Marine 16 Diesel Dipper

[PhilipH]

Has anyone fitted one of these, and if so any views?
For the third time I need to clean out the aluminium fuel tank (easy access and I have nitrile and Hylomar Blue for the access plate gasket) and SWMBO has put her foot down and says she is totally fed up with the time it takes to clean up her electric toothbrush after I have used it to reach the nooks and crannies ....

Advice appreciated about the Diesel Dipper or alternative. Advice about SWMBO not required.

Thanks

 

[pvb]

£700 is a hell of a lot for a little 12v pump and a filter. You could make your own system for a fraction of the price.

 

[PhilipH]

I agree. Are you able to suggest a specific pump and filter (10 microns). I would probably buy the pick up pipe and fitting from Marine 16 though. Your help is much appreciated.

 

[pvb]

Look at Facet fuel pumps. SSL Diesel Parts have lots of keenly-priced filter assemblies with water traps.

 

[PCUK]

I've fitted one and I can now feel confident that the tank and fuel will always be clean. You will be hard pressed to make up a proper separator as using just a filter will mean constant blockages. This separates the gunge before getting to the filter so cleans the tank and "polishes" the fuel. also added a three way valve on the tank return to allow me to drain the tank of ever required using the pump on the Dipper.

 

[pvb]

You will be hard pressed to make up a proper separator as using just a filter will mean constant blockages.

Only if there's masses of crud in the tank, and then you'd have problems with the engine stopping due to blocked filters anyway. On an ongoing basis, the small amount of crud and water likely to be in the tank would easily be handled by a filter/separator, just as it would be by the engine filter/separator.

 

[NormanS]

Has anyone fitted one of these, and if so any views?
For the third time I need to clean out the aluminium fuel tank (easy access and I have nitrile and Hylomar Blue for the access plate gasket) and SWMBO has put her foot down and says she is totally fed up with the time it takes to clean up her electric toothbrush after I have used it to reach the nooks and crannies ....

Advice appreciated about the Diesel Dipper or alternative. Advice about SWMBO not required.

Thanks

You are only dealing with the symptoms. I would be finding out why the tank needed cleaning THREE times.

 

[petem]

You are only dealing with the symptoms. I would be finding out why the tank needed cleaning THREE times.

Exactly.

 

[PhilipH]

Well, reason three times is dirty fuel. Once in Northern Ireland in 2007, once in Indonesia in 2014, and once in the Caribbean in 2018, and despite using a top rated biocide.

Re the Diesel Dipper - the filter is 40 microns and does not "polish" the diesel. The purpose is to access the lowest point of the tank where water and crud accumulate as the normal fuel pick-up pipe is at a higher level, and allow the removal of said water and crud.

If anyone could suggest a suitable equivalent filter and pump it would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[pvb]

Well, reason three times is dirty fuel. Once in Northern Ireland in 2007, once in Indonesia in 2014, and once in the Caribbean in 2018, and despite using a top rated biocide.

Might be worth getting a filter funnel; it slows down refuelling a bit but can keep a lot of crud out of the tank. Lots on the market, Google "mr funnel" for starters.

 

[Biggles Wader]

Might be worth getting a filter funnel; it slows down refuelling a bit but can keep a lot of crud out of the tank. Lots on the market, Google "mr funnel" for starters.

I always refuel through a Mr Funnel and it works very well but usually I only put in 5 litres at a time via a can. Larger amounts would require a much bigger filter or a very slow fill up. I also have a drain in the sump and drop the crud out annually which has resulted in very little evidence of problems since a big clean up four years ago.

 

[NormanS]

I always refuel through a Mr Funnel and it works very well but usually I only put in 5 litres at a time via a can. Larger amounts would require a much bigger filter or a very slow fill up. I also have a drain in the sump and drop the crud out annually which has resulted in very little evidence of problems since a big clean up four years ago.

Yes, a sump with a drain, built in to the bottom of the fuel tank, is the real answer. I check mine rather more often than annually, although I never see much evidence of any contamination.

 

[lw395]

Yes, a sump with a drain, built in to the bottom of the fuel tank, is the real answer. I check mine rather more often than annually, although I never see much evidence of any contamination.

A dip tube going right to the bottom corner is nearly as good and likely easier to add to an existing boat.
Just heel the boat a little to put the dip tube on the low side.
Never found more than a few little drops of water since we stopped storing diesel for too long and started checking the bottom of the tank a couple of times a year. We use white diesel, fill from cans via a syphon with a filter in it.

 

[NormanS]

A dip tube going right to the bottom corner is nearly as good and likely easier to add to an existing boat.
Just heel the boat a little to put the dip tube on the low side.
Never found more than a few little drops of water since we stopped storing diesel for too long and started checking the bottom of the tank a couple of times a year. We use white diesel, fill from cans via a syphon with a filter in it.

Yes, a dip tube going right down to the lowest corner of a tank, would be much easier to retrofit, but for anyone thinking of making a new tank, a sump is the way to go. Every time the boat moves, any dirt or water is encouraged by our old friend, gravity, to fall into the sump, and safely stay there until drained out. I accept that with the modern trend to flat bottomed yachts, this ideal is more difficult to achieve.

 

[pvb]

Yes, a dip tube going right down to the lowest corner of a tank, would be much easier to retrofit, but for anyone thinking of making a new tank, a sump is the way to go. Every time the boat moves, any dirt or water is encouraged by our old friend, gravity, to fall into the sump, and safely stay there until drained out. I accept that with the modern trend to flat bottomed yachts, this ideal is more difficult to achieve.

Modern yachts tend to have moulded plastic tanks which are designed to maximise the use of space in the hull. As a result, they usually have a sloping floor leading to a lowest corner, which is where any water or crud can accumulate. I take the inspection hatch off my tank early in the year (after the boat has been static for some time in the winter) and suck a litre or so of fuel out from the lowest corner.

 

[NormanS]

Modern yachts tend to have moulded plastic tanks which are designed to maximise the use of space in the hull. As a result, they usually have a sloping floor leading to a lowest corner, which is where any water or crud can accumulate. I take the inspection hatch off my tank early in the year (after the boat has been static for some time in the winter) and suck a litre or so of fuel out from the lowest corner.

Good, I am sure that if more people did that, there would be fewer unpleasant surprises of blocked filters etc.
The point I was making that with a relatively shallow hull shape, it is more difficult to accommodate a sump on the bottom of a tank. I have seen some very poorly designed tanks, which were wide and shallow, which is the opposite of a good fuel tank.

 

[PhilipH]

Might be worth getting a filter funnel; it slows down refuelling a bit but can keep a lot of crud out of the tank. Lots on the market, Google "mr funnel" for starters.

Yes I have been using a Racor funnel for filtering the diesel before it goes in the tank.

 

[PhilipH]

Yes, a sump with a drain, built in to the bottom of the fuel tank, is the real answer. I check mine rather more often than annually, although I never see much evidence of any contamination.

 

[PhilipH]

Yes, a sump with a drain, built in to the bottom of the fuel tank, is the real answer. I check mine rather more often than annually, although I never see much evidence of any contamination.

This solution is not possible as the tank bottom is actually a welded part of the hull. This is an OVNI 395.

 

[NormanS]

This solution is not possible as the tank bottom is actually a welded part of the hull. This is an OVNI 395.

The bunker tankage on ships is often tanks forming an integral part of their bilges. Obviously, they also cannot have drains from the lowest parts of these tanks. What they do have, and what boats like your's would greatly benefit from, are "day use" tanks. In your case, this could be in the form of a modest tank, giving say a full day's motoring, installed at a higher level. The day use tank would be replenished from your main tank, by an electric or manual pump, and could even be arranged to give a gravity feed to the engine. The day use tank would be equipped with a small sump with a drain valve.