Got Questions? Ask Them Here.

Dan_Y · Apr 27, 2017

Diesel Fuel Anti-foam Additive Usage
I'm installing a polishing system on our 75 gallon diesel tank patterned after one Maine Sail showed for his new tank a while back, and it should turn over a full tank in just over an hour. The Inca brand tank has extra ports for a generator (feed and return) and a single 'aux' port, what ever that is. I'll use the generator ports even though they are not optimal as in the tank Maine Sail built. I'm concerned that the return fuel will create foam since there is no internal tubing in the return port to near the bottom of the tank.

Can the fuel become aerated enough to cause trouble for the injector pump? Would the use of anti-foam additive help? I found mention of its use in a forum of diesel truck owners.
Thanks, Dan.

jssailem · Apr 30, 2017

Dan. Thinking out loud here. Foam would happen when you inject air into the diesel. If you are spraying the diesel into the air then letting it settle in the tank you could be creating foam. Put your return line into the bottom of the tank (Stainless return tube to bottom part of tank) should minimize this issue. Secondly, the only way it could affect the engine (foam floats) is if the level of the fuel line pick up tube is at the level of the fuel in the tank (your almost running on fumes... engine will quit). In this case you could create foam as you suck fuel to the engine / sucking air fuel mix due to low fuel level. In the second case it would not matter if you were polishing or not.
With 75 gallons and a bit of foam on the surface from diesel/air mixing. I would expect the foam to dissipate before it reaches the level of the fuel intake.
Truckers have the issue of driving all day... filling more than once... large consumption of fuel per hour. The foam from the fill does not have time to dissipate. So they use a defoaming agent.
My engine uses about .6 gal per hour. With a 75 gallon tank half full (37.5 gallons) I could motor for 60 hours straight before the fuel level got down to the level of the pickup. Suspect the foam would be long gone.

gettinthere · Apr 30, 2017

My polisher sucks from the very bottom and returns to the top of my 55 gallon tank. Have not had any issues in 8 years. I typically polish every time I fill up so the drop of the polished fuel into the tank is nothing.

Dan_Y · May 4, 2017

Thanks guys. Sounds like it's a non-issue. Also, I misquoted the fuel capacity. It's a 36 gal fuel tank and 75 gal water tank...

I removed the wema sending unit and used my bore scope to look around in the 1/2 full tank. The walls were clean. But there was brownish sludge in the bottom. I was able to clean it out with a temporary polisher using a transfer pump from northern tool and a racor fg500 that I bought as an upgrade for engine primary filter. The sludge was water, enough to completely fill the water separator bowl in the fg500. The fuel appeared clean otherwise. The fg500 was so yucked up I ended up disassembling and cleaning it before installing it as the primary filter. The element looked surprisingly clean.

The tank is mounted at a slight angle that pools the water at one end, near the fuel pick up. I'll put the new pick up in that end using one of the three spare tank fittings. Was thinking about using a flexible pick up line. It has an internal spring inside the flexible tube and a brass weight on the end to keep it on the bottom. It could be guided to rest in the low end of the tank I think. Other choice is to see if I could heat and bend a plastic pickup tube to reach the low end. Haven't found a pick up with either aluminum or SS tube. A gentle bend in that to reach the low area would be preferable. I replaced the diesel filler cap oring and suspect the water may have been pumped in. It was the first cleaning of the tank and it's 9 years old.
Thanks,
Dan

gettinthere · May 4, 2017

You don't want to go the the very bottom with the engine fuel pick up. Crud collects there first. Typical setup is to run the polisher pick up to the bottom and keep the engine pick up off the bottom. Other pick ups, like gensets go even higher to leave some fuel for the engine

Dan_Y · May 4, 2017

Yes. I was referring to the permanent polisher pick up being on the bottom as you suggested. I wasn't very clear. I did notice the gen p/u tube was higher off the bottom than the engine tube. That's cool. I was thinking of putting the new polisher p/u tube on the bottom and use the genset p/u tube as the polisher return...until I decide to install a genset...haha. The flexible p/u tube I saw has a screen over the end...which has to be removed. I did check to make sure the engine p/u didn't have a screen. Would have removed it.

All U Get · May 5, 2017

Hi Mainsail,

A question or two on our wind generator. Is there any way to check the electric brake, the blade continues to spin when the switch on the controller is turned?

Should all three wires from the generator to the controller have some current running through it? With the wind turning the blades we only have current in two of the three lines as I checked with the clamp meter.

All U Get

All U Get · May 5, 2017

Maine Sail said:
How fast is it spinning? What wind speeds? You may want to reach out to Jeff on this one.

I is AC current so one is acting like neutral. Your wind gen is rectified to DC at the controller. If you have a bad or loose termination in this path it could explain the lack of braking.

The wind was less than 10 as I was tying it off before crossing from the Bahamas and just needed to slow the blade. I've left it tied since we're in a slip and have shore power.

So one wire shows nothing and two show AC amps flowing. That's how I see it.

I'll contact Jeff on the brake issue after this storm passes. Thanks.

All U Get

All U Get · May 11, 2017

Maine Sail said:
How fast is it spinning? What wind speeds? You may want to reach out to Jeff on this one.
QUOTE]
Jeff sent me the method to trouble shoot this issue. We have shipped it to him and will have it waiting at home when we get there. Would you like me to forward his note to you?

All U Get

Terry Cox · May 13, 2017

Maine Sail said:
Ask away!

Our Hunter P42 has a 1991 4JH2-TE Yanmar diesel with a manual pull cable shutoff. What 12vdc solenoid would you recommend that can replace the cable shutoff? This will become a DIY project.

Thanks in advance for your help.

IStream · May 13, 2017

If you're going to add a solenoid, don't do it in place of the cable. Keep the cable as a backup in case of an electrical/solenoid failure.

Val V · Jun 5, 2017

@Maine Sail . On my CS33 I would like to stop using the closed bow chocks and install 10" cleats close to the edge where toerail is. I saw your old post from about 7 years ago where you see less chafe on boats that use cleats without chocks. Have you done this upgrade on your CS36?
The deck thickness around the toe rail inside the anchor locker is about 1/2 inch. I was thinking of cutting off the vertical part of the toe rail and installing the cleats on top with 5/16 bolts and some good backing. Anchor locker offers easy access. Do you think this should provide enough strength?

All U Get · Jun 14, 2017

Our Raymarine autopilot has a feature that will follow a course when I plug in waypoints on the chart plotter. During the trip home this feature didn't follow the course asking for heading information. It still will follow a heading we adjust at each turn, but I wondered if just doing a reset with the Furuno chartplotter would cure this.

All U Get

Boog · Jan 4, 2018

I have the same engine as you have Terry on my Passage 42 (4JH2-TE Yanmar diesel, 93). Does anyone know what the oil pressure range should be on this engine. Found the service manual on this site, but it does not say. The gauge reads low 2 kg/cm2 at idle and almost 3 at higher RPM's. Not in the green area, but no alarm. The green area of the gauge is from 3 to 5. It has 15W-40W oil in it 3/4 full. Do I have anything to worry about? Should I increase the oil weight to say 20W-40W to increase the pressure? Recently purchased the boat and figuring things out.
Thanks for the help.
Jeff

IStream · Jan 4, 2018

Hi Jeff,
The first thing I'd do is verify the accuracy of the gauge, ideally by unscrewing the pressure sensor at the engine and screwing in a known-good gauge. If the readings match, then you can take steps. If you can't or don't want to do that, at least confirm that the electrical connections between the sender and the gauge are all in good shape.

BTW, if yours is the boat I think it is, we're dock-mates at Shilshole.