Boreades
Well-Known Member
Over at Boating Business, is an worthy article alerting us to the dangers of low-sulphur fuel in our old marine diesel engines. Upto 7% of bio-diesel apparently, which encourages the diesel bug.
But is the "Fuel Directive" causing any change in the fuel supplied to marinas, or is it changing anyway, or what?
IIRC, our old engines are built to run on old-world high-sulphur diesel fuel and would be damaged by long-term use of "clean" fuel. Is that correct or not?
http://www.boatingbusiness.com/news101/diesel-bug-outbreak-on-the-horizon
Full article:
But is the "Fuel Directive" causing any change in the fuel supplied to marinas, or is it changing anyway, or what?
IIRC, our old engines are built to run on old-world high-sulphur diesel fuel and would be damaged by long-term use of "clean" fuel. Is that correct or not?
http://www.boatingbusiness.com/news101/diesel-bug-outbreak-on-the-horizon
Full article:
A sharp rise in microbiological attack as well as the direct action of biodiesel looks like causing damage that may cost inland boat operators millions.
BIOFUEL: Concerned delegates at the recent Biofuel Forum (run by Conidia Bioscience) discussed issues surrounding the new low-sulphur fuel, as it seems it may not only damage older or plastic fuel tanks and seals, it can breed bugs that will sludge fuel lines, filters and even eat through tanks if left unchecked.
All of this is rooted in the Fuel Directive, which mandates the supply of low sulphur fuel for inland waterways. The reduction of sulphur into the atmosphere is an undoubtedly important step, however, this new fuel will probably be road diesel which has up to 7% biofuel added.
The biofuel element causes a number of different problems. Not only is it corrosive (albeit fairly slowly) to many kinds of plastic and old fashioned copper/tin solder, it gives so-called diesel bugs a banquet, and it’s these that can create a deep sludge throughout a fuel supply system while underneath making such an acid environment that it eats through fuel tank walls.
The other difficulty is that the biodiesel has a shelf-life of six months, and - though only 7% - it may well affect overwintering boats, since standard practice is to fill up and restart the next season.
As the damage is exacerbated by the presence of water in the system, the advice from on high is to have a rigorous cleaning and checking routine – yes, there are some biocides that will help, but the measure must be right and there are reservations about burning them as they are toxic.
And if you get to the point you can see the contamination, it’s already heavy, so you may well have to take the engine apart to clean it physically – and that means all of the nooks and crannies throughout the fuel supply system. There's no 'magic bullet'.
Those who remain unconvinced should look at what happened in Auckland, where one batch of contamination spread to 600 vessels – and cost thousands per boat to clean up.
Rita Beckwith of City Cruises went on to outline the problems that will arise for many operators. ‘We have been advised to clean our tanks before the first delivery. This in itself costs thousands. Further, the regular maintenance at 500 hours a year may go down to 300 hours - doubling our maintenance expenses.’
Also the new fuel will be more expensive, and at the same time be somewhat less efficient so operators will have to use more of it. ‘A double whammy,’ says Ms Beckwith.
Operators and marinas are also being advised to test regularly to keep on top of any biological contamination, and if possible test the fuel before loading up. The main concern voiced by delegates was the introduction deadline is ‘hasty in the extreme’ and didn’t give them a chance to plan for the necessary changes to their maintenance regimes.
More than one speaker suggested the most sensible thing the DfT could do now was delay the regulation, and for operators ‘to get together and share information’.
On the whole it seems there are a lot of questions, and no easy answers.
BIOFUEL: Concerned delegates at the recent Biofuel Forum (run by Conidia Bioscience) discussed issues surrounding the new low-sulphur fuel, as it seems it may not only damage older or plastic fuel tanks and seals, it can breed bugs that will sludge fuel lines, filters and even eat through tanks if left unchecked.
All of this is rooted in the Fuel Directive, which mandates the supply of low sulphur fuel for inland waterways. The reduction of sulphur into the atmosphere is an undoubtedly important step, however, this new fuel will probably be road diesel which has up to 7% biofuel added.
The biofuel element causes a number of different problems. Not only is it corrosive (albeit fairly slowly) to many kinds of plastic and old fashioned copper/tin solder, it gives so-called diesel bugs a banquet, and it’s these that can create a deep sludge throughout a fuel supply system while underneath making such an acid environment that it eats through fuel tank walls.
The other difficulty is that the biodiesel has a shelf-life of six months, and - though only 7% - it may well affect overwintering boats, since standard practice is to fill up and restart the next season.
As the damage is exacerbated by the presence of water in the system, the advice from on high is to have a rigorous cleaning and checking routine – yes, there are some biocides that will help, but the measure must be right and there are reservations about burning them as they are toxic.
And if you get to the point you can see the contamination, it’s already heavy, so you may well have to take the engine apart to clean it physically – and that means all of the nooks and crannies throughout the fuel supply system. There's no 'magic bullet'.
Those who remain unconvinced should look at what happened in Auckland, where one batch of contamination spread to 600 vessels – and cost thousands per boat to clean up.
Rita Beckwith of City Cruises went on to outline the problems that will arise for many operators. ‘We have been advised to clean our tanks before the first delivery. This in itself costs thousands. Further, the regular maintenance at 500 hours a year may go down to 300 hours - doubling our maintenance expenses.’
Also the new fuel will be more expensive, and at the same time be somewhat less efficient so operators will have to use more of it. ‘A double whammy,’ says Ms Beckwith.
Operators and marinas are also being advised to test regularly to keep on top of any biological contamination, and if possible test the fuel before loading up. The main concern voiced by delegates was the introduction deadline is ‘hasty in the extreme’ and didn’t give them a chance to plan for the necessary changes to their maintenance regimes.
More than one speaker suggested the most sensible thing the DfT could do now was delay the regulation, and for operators ‘to get together and share information’.
On the whole it seems there are a lot of questions, and no easy answers.
