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Diesel cleaning


tstore

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At the moment my woes with the boat are never ending!

A few weeks ago the engine cut out and would not restart. Thought it was a fuel problem so replaced both fuel filters and the one closest to the tank was full of brown gunk so suspected diesel bug. Tried to restart after bleeding but no luck. Called River Canal Rescue and they could not start and told to get tank busters in to clean diesel and tank and then call them out again.

Someone told me it's really worth cleaning the diesel as you pay based on how dirty it is so best to just get rid of it and clean. Not really sure how tank busters work but any advice on the most cost-effective solution to getting rid of the bug would be appreciated?

 

Thanks

 

 

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1 hour ago, tstore said:

Someone told me it's really worth cleaning the diesel as you pay based on how dirty it is so best to just get rid of it and clean. Not really sure how tank busters work but any advice on the most cost-effective solution to getting rid of the bug would be appreciated?

Sorry, should have read it's NOT worth cleaning the diesel....

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Both solutions worked for me. I had a similar problem several year's ago. I emptied the tank using one of those cheap drill pumps from B&Q. Re-filled and all was well. I changed the fuel filters twice that year.

Then a few year's later the boat club bought a diesel polisher which I now use every year. Initially I found a bit of black water and rust particles in the test jars, subsequently just a tiny amount. When I changed the filters this year there was no trace of bug or black water.

Commercial diesel polishers are expensive. The unit we bought was about £1000, filters about £20 but if shared between a group of like-minded boaters would probably be cheaper in the long term.

I had used an additive since the boat was new so IMO they don't work unless you regard them as a precaution. 

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I had a diesel bug infection a few years ago. Engine running rough and muck in the first filter.  I attached some plastic tubing to a thin piece of wood and syphoned out the bottom of the tank.  Water came out first, then water and diesel mixed along with some black blobs. Fitted new filters.   Repeated it again after a week until clean diesel was coming through.   Added a biocide diesel additive and have not had any problems since.

I now use 'Fuelset', and occasionally use the plastic tube to draw off from the bottom of the tank.  Sometimes get a litre or two of water which most probably comes in with the diesel; unlikely to be condensation.

I think professional fuel polishers charge about £200.

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Been quoted approx £275 by Tankbusters, but sounds like I might be able to do it myself? I might try dip the tank to test the diesel....

 

How effective are they at cleaning the tank as may be worth it for that as doubt I'd be able to do that?

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2 hours ago, tstore said:

Been quoted approx £275 by Tankbusters, but sounds like I might be able to do it myself? I might try dip the tank to test the diesel....

 

How effective are they at cleaning the tank as may be worth it for that as doubt I'd be able to do that?

How big is your tank, and how full is it?   I would have thought that it would be cheaper to discard all the fuel you have, flush the tank with a few litres of good fuel and then refuel.  Likely to be a lot less than £275.   If you have something to store the fuel in, then mix it with a fuel additive and let it settle then syphon most of the fuel off the top.

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  • 1 month later...

This is the official advice from my local council:
 

Recycle: Recycling centres accept up to two gallons of heating oil.

Dispose: To dispose of large quantities of commercial and domestic heating oil contact the Environment Agency.

Unused diesel or petrol should be taken to a garage. For advice on disposing of unused diesel, call us on 0345 603 7625.

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On 10/25/2017 at 19:55, tstore said:

Been quoted approx £275 by Tankbusters, but sounds like I might be able to do it myself? I might try dip the tank to test the diesel....

 

How effective are they at cleaning the tank as may be worth it for that as doubt I'd be able to do that?

I had Tankbusters clean my fuel earlier this year and your quote is the minimum charge and then extras on top depending on how bad the contamination is and how much fuel is in the tank. Mine was very bad and I had a 3/4 full tank so needed 3x filters which came to much more then the initial quote.

They did a good job and I've had no recurrence of diesel bug

If it happens again I will drain the fuel off and allow it to settle and then return the top 3/4 with double dose of Marine 16 but even if I disposed of it in my experience it would be more cost effective than fuel polishing.

Edited by nikvah
corrected M19 to M16
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4 hours ago, artleknock said:

Would 'unclean' diesel work in a diesel stove?

Not very well. They rely on fuel vapourising, so any contamination effectively reduces the quantity of usable fuel. The contaminant will also make deposits on the burner base and probably block the feed pipe.

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I fitted a fuel guard it is mounted on the pipe straight from the tank, it collects crap and water best £150 or so I have spent. It only takes a few minutes to remove and clean it no replacement required, every time I screw in the greaser i see the filter so know if I have a problem or not

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Had a serious problem with diesel bug a few years ago with long strings of slime growing in the fuel and clogging up the pipes and filters, tried many things to clear it with limited success until I tried MARINE 16 shock treatment.

Details here

http://www.marine16.co.uk/acatalog/Technical_Tips.html

Must use the correct MARINE 16 product and leave it for 3 days Worked perfectly very impressed. Did require bleeding the system out and a complete filter set change. Ever since i have added fuelset whenever i fill up

ETA

It must be the Marine 16 Diesel Bug Treatment and not the normal Marine 16 complete. I made the error, due to a misunderstanding, of trying to use the normal Marine 16 with no effect once I used the correct Bug treatment it cleaned the fuel perfectly

Edited by reg
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  • 5 months later...

Wow what mission that was, getting rid of diesel nowdays is not easy, finally found a garage to take it off my hands, they will use it to clean tools and equipment.

 

Tank is empty and relatively clean now. 

 

Now have to try fill which is going to quite difficult as nowhere near filling point so gonna have to be done manually by jerry can.

 

Does anyone know where in the tank a fuel pick up is likely to be as the fuel pipe comes out quite high up on the tank but presume it must be quite low down but not the bottom?

 

 

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