Diesel Bug cures??

Caer Urfa

Caer Urfa

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Found main CAV filter full of black gunge, maybe a bug, what do we all recommend is the 'best diesel bug additive' to cure it if I need to get some?
To get twin TEK tanks out will be a major job as no drain to sample diesel in them, hope it is just the filters doing the job.
Anyone use additives as a standard?
What results did you get.
Thanks for any replies
Mike
 
Also check your local phone book for a filter service, we have here in Oz called Filter wash, they provide you with a machine that has 6 filters and plugs into the mains, pulls all the fuel through the 6 filters and returns it to the tank.

This avoids the problem of small and expensive filters being blocked at sea after a bug infection. Note our filters showed signs of small insect like mush and it was dark brown.

Hire cost is per day. We had a problem some years ago and used the filtering system then added 'Fuel Doctor' and have had no problems since.

Avagoodweekend......
 
You will get many varied and conflicting replies to this but there are 2 things to consider and I am sure some will disagree, but there is no magic cure.
The first thing is to kill the bug. There are many and varied solutions on the market for this and as the PBO report referenced elsewhere suggests, they have varied results. The second is to get rid of the solid sludge that is in the tank. You can only do this by filtering it out. You need to do this either on the boat or off it but unless you have a large capacity filter like a Racor or similar in the system the normal 5 micron CAV wont do that and will soon get blocked again. Also unless you have a way of really stirring up the tank contents repeatedly while filtering with a very efficient system like old saltOZ suggests, you will never get the residue out of the tank. There are some products that claim to break down the sludge by enzymic action and leave you with a clean tank. I just don't know anybody who has found the claims of these products justified. IMHO they don't work.
It depends how bad the contamination is and how much sludge was in the filter and indeed how long since the last filter change. It can sometimes be the case that the filter head and pipework are a breeding ground and the tanks not badly affected. The only way to check this is to change the filter, flush out the pipes and run the engine for a while than check again.
 
I agree with Mike - You have to get access to the tanks to stir up the gunge, and then to suck it all out. If you can get to the top of the tanks, could you cut inspection hatches?

Having suffered from this in the past, there is no short cut. You will find that you will be let down in the worst situations - when its rough - just when you cannot do anything about it. If you cannot get at the tanks, then I would fit Twin Racor switchable units so that I always have a clean filter on standby.

Having now got clean tanks, I insert a hose everyyear down the filler pipe (directly above the tank) and pump out about 5 gallons, from the bottom. It is always slightly cloudy, but I pour it back a week later via a Racor filter funnel, keeping the last liter in the bottom, which goes into a clear leamonaid bottle, to separate, so that I can see what kind of gunk it in there. It doesn't take long to do.

Yacht designers should be taken out and shot for not providing proper inspection access to tanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Had the bug 18 months ago and cleaned the tank as best we could. Bugs came back so we put in two inspection hatches to give access to all parts of the tank. Hired a steam cleaner but the temperature was only 80C not the 150c advertised - so a manual clean did the trick. That include cleaning the fuel lines and filters and blowing through with petrol and then diesel. Our WET/DRY vacuum cleaner, that blows as well as sucks, made the whole job much easier. Our tanks are Polyethelene and we managed to find some adhesive from 3M to stick on the plastic inspection covers. So far so good!
 
Interestingly, State-side boaters are fond of 'fuel polishing', a separate system which sucks fuel out of a tank, filters it and feeds it back to the tank. This is done at high flow rates to stir everything up. Some of the larger boats are provided with fuel polishing as standard.

Fuel polishing hasn't caught on in the UK (yet?), but you can see the clues starting. Fuel Doctor offers a fuel polishing service to boaters who are experiencing bug or water problems.

As an aside, my 5000 ltr central heating tank became heavily contaminated after the lid was not securely fitted after a fill up. Fuel Doctor came along and after 3 hours, had separated 225 ltrs of water from the tank, a cup full of dark brown slimy bug, as well as some 'bits'. Result? Nice clean shiny oil in a nice clean shiny tank.

If we change Play d'eau, I will certainly instal a fuel polishing system. Again, lots of articles on this subject in State-side boating mags such as Passage Maker.

Have a look at ESI Fuel Polishing.
 
I have a fuel polishing system installed on Peregrine which uses a Racor 10micron filter and Jabsco fuel transfer pump which are the primary components of the system shown as ESI in your link. It can filter from my bulk tank to the day tank, or vice versa or from the delivery of either tank at the bottom back into the top. The big advantage of such a system as that you can deliver new fuel to the bulk tank and run it through the filter for 1/2 hour before delivering it to the day tank. Also any bug crap and water can be removed from either tank in situ without the engine running. Not much help to our friend though which is why I didn't mention it before. He hasn't got one!
 
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