Diesel Bug

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Kittycarter

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Chichester Marina
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I am collecting a new boat next wednesday and the engineers servicing the boat have said the fuel is contaminated. They have suggested polishing the fuel, but some people have said that is temporary and ther is no guarantee. Some have suggested additives and keep draining the pre fuel filter etc.

Any ideas best way to deal with this quickly and at a resonable cost please!!!!
 
Make sure you have a good supply of pre filters on board and use the boat, you will soon find out if it is a real problem, you do not say what engine you are getting some will run on anything.
 
omega2 said:
Make sure you have a good supply of pre filters on board and use the boat, you will soon find out if it is a real problem, you do not say what engine you are getting some will run on anything.
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The engines are 2006 Mercruiser 250 hp Dtronics. i have spare pre filters on board, and bringing it back from Swanwick to Chichester Wednesday. Hopefully!!!!!
 
If you haven't paid for it yet I would get the owner to sort before sale completes. Can be a pain in the butt to eliminate. If you've paid then bad luck.
 
don't panic - additives will kill it and filters will remove it. Its a possible hazard of boating but no usually a catastrophe unless neglected for years. Before you make your first big trip just make sure you are happy changing the fuel filters yourself. Its usually quite straightforward, but bobbing up and down at sea is not the place to do it for the first time.
 
here is a cheap and cheerful "polishing" method. get a fuel transfer pump 12 volt if that is what you have, several empty 4/5 gallon containers, 2 lengths of clear plastic hose to fit the pump in/out, if you have a tank inspection hatch open it up and insert the "in" end of the pipe getting as close to the bottom as possible, I concede there are baffles to contend with, but this will remove a lot of the muck, take a pair of ladies tights or stockings and insert into the neck (to catch solids) of the empty containers then start the pump and draw out the liquid from the tank, the orrible stuff will look like cold tea (no milk) with black streaks in it or worse, as the good stuff floats on top of the rubbish you will eventually see that you are pumping Red wine, can now stop extracting as the engine will run on this. Dispose of the contaminated fuel at your local refuse dump. Refuel and add soltron or similar, always try to keep the tank as full as possible if not in regular use, but we find that using the boat often is the best course of action.
 
keeping diesel bug at bay is matter of housekeeping, they live in water and eat the carbon from the hydrocarbon fuel. keep water out of the tanks and the bugs cant survive. so drain tanks bottoms regularly. and make sure when you fill up that there is no water around, keep fuel tanks full in winter to prevent condensation and drain filter bowls regularly.

anti bug additives kill the bugs by raising their osmotic pressure, they swell and burst and become a contaminant to filters
 
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