I am an owner of a 1996 Catalina 320. Last year while motoring the engine did not seem to be getting enough fuel to it . The mechanic found water in the fuel water separtor. Since I only owned the sailboat one boating season I did not know how old the fuel was. I had it drained and replaced at the end of last year boating season and filled it up with Sunoco Diesel Fuel and put diesel gas treatment in it for the winter. This season it appeared to be running fine and we took a trip were we motored for around 3 hours--no problems. We took the boat out again and the engine started to have a "pinging" sound but went away. We were going to go for another sail a few days later and started the engine and it ran for a few minutes then stalled out and would not start. We called our mechanic and he again found water in the fuel water separtor. We checked the fuel cap for wear and tear but it looks fine. Our mechanic is puzzled by this problem Has anyone had this problem or have an idea on how we can be getting so much water in our fuel?
Catalina 320 -water in fuel
- Thread starter Breezey
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I owned a 320 for 13 years--one place to check is the fuel vent location. They were typically located in two places. Either on the side of the hull or on the stern curve. Neither is ideal. I replaced the vent with a 'trap vent' that prevents water from entering via washing or waves. You can find them at Defender or WM...something to look into...good luck.
Draining the tank via the fuel pick up won't do much of anything to get the water out as the pick up is still an 1" + off the bottom of the tank. The water sits on the bottom of the tank and the fuel on top of it. You need to pull the fuel sender or pick up tube and stick a copper or plastic tube all the way to the bottom of the tank, at the absolute lowest point, and use a pump to get what you can. You then tape some microfiber rags to a dowel or stiff but bendable wire and wipe the bottom of the tank until it is bone dry.
Probably 9 times out of 10 the water enters through the fuel fill cap or a poorly installed vent. How tight are you making it when you re-install it? Here in the US most states have laws about fuel delivery filtration. Marina's around here are using water-separators and are filtering to 10 micron. It is pretty rare to get water from your fuel supply but it could happen if a marina is breaking the laws..
This is what I use to suck small tanks dry and get the water out of them. The copper tube is jammed all the way to the dead bottom of the tank and gets all but about 3/4 of an ounce. The last bit is removed with a microfiber rag on a stick. Not fast but works well.
You never know just what you'll find in there...
This was 25+ years of accumulated water and crud off the bottom of the tank..
And why the engine ran like crap..
Probably 9 times out of 10 the water enters through the fuel fill cap or a poorly installed vent. How tight are you making it when you re-install it? Here in the US most states have laws about fuel delivery filtration. Marina's around here are using water-separators and are filtering to 10 micron. It is pretty rare to get water from your fuel supply but it could happen if a marina is breaking the laws..
This is what I use to suck small tanks dry and get the water out of them. The copper tube is jammed all the way to the dead bottom of the tank and gets all but about 3/4 of an ounce. The last bit is removed with a microfiber rag on a stick. Not fast but works well.
You never know just what you'll find in there...
This was 25+ years of accumulated water and crud off the bottom of the tank..
And why the engine ran like crap..
Nice set-up you have.
I just bough a boat this year, I will do it this fall at houlout.
I will probably find nice stuff too in it...
I just bough a boat this year, I will do it this fall at houlout.
I will probably find nice stuff too in it...
Thank you for your suggestions. I am certainly going to check the fuel vent and recheck the fuel cap. I will see if my mechanic got below the 1" in the fuel tank when he drained the fuel last season. I will let you know what happens.
I can testify to bad fuel causing repeated problems with a diesel engine performace. A lot of use have cut a large 3' or wider metal inspection port into the top of our fuel tanks in order to really see & access the bottom of that tank. Its a lot easier to be able to reach down into it (with heavy duty rubber gloves) to thoroughly clean the bottom then to guess or pay someone else for what you can probably do a better job of cleaning yourself.
I guarantee that you will find not just water, but a bunch of sludge, crud, & diesel bacteria floating around, not just water buildup after 25 years. Every time a big wave sloshes the hull around it sturs that crud up in your tank. Also check to make sure that there is not a piece of mesh at the bottom fo your fuel pickup tube, which us supposed to act as a pre-filter, which in reality is a pre-clogging device in the making. Cheers.
I guarantee that you will find not just water, but a bunch of sludge, crud, & diesel bacteria floating around, not just water buildup after 25 years. Every time a big wave sloshes the hull around it sturs that crud up in your tank. Also check to make sure that there is not a piece of mesh at the bottom fo your fuel pickup tube, which us supposed to act as a pre-filter, which in reality is a pre-clogging device in the making. Cheers.
whoa, slow down and go back the source. i have west marine funnel that seperates the water from diesel fuel. when i fuel my boat i filter what is coming out of the pump and put in a gerry can which i bring to the boat. i have never bought diesel fuel that had no water in it.
Water doesn't necessarily come from the fuel that you buy. It can enter from a bad seal or fitting on deck around the fuel cap or vent tube. It also readily forms via condensation sweating on the inside of the fuel tank walls of all metal tanks, when the fuel is colder then the ambient air temp. Moisture easily condenses where hot air on the outside of the tank & colder air on the inside meet on metal surfaces. I know sailors that try to always keep their tanks topped off to help prevent this, but it is impossible to keep a fuel tank completely full all the time. I also have one of those W. marine fuel funnel-screens. Read the directions. It does not guarantee removal of all water particles in diesel fuel. It's also pretty hard to keep that funnel steady while pouring fuel into the tank via a gerry can, unless you have 3 hands!
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