ashtead
Well-Known Member
The Eber might not fire up due to low battery levels ? For reasons unknown to me it seems when the voltage falls the Eber packs up . You might check the pump though to see if it's working when you start up the Eber ?
Laying up....what should I have done?
- Thread starter Tim O
- Start date
RichardS
N/A
A standard auto antifreeze will be fine. You can buy 5L of concentrated OAT/longlife antifreeze at Halfords for £25 ..... or 5L of exactly the same stuff made by the same company at our local motor trade factor for £12. (!). Check your manual to see whether OAT/Longlife or IAT antifreeze is recommended. I use OAT in everything I own but not everyone likes to do that.
Unless your tank has a bottom drain or a top access which you can put a syphon pipe into, it's difficult to check for water/bug until you actually start to use the engine. The fact that the diesel is 10 months old will not be a problem per se. I would give it a good dose of something like Marine 16 (the bug-level dosage) and then try the engine and keep an eye on the glass bowl if it has one, and the first bulkhead-mounted filter. It will probably be fine but you'll soon see water and/or a black slimy/fibrous deposit appearing if it isn't.
Richard
Tim O
Well-Known Member
Checked the Eber again today, switched it on while mains chargers were feeding the batteries.....no joy......checked wiring to the unit and the power feed to the fuel pump seemed a bit loose...pushed it in, tried again and hey presto it fired up and ran fine, so hopefully it was just that loose connection to the pump.
Will Google to fine out what OAT and IAT mean in relation to antifreeze!!
Assuming I DO see black slimy crud coming through the glass bowl (she does have one) what's the best course of action.....stop the engine and then have to drain the tanks and clean??
Will Google to fine out what OAT and IAT mean in relation to antifreeze!!
Assuming I DO see black slimy crud coming through the glass bowl (she does have one) what's the best course of action.....stop the engine and then have to drain the tanks and clean??
Tim O
Well-Known Member
Just read the PBO article on diesel bug treatments and Marine 16 sounds like the stuff to get!!
Yngmar
Well-Known Member
Primarily you'll want to get the water out of the tank. Water is heavier than diesel and sits at the bottom, nicely separated most of the time (if you ever tried making mayonnaise, you'll know water and oils aren't easy to mix). Fuel bug lives on the interface of the two, eating the diesel, but existing in the water. No water, no fuel bug. Some of the fuel bug treatment works by dispersing the water, blending it with the fuel, but since you're hauled out and have presumably some time, it's better to stick a tube down the bottom of the tank and suck up all the water until you get only diesel fuel. Then suck up the diesel fuel until you no longer get dregs and only clean fuel.
You can reuse the dirty fuel (let it settle and separate out the water) by simply pouring it through a coffee filter (25 micron). Done this job just the other day and worked great, although I had no water in the tank and only already dead bugs to filter out. Then add a dose of dispersal type fuel bug treatment. Filling up the tank may reduce condensation and thus water coming in - but check the filler cap o-ring and tank vent for possible sources of water ingress as well.
You can reuse the dirty fuel (let it settle and separate out the water) by simply pouring it through a coffee filter (25 micron). Done this job just the other day and worked great, although I had no water in the tank and only already dead bugs to filter out. Then add a dose of dispersal type fuel bug treatment. Filling up the tank may reduce condensation and thus water coming in - but check the filler cap o-ring and tank vent for possible sources of water ingress as well.