I think Bill is kidding. We all know how much tax revenue benefits the marine community.:dance:
Diesel fuel question - marine or auto?
- Thread starter Chris & Lenore
- Start date
The spirit as well as the intent are clear except when you want it to be clear.
Clear?
Diesel is diesel just like Capt. Dave says. If you get unnecessarily paranoid about lubrication then you can add a little bit of Marvel Mystery Oil to the fuel to make you feel better. The most important thing to remember about diesel is keep it clean, clean , clean. If you use a funnel when filling your tank make sure it is clean and store the funnel in a paper bag until the next time you need to use it.
If the marina takes responsibility for spills then the extra cost is worth it. Also my marina sells non ethanol diesel.
Simple Question, Difficult Answer
I put in about 150 hours a year, most of which is motoring back up the coast from a couple of distance races, so I do go through about four fills, or top-offs. I made up my own fuel polishing rig and put a commercial diesel biocide in the tank for a week before and filled two big filters with crap. After that, all the fuel I put in came from another fuel dock instead of the gas station and there was little contamination.
The fuel dock reopened and is selling Valvtect fuel. I always use it and have discontinued any additives. Here's one recent observation: I just returned from Catalina Island. While the weather was beautiful my trip over and back, there was not enough wind to sail and make reasonable time. So, I motored. Before, I had a lot of diesel soot on the stern. This trip; virtually none.
So, draw your own conclusions. You can easily figure out mine!
Well Chris; here's one guy's experience. My boat is 20 years old; 15 under my watch. I also had two diesels before them over another 15 years (yes, I'm old...) Anyhow, I never had any problem with fuel contamination... until... I started jerry-jugging my fuel in from a marina-local gas station when my fuel dock was going through permitting and rebuild. Then, OMG. My first service found crap all through the primary filter. I changed it again soon after and it was the same. I used a variety of additives and they were useless. I still had enough residue that I worried about clogs, so I began changing the filters every 50 hours.
I put in about 150 hours a year, most of which is motoring back up the coast from a couple of distance races, so I do go through about four fills, or top-offs. I made up my own fuel polishing rig and put a commercial diesel biocide in the tank for a week before and filled two big filters with crap. After that, all the fuel I put in came from another fuel dock instead of the gas station and there was little contamination.
The fuel dock reopened and is selling Valvtect fuel. I always use it and have discontinued any additives. Here's one recent observation: I just returned from Catalina Island. While the weather was beautiful my trip over and back, there was not enough wind to sail and make reasonable time. So, I motored. Before, I had a lot of diesel soot on the stern. This trip; virtually none.
So, draw your own conclusions. You can easily figure out mine!