Diesel crud

[Scholar Gypsy]

I had a good look at the diesel system at the weekend, to see how it coped after a bit of sloshing around on the Wash.

 

I was quite pleased with the results - see blog and couple of photos below - of examining fuel from the bottom of the tank, and from the water trap. I'd be interested in any comments people have, in the light of their experiences ...

 

Fuel has been treated with RCR Marine 16 Fuel Complete for the last four years, after a complete polishing job in 2009.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2015 by Scholar Gypsy

[Naughty Cal]

Looks clean enough although that's a lot more crud then we got out of ours when we changed them after coming back from Kings Lynn earlier this year. Ours were very nearly spotless.

 

We started using the Marine 16 Diesel Fuel Complete last year after we had some suspect fuel through the tank so we were glad to see the filters were clean when we changed them.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Looks clean enough although that's a lot more crud then we got out of ours when we changed them after coming back from Kings Lynn earlier this year. Ours were very nearly spotless.

 

We started using the Marine 16 Diesel Fuel Complete last year after we had some suspect fuel through the tank so we were glad to see the filters were clean when we changed them.

 

Thanks - I should clarify that the first photo was from the bottom of the tank, there was much less than this in the filter housing. I would guess your rate of fuel turnover is faster than mine (170 litre tank nominal = 17 days cruising).

[Naughty Cal]

 

Thanks - I should clarify that the first photo was from the bottom of the tank, there was much less than this in the filter housing. I would guess your rate of fuel turnover is faster than mine (170 litre tank nominal = 17 days cruising).

It depends how we are cruising. On the coast we can empty the 225 litre tank in 5 hours (won't be fully empty but we wouldnt want to push it any further when its in the red on the gauge!!)

 

On the river or canal we can cruise easily for a couple of weeks or more before we need to fill up.

 

ETA: Our consumption usually averages out at about 5mpg over a year.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Naughty Cal

[Keeping Up]

That looks pretty good to me.

[onionbargee]

Fuel polishing is a great way to get the gullible to part with their money.

[gazza]

Fuel polishing is a great way to get the gullible to part with their money.

Classy!

 

I should think Simon was glad of a clean tank during his force 4 crossing of the Wash

[Scholar Gypsy]

Classy!

 

I should think Simon was glad of a clean tank during his force 4 crossing of the Wash

 

I was indeed - it was really the only thing about the trip that worried me. If the engine did conk out then getting the anchor dropped at one end - and a bucket at the other - would take a bit of time.

 

I've crewed on two boats on the tidal Thames where the engine has failed, fortunately with enough warning to summon assistance, and it's not a good experience....

 

As an earlier thread has noted, installing your own polishing kit, or dual filters, should be straightforward.

 

My favourite fuel problem story is from the boatyard at Braunston, about someone who had somehow got a bus ticket in the fuel tank. Every so often it got across the end of the pipe, and the engine stopped. Wait five mins and it starts fine and runs ok for another 50 hours. I don't know which bus company.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Scholar Gypsy

[bizzard]

 

I was indeed - it was the really the only thing about the trip that worried me. If the engine did conk out then getting the anchor dropped at one end - and a bucket at the other - would take a bit of time.

 

I've crewed on two boats on the tidal Thames where the engine has failed, fortunately with enough warning to summon assistance, and it's not a good experience....

 

As an earlier thread has noted, installing your own polishing kit, or dual filters, should be straightforward.

 

My favourite fuel problem story is from the boatyard at Braunston, about someone who had somehow got a bus ticket in the fuel tank. Every so often it got across the end of the pipe, and the engine stopped. Wait five mins and it starts fine and runs ok for another 50 hours. I don't know which bus company.

Luxton & District ?

[gazza]

 

I was indeed - it was the really the only thing about the trip that worried me. If the engine did conk out then getting the anchor dropped at one end - and a bucket at the other - would take a bit of time.

 

I've crewed on two boats on the tidal Thames where the engine has failed, fortunately with enough warning to summon assistance, and it's not a good experience....

 

As an earlier thread has noted, installing your own polishing kit, or dual filters, should be straightforward.

 

My favourite fuel problem story is from the boatyard at Braunston, about someone who had somehow got a bus ticket in the fuel tank. Every so often it got across the end of the pipe, and the engine stopped. Wait five mins and it starts fine and runs ok for another 50 hours. I don't know which bus company.

Prudence pays dividends! I have an inspection hatch in our tank, I have a dedicated wet and dry vacuum to suck the detritus out from the bottom. Its only an 18 1/2 gallon tank so no big issue to sort.

Tanks such as those on narrowboats name this a much harder task, polishing being a good way round it.

 

Its also a common procedure on agricultural equipment, and as we all know, farmers are famed for wasting their hard earned on pointless enterprises (oh, hang on, that's wrong isn't it....)

 

I retrieved a fag butt out of the electric fuel pump filter on an Orion i Ghia, would run perfectly well at just off idle but would conk out with any load.

Lots of head scratching followed by a back to basics approach turned up the offending article.

 

God knows how it got in there!

[Naughty Cal]

Fuel polishing is a great way to get the gullible to part with their money.

I take it you have never seen it being carried out then?

 

It can remove a scary amount of crap out of a tank. Sometimes it needs to be seen to be believed.

[onionbargee]

Fit a bigger or better filter. And drain the sludge off your tank.

[blackrose]

While fuel bug is an issue which can potentially affect all of us, crud blocking the fuel filter is only really of relevance to those who venture onto tidal rivers, coastal waters or anywhere else they're likely to encounter waves of a couple of feet or more. That's comparatively few members of this forum.

 

The canal boaters who might have problems worth blocked filters I suppose, are those who never change them...

[Scholar Gypsy]

I retrieved a fag butt out of the electric fuel pump filter on an Orion i Ghia, would run perfectly well at just off idle but would conk out with any load.

Lots of head scratching followed by a back to basics approach turned up the offending article.

 

God knows how it got in there!

 

I guess it was not lit at the time ...

[gazza]

 

I guess it was not lit at the time ...

To this day it puzzles me!

 

It was a well specd and looked after car too, it had the awful early Lucas belt driven ABS and the woefully inaccurate boshch k jetronic trip computer - all high tech stuff in 1989!

 

Good car though, not as bad an image as the XR3i but almost identical performance and more boot space.

 

Would be a slow, uncomfortable and thirsty set of wheels these days though.