Cleaning Diesel fuel and tank
- Thread starter Moonraker687
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Yes I had the this problem and what I did was pump all the fuel out of the tank and this took out the "gel" also. Then when I put new fuel back in I also added anti gel that I got at a truck stop. It worked out great and I have not had any problems since.
We clean our fuel all the time with an onboard fuel 'polisher'.
A dedicated tube reaches all the way to the bottom of the tank. Fuel is sucked up thru a separate racor 500 filter and then dropped back in at the top of the tank.
Water settles at the bottom and that is where trouble starts.
You can hire someone to clean your tank, especially if you have an inspection port. They power wash the insides of the tank with fuel and then suck it all out and clean it, similar to my polishing system. Clean tank and clean fiel.
A dedicated tube reaches all the way to the bottom of the tank. Fuel is sucked up thru a separate racor 500 filter and then dropped back in at the top of the tank.
Water settles at the bottom and that is where trouble starts.
You can hire someone to clean your tank, especially if you have an inspection port. They power wash the insides of the tank with fuel and then suck it all out and clean it, similar to my polishing system. Clean tank and clean fiel.
As gettinthere mentioned you can install and onboard filtration loop to keep cleaing your own fuel, you can also hire someone to come clean your tank. I went the later route and the guy appeared to do quite a complete job, pushing the fuel back into the tank combined with air pressure almost like a powerwasher to blast the sides and bottom of the tank, he recirculated the entire contents of the tank 4 times. Unfortuantely we found very little crud in his filters and my fuel issues continued. I eventually found a screen over the end of my fuel pickup tube which would get blocked from time to time in the worst of sea conditions. I removed the screen, let the filters do their job and have had no issues since. Good luck.
I personally feel that "polishing" the relatively small amounts of diesel most sailboats carry is a waste of time and money. If you have a bad tank of fuel, get rid of it (most counties have a toxic waste disposal area).
For about a hundred bucks you can make your own. I mounted a 12V fuel pump (about 50 bucks) and an old Racor 120 filter on a wooden frame I made from scrap lumber. A few fittings, clamps, a switch and some hose and your ready to go. I pump the contents of my tank (23 gallons) using this rig into 5 gallon jugs through a cleanout port, but you can also use the sender port. This filters and water separates all the fuel upon removal. Once the tank is empty of all the fuel and clean you can either pump it back in giving it another thorough filtration and water separation or give it away to a commercial boater or trucker who will be happy to have a hundred bucks of free fuel and will use it up in one day.
I'm not a big fan of the on board recirculating polishers because you keep mixing clean fuel with contaminated fuel using the law of diminishing returns to slowly get it cleaner and cleaner the longer you run it. I think the method of complete removal and replacement is preferable. The onboard recirculating systems are good if you are doing extended cruising.
I also filter and water separate any new fuel I am putting in the tank. By using 5 gallon jugs to fill the tank from high volume fuel stations I make sure it is clean and relatively water free by using my pump and filter for initial input. I just started this method this year when I replaced my fuel tank and figured I'd start with really clean fuel to begin with. So far it is simple and works well. You can get a pump at a NAPA store for diesel fuel, and a small Racor at any marine distributor.
I'm not a big fan of the on board recirculating polishers because you keep mixing clean fuel with contaminated fuel using the law of diminishing returns to slowly get it cleaner and cleaner the longer you run it. I think the method of complete removal and replacement is preferable. The onboard recirculating systems are good if you are doing extended cruising.
I also filter and water separate any new fuel I am putting in the tank. By using 5 gallon jugs to fill the tank from high volume fuel stations I make sure it is clean and relatively water free by using my pump and filter for initial input. I just started this method this year when I replaced my fuel tank and figured I'd start with really clean fuel to begin with. So far it is simple and works well. You can get a pump at a NAPA store for diesel fuel, and a small Racor at any marine distributor.
If you want the inside clean with a minimum of fuss and expense, get a gallon can of carburetor dip cleaner and pour it in the empty tank. The "additives" on the shelf are worthless, useless snake oil FOR THIS APPLICATION. Been there, done that, and have already tried most anything within reason, and have already wasted the money for you.
The dip cleaner will make it look like the day it was made in 24 hours. Slosh it around a bit, suck it back out, done. Seriously, I do this kind of work. Save yourself some grief..
AND BUY CLEAN FUEL! It's one of the two major things that can be the demise of your ten thousand dollar diesel. This is no time to be cheap.
The dip cleaner will make it look like the day it was made in 24 hours. Slosh it around a bit, suck it back out, done. Seriously, I do this kind of work. Save yourself some grief..
AND BUY CLEAN FUEL! It's one of the two major things that can be the demise of your ten thousand dollar diesel. This is no time to be cheap.
If your tank is only moderately fouled (usually adhering live colonies of fungus that live on the tank walls and use the oil for their nutrient source), your tank does not have an adequate inspection or clean out opening .... you may benefit by using one of the modern chemical tank cleaners. These will dissolve the fungal matts and deposits and change them into a semi-liquid which then can be quasi-successfully 'filter polished' out of the system. Such chemical tank cleaners will not get the 'insides' perfectly clean and may leave some thick deposits of dead organism and their products of metabolism (the 'black crap') that can later 'slough off' and overwhelm/choke your filters ... so Id use them if you cant 'get inside' and visualize how 'crappy' the tank walls have become with fouling deposits. Use a recirc. polisher after using a chemical cleaner ... to remove the loosened 'chunks'.
Recirculation polishing alone will do very little for a tank already fouled with the 'usual' fungals. Recirculation polishing isnt for 'cleaning a tank'; but rather is or should be there to prevent the fouling (in a tank that 'historically' is prone to fouling .... by continually removing those organisms and GROW inside and eventually foul the tank. Big tank, small tank doesnt matter as an adequate small on-board recirculation polisher is vastly cheaper than a towing/salvage charge for a HARD grounding.
The only way to *confidently* clean out a tank, is to get inside with a long handled scrub brush, etc. Tank fouling by growing microorganisms is an exponential time function; the least amount of organisms there to begin with, the slower the fouling because it takes time for all the cell division and spore formation.
hope this helps.
Recirculation polishing alone will do very little for a tank already fouled with the 'usual' fungals. Recirculation polishing isnt for 'cleaning a tank'; but rather is or should be there to prevent the fouling (in a tank that 'historically' is prone to fouling .... by continually removing those organisms and GROW inside and eventually foul the tank. Big tank, small tank doesnt matter as an adequate small on-board recirculation polisher is vastly cheaper than a towing/salvage charge for a HARD grounding.
The only way to *confidently* clean out a tank, is to get inside with a long handled scrub brush, etc. Tank fouling by growing microorganisms is an exponential time function; the least amount of organisms there to begin with, the slower the fouling because it takes time for all the cell division and spore formation.
hope this helps.
I got this off a forum, thought it might be of interest;
As one deeply involved in filtration engineering for almost 35 years .... recirculation polishing without FIRST cleaning out the tank IS snake oil ... and will only 'temporarily' --- say again TEMPORARILY clean the oil.
Recirculation polishing prevents the 'growth' of particles into larger and large size, and removes the 'seed particles' (mostly bio-forms) from the fluid. The constant removal exponentially decreases (and removes) the amount of particles.
If you don't periodically inspect and clean the tank walls, those particles 'stuck and growing' (growing fungal filaments, etc. and agglomerating sticky gel-like particles) only become the seed particles for new and larger particle 'growth' ... AND when the matt-like 'colony' of living particles break loose (because of dead and dying micro-organisms) they rapidly 'slug' the previously cleaned up oil with an exponential amount of even more particles.
Recirculation polishing removes the particles before they can affix to the walls; but, it cant remove those particles from the walls if they have formed a 'sticky colony' (calcyx).
Recirculation polishing of a fouled tank is of NO long term benefit. You HAVE to start with a CLEAN(ED) tank.
As one deeply involved in filtration engineering for almost 35 years .... recirculation polishing without FIRST cleaning out the tank IS snake oil ... and will only 'temporarily' --- say again TEMPORARILY clean the oil.
Recirculation polishing prevents the 'growth' of particles into larger and large size, and removes the 'seed particles' (mostly bio-forms) from the fluid. The constant removal exponentially decreases (and removes) the amount of particles.
If you don't periodically inspect and clean the tank walls, those particles 'stuck and growing' (growing fungal filaments, etc. and agglomerating sticky gel-like particles) only become the seed particles for new and larger particle 'growth' ... AND when the matt-like 'colony' of living particles break loose (because of dead and dying micro-organisms) they rapidly 'slug' the previously cleaned up oil with an exponential amount of even more particles.
Recirculation polishing removes the particles before they can affix to the walls; but, it cant remove those particles from the walls if they have formed a 'sticky colony' (calcyx).
Recirculation polishing of a fouled tank is of NO long term benefit. You HAVE to start with a CLEAN(ED) tank.
I'm sorry, Rich, I couldn't remember who posted it, but I did keep it, thinking it good information.Thank you for quoting me.
polishing kit
I bought a polishing kit from west marine 5 years ago, after removing most of the fuel into 5gal cans and inserting an aluminum tube in the tank thru the sending unit port, to suck out the remainder fuel and what sludge was on the bottom of the tank. I have a filter on my electric fuel lift pump and on the engine. with the filter on the pump I checked it before the season, mid way, and at the end of the season and the filter was clean, I mean very clean, I add the chemicals from the kit every 2 years and have not had any fuel issues so far.
Oh yeah I did return the fuel back into the tank, to treat it after the sludge and remaining fuel was removed
I bought a polishing kit from west marine 5 years ago, after removing most of the fuel into 5gal cans and inserting an aluminum tube in the tank thru the sending unit port, to suck out the remainder fuel and what sludge was on the bottom of the tank. I have a filter on my electric fuel lift pump and on the engine. with the filter on the pump I checked it before the season, mid way, and at the end of the season and the filter was clean, I mean very clean, I add the chemicals from the kit every 2 years and have not had any fuel issues so far.
Oh yeah I did return the fuel back into the tank, to treat it after the sludge and remaining fuel was removed
Pogo, The "filter" on the electric pump is usually just a course screen to remove large particulates that might damage or clog the pump. It is likely not adequate for filtering fuel to the level needed for a diesel motor. You really should have a primary filter immediately after the tank followed by the pump and then the engine mounted filter. The primary is typically 10 to 20 microns and the engine fine filter might be as low as 2 microns. It sounds like you are missing the primary filter in your system if I am interpreting it correctly.
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