diesel bug - best cure

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kashurst

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serviced the boat today - discovered I seem to have a touch of diesel bug (sticky gunge on the primary filters). what is the panels' best fuel additive advice to kill it and then to use longer term? There seems to be various brands available - soltron, grotemar, fuel set, racor biocide etc - any positive experiences
 
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kashurst said:
serviced the boat today - discovered I seem to have a touch of diesel bug (sticky gunge on the primary filters). what is the panels' best fuel additive advice to kill it and then to use longer term? There seems to be various brands available - soltron, grotemar, fuel set, racor biocide etc - any positive experiences
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There are some great threads on this subject and some varied opinions ! use the search function to find them and then ask again if they dont provide you with the answer your looking for.

Tom
 
1/ Remove water
2/ add Grotamar 71 diluted in diesel or mixed with fuel fill and wait 4 days
3/ If heavily contaminated filter diesel
4/ If lightly contaminated dead cells will collect in primary filters
5/ carry spare primary filters 3 per engine and know how to change them at sea.
 
I have used Fuel Set for a couple of years and that seems to work and keep the bug away. Have heard that Soltron is very good. As has been said, there is lots on here about it. All I did was read all the info and made a choice!
 
Bandit said:
1/ Remove water
2/ add Grotamar 71 diluted in diesel or mixed with fuel fill and wait 4 days
3/ If heavily contaminated filter diesel
4/ If lightly contaminated dead cells will collect in primary filters
5/ carry spare primary filters 3 per engine and know how to change them at sea.
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whilst I would generally agree with the kill it and filter it approach, I never had to change the filters at sea but it's taken many years so far and the filters still get pretty mucky.

as I said in a previous thread recently, with hindsight I would either kill it and then get the tank contents professionally filtered or drain the tank and get it steam cleaned before refilling.

with a heavily baffled 400l tank I decided to go the kill it with Fuelset /change filters approach (after 2 years of Soltron) - but this was a really really bad case of bug and not a little here and there.
 
It's been done to death. Keep spare filters. Add Soltron or other. Burn fuel as you would in a car. Go to the CI's, fill up and come back and fill up again. If still not clear, go back again. The more you use the boat, the less problem you'll get.
 
Most fuel tanks have inadequate tank hatches to get proper access around baffles.

If its really bad get it professionally filtered.

I prefer not to have water reabsorbed and getting anywhere near my injection pumps or injectors if you have water damage budget £1,000 to £1,500 per engine to get them cleaned and re set.

The spare filters are to change in port (and if you have to at sea if you have no choice).

I agree keeping the fuel turning over is a good thing but dose every refill with a good biocide, dont think you have cured it it wont come back.

Biodiesel coming into the supply chain will now be a further problem.
 
I use Soltron, and to date have not had a problem. Keep my tank brimmed over Winter, and fingers crossed.

My engine manual says that fuel tank should be drained every 5 years. I have had Rafiki 2 years, and she is now 6 years old, and I assume that the tank was not drained before I bought her, so feeling a bit guilty for no doing so. Howver, I'm not sure how to do this effectively, so will continue to ponder.

Good luck.
 
Draining the tank on its own wont help you need to be able to open up every section of teh tank and clean by hand which you cant do in most boats as they dont have adequate inspection hatches sothe crud stays there.
 
PBO did a comparative test a couple of years ago. Soltron came last and I noticed a leaflet in a Chandlery last week. I seem to remember that the best biocide came from a lorry distributor( they have exactly the same problem) , and because it does not have the word "marine" on it - it was half the price.
Took my new(old) Princess 33 from Plymouth to Pompey and changed the startboard engine filter twice, because it kept stopping. Diesel tank was full, but the colour of dilute sump oil, and is currently waiting for the bioicdes to kill everything before being filtered, and the tank steam cleaned - thanks fully it has a 9 inch inspection hatch
 
rafiki_ said:
My engine manual says that fuel tank should be drained every 5 years. so will continue to ponder.
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I'm up to 8 years now and still pondering.

My first filter change showed gunge so have used Soltron ever since with no return of the problem.
I keep my tanks low over winter not because I don't believe the condensation theory but to make it lighter for the crane during the spring scrub up. Again never any water problems.
 
diesel bug

I highly recommend as you are in west yorks a trip to miller oils in brighouse, they sold me some stuff a couple of years ago that cured mine and they can answer all your questions on cures and preventions.
Also good for supplying everything to do with oil too.
I have no connection with them apart from being a very satisfied customer.
 
Folk worry far to much about fuel bug. It is a problem yes. But not that big a deal to get rid of. As with most things, the quicker you deal with it, the less the problem.

I've had the bug a number of times, but none resently. This is probably because most marinas or oil companys now add Soltron, or maybe some other make.

A few facts. Soltron is not sold directly to the general public. Or was not, the last time I knew. The market is far to small. Though others have got hold of it and bottled it in small containers. http://www.soltroniw.co.uk/index.htm

The problem is, like antibiotics, bugs can get used to one treatment, so you need to try another. Look at the link, dont think these guys would use it if it did not work.

No I've no interest in Soltron. Just along history on the forum.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pappaecho View Post
PBO did a comparative test a couple of years ago.
PDF of the test is on the marine 16 site here
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Funny thing happened with that test, the winners were the owners of the laboratory where the test was done:eek:
 
blueglass said:
also gave up on Soltron after repeat attacks. Marine16 has it licked at the moment (year two)
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Same scenario with us. Used Soltron for 4 yrs and finally got slight evidence of the Bug. Used Marine 16 - which came top= in aforementioned tests - no probs for the last 2 yrs.

Reason that Soltron came last was allegedly that the test method did not allow it to work properly. Many people have used it very successfully.
 
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