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Cleaning Diesel Fuel Tank
We had algea in our fuel system and per other peoples recommendations this is what we did. Pump out all the old fuel (we used a hand held bilge pump with lots of old towels around) We pumped ours into a rubermaid trash can Via the access opening we stuck our hands in as far as possible and cleaned the tank out, areas that you can't reach you can use a toilet bowel brush or something like it. Scrub, look with a head lamp, scrub, look with the head lamp. Next, we added some Carosine, I think just 1 gallon. We let it sit for a day splashing it around and soaking the sides 3 or 4 times during that day and night. Next, pump out the Carosine. Tons of paper towel, wipe the tank completely clean. Use the brush if you have too to reach tough spots. Look through the hole, clean, look through the hole, clean. Remove every last piece of dirt and grime. Finally we filled the tank with new diesel with a shock treatment of antialgea/fungal. Important, after we emptied the fuel from the tank we blew through the fuel line from the engine to blow any contaminated fuel/algea into the fuel tank. Lastly, after the tank was crystal clean with new fuel we bleed the fuel line and changed out the fuel filter. Hope this helps. We have been trouble free for a year. Whille you are in the tank, with the access hatch open, check your fuel guage.
We had algea in our fuel system and per other peoples recommendations this is what we did. Pump out all the old fuel (we used a hand held bilge pump with lots of old towels around) We pumped ours into a rubermaid trash can Via the access opening we stuck our hands in as far as possible and cleaned the tank out, areas that you can't reach you can use a toilet bowel brush or something like it. Scrub, look with a head lamp, scrub, look with the head lamp. Next, we added some Carosine, I think just 1 gallon. We let it sit for a day splashing it around and soaking the sides 3 or 4 times during that day and night. Next, pump out the Carosine. Tons of paper towel, wipe the tank completely clean. Use the brush if you have too to reach tough spots. Look through the hole, clean, look through the hole, clean. Remove every last piece of dirt and grime. Finally we filled the tank with new diesel with a shock treatment of antialgea/fungal. Important, after we emptied the fuel from the tank we blew through the fuel line from the engine to blow any contaminated fuel/algea into the fuel tank. Lastly, after the tank was crystal clean with new fuel we bleed the fuel line and changed out the fuel filter. Hope this helps. We have been trouble free for a year. Whille you are in the tank, with the access hatch open, check your fuel guage.
Clean out port?
Gary: There was a discussion in the last week or so about cleaning your fuel. First, are you doing this as a preventative maintenance measure or do you have a problem? If you do not have a clean out then things will be a little more difficult. You can get an electric fuel pump and hook it up to a diesel fuel filter. The fuel pump would pump the fuel through your filter and then return it to the tank. If you check around there are inexpensive filter systems that could be used just for this purpose (check out the Tempo water seperating filters at West Marine $30-35). You could let this run for several hours and it would make your system very clean. If your fuel is really bad, you may want to pump it out of the tank and dispose of it at the local landfill (they usually take this stuff) or toxic waste disposal site. One of the best ways to clean your tank once the old fuel is gone is to use Bio-Diesel. This stuff will clean up you entire system from the tank to the injectors. You should change your filters if your tank is very dirty within a few hours after introducing this product to your system. There are also some warnings about fuel hoses that may have problems if they are not made of the correct product. You can run Bio-Diesel in a mixture of 20% all the way up to 100%. The only down side is the cost and the odor, the smell of french fries often makes you quite hungry. You should also use biocide in your tank (just use the correct amount, many want to overdose the system. More is not better). You can get some information about Bio-diesel at www.cytoculture.com
Gary: There was a discussion in the last week or so about cleaning your fuel. First, are you doing this as a preventative maintenance measure or do you have a problem? If you do not have a clean out then things will be a little more difficult. You can get an electric fuel pump and hook it up to a diesel fuel filter. The fuel pump would pump the fuel through your filter and then return it to the tank. If you check around there are inexpensive filter systems that could be used just for this purpose (check out the Tempo water seperating filters at West Marine $30-35). You could let this run for several hours and it would make your system very clean. If your fuel is really bad, you may want to pump it out of the tank and dispose of it at the local landfill (they usually take this stuff) or toxic waste disposal site. One of the best ways to clean your tank once the old fuel is gone is to use Bio-Diesel. This stuff will clean up you entire system from the tank to the injectors. You should change your filters if your tank is very dirty within a few hours after introducing this product to your system. There are also some warnings about fuel hoses that may have problems if they are not made of the correct product. You can run Bio-Diesel in a mixture of 20% all the way up to 100%. The only down side is the cost and the odor, the smell of french fries often makes you quite hungry. You should also use biocide in your tank (just use the correct amount, many want to overdose the system. More is not better). You can get some information about Bio-diesel at www.cytoculture.com
Marine Grade Fuel Lines
Some boat manufacturers do not use marine grade fuel lines, that is, those carying the Cost Guard approved letering on them. One of the ways a diesel engine can run out of control is with a constricted fuel return line. One of the ways a fuel line can become constricted is by being pinched or constricted due to a coating on the inside, such as that caused by scum from algae. As a suggestion, if you're going to the major effort of cleaning the tank then one might want to consider replacing some of the fuel lines at the same time too. Access port: Doc Freeman's (link below) in Seattle sells access ports for fuel tanks made of stainless steel. One part of the setup has a ring in two halves so one can insert it on the inside of the tank and bolt the round plate on the outside of the tank. Don't recall the brand name. They had two diameters available both of which would allow enough room for one to reach inside the tank.
Some boat manufacturers do not use marine grade fuel lines, that is, those carying the Cost Guard approved letering on them. One of the ways a diesel engine can run out of control is with a constricted fuel return line. One of the ways a fuel line can become constricted is by being pinched or constricted due to a coating on the inside, such as that caused by scum from algae. As a suggestion, if you're going to the major effort of cleaning the tank then one might want to consider replacing some of the fuel lines at the same time too. Access port: Doc Freeman's (link below) in Seattle sells access ports for fuel tanks made of stainless steel. One part of the setup has a ring in two halves so one can insert it on the inside of the tank and bolt the round plate on the outside of the tank. Don't recall the brand name. They had two diameters available both of which would allow enough room for one to reach inside the tank.
Look for someone with a rig
I would look for someone with a high pressure polishing rig. Its going to cost you something like $200 for the first hundred gallons, typicaly $1 gallon after that. You will get perfect filtration of the fuel, death and emulsification of any biologics in the tank, and the high pressure return will scour the tank. You can do it by hand but the result will not be as good. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
I would look for someone with a high pressure polishing rig. Its going to cost you something like $200 for the first hundred gallons, typicaly $1 gallon after that. You will get perfect filtration of the fuel, death and emulsification of any biologics in the tank, and the high pressure return will scour the tank. You can do it by hand but the result will not be as good. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Fuel tank cleaning
Depends on the boat and type of fuel tank. If you can remove the quantity sending unit, you can clean thru the hole. If you have a Catalina, you can remove the pickup tube and pump out the bottom of the tank. See archives under ADDING A RACOR TYPE FILTER. Search under title.
Depends on the boat and type of fuel tank. If you can remove the quantity sending unit, you can clean thru the hole. If you have a Catalina, you can remove the pickup tube and pump out the bottom of the tank. See archives under ADDING A RACOR TYPE FILTER. Search under title.
Raecor Filter has a job to do
I think you should make your filters do their job and maybe you can even pump all the fuel out through bot the primary and secondary filter to clean it up and then pour it back in if you have a reasonably good electric fuel pump it works pretty well. I enjoyed the fuel polishing article at the attached link. I did get a piece of hose past my Racor by sloppy filter changine technique and it did get clogged in my mechanical pump. I now have an electric and I am really glad about it. PS Winter of 01'-02' we got lumps of algea growth, but the algicid made small black particles out of it and the big ones are now stuck in the filters that need changing. Check out http://www.petrofind.com/directory/Fuel/Additives/ also for algaecides.
I think you should make your filters do their job and maybe you can even pump all the fuel out through bot the primary and secondary filter to clean it up and then pour it back in if you have a reasonably good electric fuel pump it works pretty well. I enjoyed the fuel polishing article at the attached link. I did get a piece of hose past my Racor by sloppy filter changine technique and it did get clogged in my mechanical pump. I now have an electric and I am really glad about it. PS Winter of 01'-02' we got lumps of algea growth, but the algicid made small black particles out of it and the big ones are now stuck in the filters that need changing. Check out http://www.petrofind.com/directory/Fuel/Additives/ also for algaecides.
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