Diesel bug in white diesel

Jabs

Jabs

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I have now run maybe three tanks of white diesel through my system.

Do I remember that Diesel bugs prefer red diesel?

Can I ignore additives?

Thanks

Tony.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
White diesel less likely to have water & ick in it because of the higher throughput at petrol stations, so less likely to get an infection in the first place, assuming your installation is clean & watertight.
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However road diesel does contain an increasing amount of bio which can present a problem in boats where the diesel may be stored for long periods unlike most road vehicles that usually have a relatively large turnover of diesel.
The other problem with road diesel is that it is low sulphur diesel which lacks the lubrication properties needed for older engines. This can be rectified by the addition of a little 2 stroke oil into the diesel. Unfortunately low sulphur diesel is now appearing in "red" form too so worth adding 2 stroke oil to red diesel if you have an old engine.
 
All the white diesel came from marinas so not necessarily high throughput. In fact all fills were at the beginning of the season so may have been around a while.



I will get some additive!

Is a Perkins Prima an old engine?


Thanks.

Tony.
 
Jabs said:
All the white diesel came from marinas so not necessarily high throughput. In fact all fills were at the beginning of the season so may have been around a while.



I will get some additive!

Is a Perkins Prima an old engine?


Thanks.

Tony.
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use MARINE 16 it is the best, look at their website for information.
 
Red diesel has been low sulphur for a few years.
Red diesel sold by a marina may possibly contain no bio diesel , or less than white diesel.
I use Marine 16 Diesel fuel Complete but there are other products.
 
As I await from the verdict on our engine after a particularly bouncy Lyme bay crossing churned up water and bug from the bottom of what I had believed was a clean, I now believe it is a nightmare worth engaging with. Best we can hope for is shot injectors, but steeling myself for the possibility that the engine is an economic write off. Now planning on emptying and cleaning tank at end of each season. It's fairly easy access, which helps (and removes any excuse I might have had for not doing it before!).
 
The"bug" and deposits thereof shouldn't make it past he fine filter. I've suffered two infestations and each time the primary filter choked. There was no staining of the fine filter. I replaced the filters, cleaned all the pipes, emptied the tank and cleaned it with paraffin and biocide. Then put 5litres of fresh diesel in the tank, double dosed with biocide, and bled the system. I ran the engine for about an hour, Changed the filters again, bled the system and topped up with fresh diesel and added a single dose of the biocide to the mix. It all sounds a bit anal, but having lost power halfway into Portsmouth harbour the first time, I never wanted to repeat the experience. When I did my top end overhaul, the tank came out for modification and was steam cleaned and pressure tested before being replaced. So far so good.

Just change Ingleremus filters isn't enough.
 
The"bug" and deposits thereof shouldn't make it past he fine filter. I've suffered two infestations and each time the primary filter choked. There was no staining of the fine filter. I replaced the filters, cleaned all the pipes, emptied the tank and cleaned it with paraffin and biocide. Then put 5litres of fresh diesel in the tank, double dosed with biocide, and bled the system. I ran the engine for about an hour, Changed the filters again, bled the system and topped up with fresh diesel and added a single dose of the biocide to the mix. It all sounds a bit anal, but having lost power halfway into Portsmouth harbour the first time, I never wanted to repeat the experience. When I did my top end overhaul, the tank came out for modification and was steam cleaned and pressure tested before being replaced. So far so good.

Just changeing the filters isn't enough.
 
We have twin Separ primary filters, so can easily check and drain on the go. Trouble is, when the gunk in the filter reaches a certain level, it effectively overtops the filter. After a 12 hour bashing it did just that and then some. Because I'd had 3 1/2 years of not a drop of water or gunk in the Separs, I didn't check them on passage. That omission could cost me £12-15k.
 
theoldsalt said:
The short answer is NO.

Diesel bug is created in the presence of water and the bio content of diesel.

Google "diesel bug" for a full explanation.
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No necessity for any bio content. The bug will live happily on good old fashioned non-bio diesel.
 
Nooka said:
We have twin Separ primary filters, so can easily check and drain on the go. Trouble is, when the gunk in the filter reaches a certain level, it effectively overtops the filter. After a 12 hour bashing it did just that and then some. Because I'd had 3 1/2 years of not a drop of water or gunk in the Separs, I didn't check them on passage. That omission could cost me £12-15k.
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Surely the fine filter should just clog and stop the engine?
Or possibly the gringe has stopped te lift pump from working?
 
lw395 said:
Surely the fine filter should just clog and stop the engine?
Or possibly the gringe has stopped te lift pump from working?
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Apparently not. Engine carried on, but churning out clouds of white smoke stinking of diesel (which you don't smell bashing upwind into 25 - 35 knots apparent), and misfiring occasionally. Lots of unburnt fuel found its way into the oil, so possibly been run for several hours effectively unlubricated. Turbo seems OK. Lift pump seems OK. But warned that injection pump possibly knackered; injectors almost certainly so; and cylinders possibly also, which is point at which repair/replace economics come into play. All 'apparently'.
 
doesn't the bug grow in the interface where water meets diesel? so yes it will grow with non-bio diesel when water is present but biodiesel attracts water so the problem is exacerbated
 
Nooka said:
We have twin Separ primary filters, so can easily check and drain on the go. Trouble is, when the gunk in the filter reaches a certain level, it effectively overtops the filter. After a 12 hour bashing it did just that and then some. Because I'd had 3 1/2 years of not a drop of water or gunk in the Separs, I didn't check them on passage. That omission could cost me £12-15k.
Click to expand...

I really dont understand this. How can you overtop a filter? The filter media will simply block surely? I had diesel bug several years ago and the engine wouldnt rev up due to poor fuel flow as the filter was blocked. Unless the filter is of poor manufacture then surely the filter media simply stops flow and your engine stops? It sounds like you effectively have had no filtration and you have sucked muck into your fuel system. We have filters in series on the current boat and previous boat. If one filter was to fail then the second filter would catch everything surely? I would be very interested to know how the muck got past the filter. It would be good to have the filter analysed to see how it failed.
 
geem said:
I really dont understand this. How can you overtop a filter? The filter media will simply block surely? I had diesel bug several years ago and the engine wouldnt rev up due to poor fuel flow as the filter was blocked. Unless the filter is of poor manufacture then surely the filter media simply stops flow and your engine stops? It sounds like you effectively have had no filtration and you have sucked muck into your fuel system. We have filters in series on the current boat and previous boat. If one filter was to fail then the second filter would catch everything surely? I would be very interested to know how the muck got past the filter. It would be good to have the filter analysed to see how it failed.
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Sounds like the OP's filter is not a filter at all, just a separator?
 
Burnham Bob said:
doesn't the bug grow in the interface where water meets diesel? so yes it will grow with non-bio diesel when water is present but biodiesel attracts water so the problem is exacerbated
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I think the difference is small. AIUI, bio-diesel will actually dissolve some water, so can help by eliminating the diesel-water interface. But only for small quantities of water..... Also the alcohols in bio can be biocidal.

Whatever. The net result is we still need to keep our tanks as free of water as reasonably possible. And know that our filter systems can cope with whatever amount of water etc that inevitably reappears.
 
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