Removing red dye from your fuel system

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Whatever the rights, wrongs, outcomes or whatevers of this debacle, I was wondering........

Just how would you go about removing the red dye, should you plan to switch to white?

I have 4 fuel tanks, 2 primary filters, one secondary filter, two fuel gauge tubes and a fair amount of piping. I am sure others have even more complicated systems.

Impossible to remove some of this without major boat surgery.
Probably impossible to flush through.

I have no idea.

 

[aquaplane]

Use all the red.

If the sight tubes are plastic, replace them, if glass or not stained don't bother.

Fill with white.

Go.

 

[Billjratt]

The dye is designed to leave a fingerprint even after the tainted fuel has all been used, with that in mind I doubt there is a sensible, financially worthwhile method of acheiving your objective.
I can't believe the foreign fuel-police are using the same equipment that our excise officers use at fuel testing stations - surely they just dip the tank, hold the result up to the light, and use a bit of common sense/discretion?
If not, all UK based yachts that have been tainted are going to be deemed illegal, which doesn't seem right if there's white in the tank.

 

[Koeketiene]

I can't believe the foreign fuel-police are using the same equipment that our excise officers use at fuel testing stations - surely they just dip the tank, hold the result up to the light, and use a bit of common sense/discretion?

That's exactly what happened when we were checked in Ostend 2 years ago.

 

[Blueboatman]

This 'dipping the tank'.
Has anyone tried feeding a suckerpipe from the deckfill? Not always straightforward or a straight run .
Suppose the filters are invisible, the filler cap won't undo (hehe) I can't imagine any official offering to get down on their creases and offer to bleed yer engine for you...
Suspect that multiple tanks are the way to 'appear' to go

 

[sarabande]

I wonder whether the information about red dye being residual is correct ? AFIK, steel does not absorb dye.


If you were a regulatory officer, you would want the public to believe that dye was clingy, wouldn't you ?

Plastic sight pipes, perhaps, but bulk tanks, No. Otherwise all the marinas will have to replace their tankage.


SB, get the tanks emptied (I'll take the red diesel away for a small fee ) and get the yard who do the job to certify they have emptied the tanks completely on the invoice.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

I wonder whether the information about red dye being residual is correct ? AFIK, steel does not absorb dye.


If you were a regulatory officer, you would want the public to believe that dye was clingy, wouldn't you ?

Plastic sight pipes, perhaps, but bulk tanks, No. Otherwise all the marinas will have to replace their tankage.


SB, get the tanks emptied (I'll take the red diesel away for a small fee ) and get the yard who do the job to certify they have emptied the tanks completely on the invoice.

We have no plastic pipes. Just the rubber hose from filler to tank. The rest is steel. The tanks are plastic.

I am not planning to to do this, just wondering whether it would be even possible, so sorry, no free fuel available from here.

I would like to see plod try to dip our tanks. We have special devices fitted to prevent siphoning that would also stop dipping via the fillers. Having said that, we also have special taps for draining and sampling from the bottom of the tanks, but I might not tell them where those are.

 

[Sailfree]

I am goingto swap my diesel filler for water filler cap then when theuy dip the tank marked "diesel" it will be clear QED

 

[david_bagshaw]

when road tankers swap from product they dont wash the tank, just fill an empty one. this includes spirt to diesel swaps along with heating oil to road fuel.

 

[maxi77]

I wonder whether the information about red dye being residual is correct ? AFIK, steel does not absorb dye.


If you were a regulatory officer, you would want the public to believe that dye was clingy, wouldn't you ?

Plastic sight pipes, perhaps, but bulk tanks, No. Otherwise all the marinas will have to replace their tankage.


SB, get the tanks emptied (I'll take the red diesel away for a small fee ) and get the yard who do the job to certify they have emptied the tanks completely on the invoice.

Our customs are more interested in the chemical marker than the dye as that can tell them how diluted the red is, useful for them in calculating the amount of duty evaded.

 

[uxb]

Run yer boats on aviation fuel -like you do when your car won't pass it's emission tests.

 

[northwind]

That's exactly what happened when we were checked in Ostend 2 years ago.

Makes me think you need a second 'tank' that the dip stick ends up in

 

[sailorman]

Makes me think you need a second 'tank' that the dip stick ends up in

So COP WOT are YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT
do that & find out punk, as the Big man said

 

[maby]

Our customs are more interested in the chemical marker than the dye as that can tell them how diluted the red is, useful for them in calculating the amount of duty evaded.

The dye is the chemical marker - the formulation is prescribed by the EU Directive and can be found with a relatively short search of their web site. They also describe in detail the testing method and give figures for the lowest level of reliable detection. If you do the sums, diluting the red with fifty times the volume of white should get you down into the safe level.

 

[Niander]

when road tankers swap from product they dont wash the tank, just fill an empty one. this includes spirt to diesel swaps along with heating oil to road fuel.

So that means if they put white in after red the dye will taint the white!
then it goes to petrol station and you put tainted white into your car
then what?...if they happen to test your vehicle for red?

 

[sailorman]

So that means if they put white in after red the dye will taint the white!
then it goes to petrol station and you put tainted white into your car
then what?...if they happen to test your vehicle for red?

you forgot the chip oil in between red & petrol

 

[maby]

So that means if they put white in after red the dye will taint the white!
then it goes to petrol station and you put tainted white into your car
then what?...if they happen to test your vehicle for red?

See above - the limits of detection work out at around 1 part red in 50 parts white - a few gallons of red left in the bottom of a tanker will not have any effect.

 

[maxi77]

The dye is the chemical marker - the formulation is prescribed by the EU Directive and can be found with a relatively short search of their web site. They also describe in detail the testing method and give figures for the lowest level of reliable detection. If you do the sums, diluting the red with fifty times the volume of white should get you down into the safe level.

As I understand it even if the dye is removed the markers can still be detected, I understand de-dying diesel is an Irish speciality.

 

[JONDAVIS]

removing red dye from tanks

Why bother its Belgiums loss if they don't want us, so what plenty of place's to discover in good old U.K its all total poppycock and they are all up their own A--- as far as i am concerned

 

[maby]

As I understand it even if the dye is removed the markers can still be detected, I understand de-dying diesel is an Irish speciality.

The techniques used do not "remove" the dye - that would require major chemical engineering. They use a variety of chemical reactions to bleach it, but the residual by-products are still there. In most cases, they rely on mixing the marked fuel with very strong acids that react with the dye, then taking steps to neutralise and filter out the acid to avoid it rotting the engine.