Water potentially finding its way in to the fuel tank

[asteven221]

Our Sealine has two deck fillers that are installed flat on the side decks. I think this is a common arrangement although I always feel is very vulnerable to water ingress to the tanks. We've never had any problems and I do pay attention to making sure the O Rings are new, but at the end of the day I just don't know if they work. There could be a significant amount of water in the tanks ready to give me some grief for all I know. There aren't any drain taps either.

You would think Sealine would have given some thought to installing a drain valve.

So what do others do with the same setup? The only thing I can think of is to try to get a pipe down to the bottom of the tank and draw up some fluid. Initial efforts with a thin plastic pipe i.e. the kind of pipe used to hide wires, didn't work due to what I likely to be a bend in the fuel pipe. Does anyone have any other ideas I could try.

Thanks.

 

[CLB]

That's what the primary filters are for. If you had significant amounts of water in your tanks it would be in the primary filters as soon as you start up. If your filters are devoid of water, you have nothing to worry about. Just keep an eye on the O rings and replace before they degrade and you should be fine.

 

[Momac]

I have the same arrangement but no fuel issues. I think you are doing everything needed .

 

[kashurst]

you are probably fine, but see if you can take out the fuel level senders - then you should have good enough access to put a length of copper pipe down attached to a pump and suck out the bottom inch or so. Which model of sealine do you have?

 

[Bandit]

The diesel pick up line usually stops say half an inch shy of the tank base.

you would need to therefore have a half inch of water or more to start picking up water because the diesel is lighter and sits over the water.

Diesel bug will grow on the interface between water and diesel.

With any water in a diesel tank it will start building up and accumulate until it is a problem either from water overcoming the primary filters or duel bug contamination. Water and diesel bug will corrode the inside of metal tanks to the point of causing holes.

Treating with a good diesel bug biocide such as Grotamar 82 is always a good start but try and investigate if there is any water at the bottom of the diesel tanks.

you can normally remove a fuel sender or a pick up connection and pull some liquid from the bottom of your tank by using a new Pella vacuum oil lube oil remover and then examine the fluid you pulled off in a clean white plastic pot to see if you have water or diesel bug.

Its better to do this find out you do the hard way with breakdown at sea.

 

[boatingdave]

I used to be paranoid about this and would check my primary filters way too often. As others have said, ensure the O ring is intact. You would know reasonably quickly if you had the dreaded bug. I've seen the effects of a very well used boat with the bug which blocked the filters and the early symptoms were that the engines were a bit 'lumpy'. In fact it was the owner of this particular boat that taught me that my paranoia was misplaced. He had spare filters with him at all times. However, if you use the boat regularly, treat the fuel and service it appropriately you should have little trouble. If you have cause to take the senders out then possibly a good idea to have a look so you know you are at least starting from a good place. I found a small amount of sediment in the primary filter once, convinced myself that it was the dreaded bug and had the fuel polished and it all came out absolutely clean. Luckily I now have water separator primary filters (on the new boat when I bought it) which you could do if you are also paranoid about this. What I'm trying to say is don't worry, enjoy the boat and just be sensible lol....

 

[Richardcm]

I got water in my petrol tank due to theiving scuzzer deciding they wanted the fuel more than me, if they had put the cap back on I would have been none the wiser, in fact it was fine first trip out as solo and sitting starboard and tank pick up in the middle meant all the water layed away from the pickup pipe, next time out with the wife boat sat level pump pulled the water up and stopped play, that took some working out I can tell you!
As said above tank sender out, vac pump and a length of kunifer pipe sucked all the visible water out from below the petrol, then added some meths to mix with the remaining water and get burnt in the engine.

 

[Sandmartin]

My tanks, very old, are illegal, because they a have a bottom drain. Every spring I open the drain and remove any water/dirt in the tank. The old ways are the best.

 

[asteven221]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Seems that I everything on our boat should be just fine as I have not had any symptoms of diesel bug, water in the primary filters or lumpy engines. I also use Soltron at fill-ups. Maybe some time I will try and locate the senders and do some probing of the bottom of the tanks.