesel.com where I learned you have 28% degradation of diesel after 28 days storage in the tank.
To keep a diesel happy it's like the guy who has to keep the plates spinning, running from one to the other constantly!

What does one do with fouled fuel? How do you get the solids out?
How do you get the slime out, clean the tank, clean the lines? Can you afford changing the filters constantly?
Is the station where you buy the diesel selling you good stuff?
Man!

Just gonna say you can always go sailing! But looking at how tite and tidy and skinny the blue cover is on your boom... have you checked your mainsail recently?

Wish mine was in the water!

Hope it's not as complicated as it sounds, nor as expensive.

[mbd]

Hope it's not as complicated as it sounds, nor as expensive.

Me too - and hopefully not a "disaster"!

[carl291]

Mike,
I know this may be long winded but..... Once Algae is in your tank you have one of two choices, kill it or starve it.
Kill it, you have to treat with a biocide, this stuff is very dangerous for you to use, think totally suited up and don't get any of this on your skin or breathe it either. This difficult for an individual to purchase.
Starve it, All the water moisture has to be removed from the fuel and kept out long enough to starve the algae, I can't tell you how long that is , it depends on the algae, probably 3 or 4 weeks ( although forever would be good) Go to a NAPA type parts store and buy fuel additive that removes moisture, in ME anyone that sells diesel will have the stuff, my favorite brand is HOWES but any will work. Drain the water out if you can ,replace filters and run engine. You may want to consider a fuel/water seperator for your boat if you don't already have one. Keep your fuel tank full and use the correct amount of fuel conditioner for several weeks and your problem will be solved.
I might add here a test for algae or simply sludge, drain some out of the filter and smear on a cloth. spray this gunk with a degreaser or starting fluid. If it dissolves it is just gunk, if the cleaner does nothing to it , it is algae.
That's my "short" answer!!

[mbd]

Carl thanks for the reply! Also, I was just assuming all the black floaties in the watery fuel I was draining was algae. I'll certainly take your advice for future use, but this time around, being that the boat is still at the boatyard out on an island and difficult to get to, I elected to go the "call the boatyard" route. I've been pleased with their responsiveness and have no doubt they'll do it properly. I'm just worried, as Ebb mentioned above, what the final invoice will look like...

[Orca]

Sorry to hear of the troubles Mike. I'll be putting in around June 9 and bringing her over to the mooring that weekend. Ed

[Commander227]

Mike,
Sorry for your troubles.
This is a common problem, the internal tanks are usually way too big and you can never burn through a tank in a year. the fuel gets treated in the fall, a gallon or two are added in the spring, on and on. pretty soon the mean average age of the fuel in the tank is five years.
What I like to do is ditch the inboard tank completely and add a 3 gallon outboard tank complete with squeeze bulb. you do need to add a fuel return line by installing a brass barbed fitting from the hardware store or better yet another fuel quick disconnect. The squeeze bulb helps with bleeding the engine after filter changes etc. With this tank you can take it home with you to fill it, easily inspect the fuel and ditch any remaining fuel at the end of the year. The whole set up will run ya about $75.00. On a long voyage, just bring more tanks.
Mike
C227