water in fuel

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timv

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An engineer visiting my boat has commented there is significant amount of water in the fuel he drained off the separ filters and told me they had noticed the same at a recent service before I bought it.I always drain filters before starting as I had been advised there was some water in fuel due to long period of activity prior to my purchase, but this may be more serious than I had hoped. Is there an alternative anyone knows of near Plymouth that could polish the fuel - would this get rid off the water ?.Or someone who could even drain the tanks and treat them ?

Or would you keep draining filters to see if it eventually clears the tanks,I assume there is little chance of damaging fuel pump if I always drain filters prior to use ?
many thanks
Tim
 
first, I'd check that the fuel filler cap has its O ring in perfect condition. This is a primary source of water getting into the tank.

Then, what is the capacity of the tank, and does it have a drain tap ?

Is there an inspection port ? Can you see what colour or clarity of fuel in the tank ? Have you treated the fuel against bacterial action (the "bug") ?

Depending on the volume of fuel, it may be worth extracting the fuel into a couple of cans, cleaning the tank, and then refilling. If the filters are constantly filling up with water, there may be a serious problem that needs sorting out.
 
+1 on that, you really don´t want water getting into your engine. either buy a cheap pump and some hose and empty the tanks through a filter and see what comes out or get a fuel cleaning company to do it asap.
 
I would not panic. the filters are doing the job you fit them for. separating the water ..just drain them off after engine running and see how much water is coming out. You would expect this to slow down over time to next to nothing. If it looks like the filters are going to be swamped then polish the fuel by all means. But make sure you are dosing with your chosen biocide ASAP.
 
if I get the fuel polished can I use the diesel again , and any idea of the cost, or anybody I could contact near Plymouth ?I assume there is about 600lt in the two tanks ?
 
Diesel is perfectly fine to use once passed through a water separator filter.

It is not that complicated to make a simple polishing rig - obtain a 12v fuel pump from eBay and a simple water separator filter such as a Baldwin or Racor 500.

Set it up to draw the fuel through the filter using the pump suction. If you pump first the pumps motion can break up the water into particles small enough to pass through. Draw from as low in the tank as possible, then simply circulate back into the filler.

There are details here of my own simple unit here which cost me ~ £100. The instant connectors cost about £18 each. ...

https://turbo36.wordpress.com/improvements/

Since making this in 2008 I have had it in regular use on three boats now and never had any fuel filter blockages from the dreaded bug. The last and the current have installed instant connection points to allow me to polish, transfer, back-flush the pick ups and prime the installed water separator filters.
 
Thanks Trevor, I will look into that. How do you get the suction pipe into the tank ,is there an inspection panel in the top ?

many thanks for all the other replies as well

Tim

superheat6k said:
Diesel is perfectly fine to use once passed through a water separator filter.

It is not that complicated to make a simple polishing rig - obtain a 12v fuel pump from eBay and a simple water separator filter such as a Baldwin or Racor 500.

Set it up to draw the fuel through the filter using the pump suction. If you pump first the pumps motion can break up the water into particles small enough to pass through. Draw from as low in the tank as possible, then simply circulate back into the filler.

There are details here of my own simple unit here which cost me ~ £100. The instant connectors cost about £18 each. ...

https://turbo36.wordpress.com/improvements/

Since making this in 2008 I have had it in regular use on three boats now and never had any fuel filter blockages from the dreaded bug. The last and the current have installed instant connection points to allow me to polish, transfer, back-flush the pick ups and prime the installed water separator filters.
Click to expand...
 
A useful back stop is to have WIF alarms -Water In Fuel .Racor do them .
Tells you it's time to drain before it gets into the diesel pump /injectors and knackers. It's all .
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timv said:
Thanks Trevor, I will look into that. How do you get the suction pipe into the tank ,is there an inspection panel in the top ?

many thanks for all the other replies as well

Tim
Click to expand...
For temporary use simply use a pick up tube in through the filler hole. A short length of perforated copper in the end allows you to wiggle the end around the tank.

On my boat the pick up is attached to the low level drain, via the dripless instant connector.
 
yes I have just had both tanks " scavenged "to try and pump out the water and muck from the bottom of tanks but have been told they are too bad and need them both cleaned out involving cutting hatches in both tanks either side of the baffles- the joy of boat ownership !! when looking at the tanks the engineer noticed traces of diesel running down the tank sides which now has me paranoid that the tanks are rotten and need replacing but he suggested it more likely on SS tanks it was as Sanderman suggested a leak in the filler tube- is this realistic or am I just hoping for the best on 1999 boat with stainless steel tanks ? Has anybody with a phantom 38 had tanks cleaned ,I believe it has wooden floors above both tanks is this correct ?- many thanks
 
No idea about Phantom 38 layout.

Sounds like you have a water problem and it is near level of fuel pickup otherwise you would not get water in to pre filters. Make sure you keep at least three sets of spare pre filter elements available at all times.

Are you getting black slime build up on pre filter elements or in the filter?

Replace O rings in deck filler caps, I do every year, they crack.

Beware fuel bug have you treated in the past with a decent biocide such as Grotamar 82 ? Diesel and water without a biocide and you will get fuel bug.

Sometimes you can remove a tank gauge sender or an inspection plate on a tank and gain access to clean the tanks. sometimes baffles get in the way.

Fuel bug is corrosive to metal fuel tanks.

Do your tanks have drain bungs or sumps so you can strip a sump of water and crud?

Expresslube are in Sussex and offer a service try them.
 
When looking to have your fuel polished, you need to remember the following:

1) The engines are doing a fine job of polishing your fuel already. Why? The engine's fuel pump draw far more fuel than the engine can use and pumps the excess back to the tank. This fuel has been through your filters so is 'polished''

Hence, it's not what's in suspension in your fuel you are concerned with, it's what's lurking at the bottom of the tank that can get picked up or stirred up. So the next points become:

2) Find the source of ingress which, as has been pointed out before, is more than likely a damaged O ring around the fuel cap(s).

3) The build up of water, dead bug and whatever, will lurk at the bottom of the tank. To polish this away, you need an external polishing kit which has a powerful, and I mean powerful, pump and filtration system for high flow, which works in this way:

- The output from the pump must go to its outflow pipe which can be inserted into the tank to reach the bottom.
- The pipe must be of sufficient diameter that the pump's output flow is powerful enough to stir up the 'lurk'.
- The suction pipe is then lowered partway into the tank to scavenge the stirred up fuel
- The fuel is then sucked through a flitration system, through the pump and back into the tank to keep stirring the 'lurk'

The system is kept going until no more 'lurk' is being depositd into the filters.

So, to recap, a pump which has a sufficiently powerful flow-force to stir up everything in the tank. You'll be amazed at what's trapped in the filters.

Once polished, your engines will keep fuel clean. And if you've had the tanks thoroughly cleaned (enema'd as I call it) and found the cause of any ingress, your only remaining threat is from contaminated fuel. For this, take care from where you buy fuel. We use two maxims:

a) Only buy from a source which is in constant use
b) Don't buy within 24 hours of a delivery. The delivery might have stirred what's on the tank's bottom - you donlt want to buy this!)

I believe there are mobile fuel polishing companies who would be able to do the job for you. As I've said, you won't believe the lurk you find.
 
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