Bad fuel issue.. advice needed

[IRGuy]

As the regulars here know I have been rebuilding “Phoenix” over the past few years and am finally getting to the point that I will finally be able to use her. During the rebuild I have not used her very much at all. The last time I added fuel was about 3 years ago, she was half full (260 gal tank) when I topped off the tank. She then went to the boatyard where she was in a building for two years. About 6 months ago, after changing fuel filters, I ran her about 20 miles to my home slip, where she has been all summer. Last week Charlie and I ran her back to the boatyard so she could be hauled and I could install a swim platform. Once that is done I plan to start using her on a regular basis.

The engines started and ran normally... after running for about 1½ hours I opened up the throttles, but at about 1,500 RPM both engines peaked out and would not turn above that. There was a slight amount of hazy smoke, but not really black. There was some soot around the exhaust outlets when I shut down. The bottom and running gear are very clean. With no excessive load from hull or running gear fouling, and with both engines only able to reach 1,500 RPM I assumed I had a fuel filter clogging issue.

Yesterday I removed both Racor 30 micron filter elements. Both were black, and the fuel is quite a bit darker than normal. The fuel did not have the usual unique diesel odor, rather it smelled like varnish,, pretty much as stale old gasoline smells. When I spread some of the filter’s paper pleats and ran a finger over them there was no slimy feeling, which I assumed would be the case if there was algae clogging the filters. Almost nothing came off on my finger. Looking at the thin layer of fuel on the top surface of the filters I see lots very small dark spots in the fuel.. when I rub them there is no grit or slimy feeling. These are almost microscopic and colloidal in nature.

I know I have bad fuel.. especially after sitting idle all summer, which has been very hot. I plan on getting a waste fuel company to take the remaining fuel away, and starting over with fresh fuel. I am also going to install vacuum gauges on my Racors so I can get an indication of how clogged the filters have become in the future.

My questions are how to proceed…

Once the tank is empty should I fill it completely, or only part way?

From what I have been able to read, I should start using a fuel additive. I have been told BioBor MD would be best. This is not a biocide but contains a water absorber, cetane booster, and will break up any suspended algae. Fuel additives are a mystery to me.. some say they are snake oil.. others swear by them. What do you guys recommend?

I am concerned that there might be stuff stuck to the sides and bottom of the tank.. would a fuel treatment break this stuff up and reclog the filters?

I have never dealt with bad fuel before.. any comments those more experienced than me would care to make will be much appreciated!

[Kevin]

When I switched from gas to diesel I had a guy come clean the original glass tank. No problems but I did not know about Stanadynes fuel treatment. After about a year or so I found the fuel bowls getting full of what looked like coffee grinds. The faithful got me on the program with adding that fuel treatment. I did not have to clean the tank again. Added the stuff and changed the filters, ran the boat and have not had a problem since. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff and it is worth every penny. It prevents algae, adds lubrication and cetane if I recall. I never got to the point where the RPMs suffered that bad though. I would first start with shock treatment per the instructions of the product you chose and new filters. You may have to change out the filters a few times but I suspect it will clean itself out as these diesels circulate a lot of fuel. If that does not help look elsewhere for the problem. Won't hurt to make sure your turbos are not stuck either. Take off air filter and you should be able to spin them with your finger.

[Pete Fallon]

IR GUY,
Why don't you have the fuel polished there must be someone in your area that cleans fuel systems, make sure they run it thru at least 2 times and just make sure that you have a bunch of clean filters handy after your polishing is done and when you get ready to start using the boat again. I would certainly use a fuel treatment additive after the fuel has been polished and every time you add new fuel.The quality of the diesel we are getting down here is bad, algae seems to grow more quickly here in the South in the past few years and I suspect they are cutting the diesel with something similar to ethanol.
How about installing Algae X system after you get clean fuel back in the tank UV used to swear by them, personally I think it's all smoke and mirrors.
Pete Fallon

[Bruce]

I would call a polishing company to circulate the fuel to get any algae loose in the tank and cleaned out then pump out the fuel.
The diesel we get here is refined crap anymore and I as a mechanic wouldn't waste the money trying to dump additives into 3 year old fuel to try and make it usable.

Get new fuel and start using additives like stanadyn or an equivalent. Winter blends are coming up and in cold areas you may be getting #2 fuel oil. Check and see what the blend it is. If the retail out doesn't know, call the dist of their fuel to find out.

If your using fuel regularly, no need for a biocide, if your not using regularly and the side of the boat where your tank is gets hot sun, use it.
Lubricity for proper injector pump and injector wear is important with low sulfur fuels.

[IRGuy]

Thanks Kevin, Pete, and Bruce for the advice..

With the fuel smelling so strongly of "varnish" I assumed it had changed chemically, so I decided to get rid of it.. I didn't see any sense of simply polishing it, and then run clean but deteriorated fuel through the engines. Yesterday I called a small waste oil guy who was available this AM so I had him pump it all out into a 300 gallon translucent cubitaner in his truck. He charged me $150 plus $0.85/gallon.. total cost was $345.00 to dispose of a little over 200 gal.

I have spoken to my diesel engine guy and this is what we decided I would do...

1 - leave the tank empty for about a week, so any algae stuck to the walls and bottom will die
2 - install new filters, primary and secondary
3 - install T handle vacuum gauges on the primary Racor filters
4 - add about 50 gallons of fresh fuel
5 - add a shock treatment of BioBor JF algacide to the fuel
6 - launch the boat and let it sit at the dock with the engines running at a fast idle
7 - watch the Racor vacuum gauges and change the filters as necessary
8 - when it appears that the filters are no longer clogging after a "reasonable" amount of time add another 50 gal of fuel
9 - start using the boat locally, watching the vacuum gauges to monitor how much the primary filters are clogging
10 - when I am convinced the fuel is clean enough to get reasonable filter life top the tank off
11 - add the normal treatment of BioBor JF algacide to new fuel as I buy it

A note about polishing the fuel... When I first bought the boat 6 years ago I inquired about having the fuel polished.. the quotes I got then were all about the same cost/gal as the cost for new fuel.. assuming this is still a valid estimate the cost for disposal is the extra cost I have incurred, and going forward I will have fresh fuel to deal with.

[Bruce]

The problem with just pumping out dirty fuel is the sediment left. Polishing even bad fuel before removal will stir up the tank contents giving a better chance to remove debris rather than possibly keep fussing with changing filters for a while and never knowing when one is going to clog.
As soon as you put clean fuel in, the sediment contaminates the new fuel and again your depending on the fuel filters only to remove the debris.

Good luck and keep plenty of filters on board.

[IRGuy]

Bruce...

Please don't think I disregarded your suggestion to have a polishing system circulate the fuel vigorously before I had it removed. I completely agree that would have been the best option.. for me it came down to what was the best option with the time I have available and the cost. When I first bought the boat about 6 years ago I inquired about polishing costs and found the cost per gallon was about the same as the cost for new fuel.. but that is really a moot point today because here in Wilmington I was unable to locate someone who had a mobile polishing system who could respond quickly and professionally. With an eye toward time and cost I decided to follow one of your suggestions and get rid of the aprox 220 gallons of old and somewhat deteriorated fuel and start over.

I do have a concern about fuel circulation in a B33 tank in general.. namely that I believe there are athwartship baffles in the tank that divide it into three chambers, which have small diagonal cutouts at their bottom corners to allow fuel level to equalize between chambers. I suspect these would restrict vigorous flow between chambers greatly, and therefore unless I cut access openings in each chamber the majority of the circulation induced by a polishing system having both suction and discharge in one chamber would be almost completely in that chamber, with almost none between that one and the others.

Regardless of the physical aspects of the tank I will add 50 gallons of fresh fuel and circulate/agitate that while I monitor Racor filter pressure drop, and change filters as needed until I feel I have removed as much of the contaminates as possible, and then I will add more fuel to dilute what was left after the 50 gallon run is completed.

I will post my results as I proceed to keep the site informed as to how my technique works out.

[lobsta1]

Frank,
Our tanks are baffled into 6 separate compartments with small cut outs at the corners.Did you happen to read this article?


http://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/engin ... boat-clean

[IRGuy]

Thanks Al..

I just got the last issue but have not gotten around to reading it. Good article!

As far as the baffles are concerned.. I thought there were only two.. but I can't recall where I heard that. With more baffles comes more difficulty in getting the fuel to circulate between chambers.. The best alternative I can see is to cut access ports in each chamber top, and then manually clean each one. This is more than I care to do at this point. I will watch the pressure drop across my Racor primary filters, and change them as necessary. I will change the secondary filters at the same time. I do keep lots of spare filters aboard.

The more I think of it.. parallel filter systems make more sense to me.

The only good I can see from all this is that the filters didn't plug up 50 miles offshore.. better to deal with this issue at home!

Say hi to Callie for me.