Diesel problem

[Sea Dog]

11 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I don't think at my my BSS inspection checked what was under the diesel cap.

And neither will a diesel thief before sucking on his syphon...

[jonathanA]

presumably if hes savvy enough to know theres diesel on canal boats, he's savvy enough to know that the tanks are almost always at the back and he will know that an uphill syphon isn't going to work and come with his battery drill and pump or whatever to transfer the stuff to his transit van full of stolen church roof lead....

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

And neither will a diesel thief before sucking on his syphon...

Spot on. A friend had a diesel filler on his water tank and came home to the cap missing

[Sea Dog]

6 hours ago, jonathanA said:

presumably if hes savvy enough to know theres diesel on canal boats, he's savvy enough to know that the tanks are almost always at the back and he will know that an uphill syphon isn't going to work and come with his battery drill and pump or whatever to transfer the stuff to his transit van full of stolen church roof lead....

Well, if you want to go all "real world" on us, I suppose you're correct, but where's the fun in imagining that instead of my version? 

 

ETA: That said, the scrote who visited the boat @ditchcrawler above refers to didn't, did he.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Sea Dog

[churchward]

On 22/10/2023 at 13:56, Tracy D'arth said:

I regard fuel polishing as a good money spinner for those who can convince others that it is cost effective.

I have never had fuel polished, after all it is only a filtering process.

If there is water in the tank, it has come from somewhere. Either in a fuel delivery, rain/wash into the fill/vent, seam in the tank gone or a build up of condensation over a long time.

If there is water you may get the bug.

I have never done anything in 50 odd years other than suck out the bottom of the tank regularly. A length of copper pipe in a wet vac does the job.

I have never had the bug, never had fuel problems and never used any additives other than a drop of Morris' fuel supplement when I remembered to put it in.

I have bought fuel from all over, used what has come out of others tanks after it has been allowed to settle. Used up old fuel out of boats I have bought and sold.

Have I just been lucky?

I agree.  I do use an additive in the fuel (fuelset) as it seems to also act as an upper cylinder lubricant/cleaner but I also go through a regime of siphoning out the bottom of the tank in the spring.  We are holiday boaters (going out for a few weeks at a time) and I have always made sure when the boat is to be left especially over the winter any air gap in the tank is minimised by making sure the tank is left full so that condensation is also minimised.

 

I also check the first filter/water trap regularly when we are cruising to see if there is any water in the bowl.

 

As yet after 15 years of owning our boat, we have not had any fuel bug.

[Tony Brooks]

26 minutes ago, churchward said:

do use an additive in the fuel (fuelset)

 

Be a bit wary of that. It is an emulsifier that "dissolves" any water into the fuel, so it can pass through the filters and injection system. I get the distinct impression that the emulsifier type additives may be more implicated in the sticky diesel and funny wax problems we see in some boats. Many years ago, at the London Boat Show, an Eberpatcher rep claimed that they had found it caused a sort of mousse in the bottom of the tank.

[Tracy D'arth]

The question of winter condensation in partially filled diesel tanks amuses me. Farmers throughout the country have tractors that live outside in all weathers with fuel tanks between full and empty and it is not a problem.

I never worry about the content of my tanks and over a year I drain maybe 2 to 3 teaspoons full of water from the water trap and possibly an eggcup of water when I vac out the bottom of the tank.

[churchward]

43 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Be a bit wary of that. It is an emulsifier that "dissolves" any water into the fuel, so it can pass through the filters and injection system. I get the distinct impression that the emulsifier type additives may be more implicated in the sticky diesel and funny wax problems we see in some boats. Many years ago, at the London Boat Show, an Eberpatcher rep claimed that they had found it caused a sort of mousse in the bottom of the tank.

Again used in my boat for 15 years and never an issue so no need to be wary.

39 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

The question of winter condensation in partially filled diesel tanks amuses me. Farmers throughout the country have tractors that live outside in all weathers with fuel tanks between full and empty and it is not a problem.

I never worry about the content of my tanks and over a year I drain maybe 2 to 3 teaspoons full of water from the water trap and possibly an eggcup of water when I vac out the bottom of the tank.

Possibly but it is a useful precaution to minimise the possibility of condensation. Having worked on farms as a young man I have some experience of cleaning diesel fuel tank storage of water each year. even inside a barn/outbuilding so no rainwater ingress. I have also stripped/cleaned a tractor tank when it got a diesel bug.

 

You can do as you please with your boat and I will do the same with mine.

Edited October 24, 2023 by churchward

[David Mack]

I regularly have to remove water from our oil-fired central heating tank about once a year, when the boiler refuses to run on water. It is quite a large tank, never full (I don't fancy having too big a quantity accessible to any passing scrote), so I guess prone to condensation. Either that or the local oil merchants (and I have used a number of different suppliers) are selling me some expensive water!