Fuel problems

[gel3]

I own a Hunter 290 it's a 2000 and I've owned it for 4 years. In the past 2 years I've had to change fuel flilters every 20hrs of motor running.The problem is the small filter is clogging with a gel like substance.I've gone so far as to syphon every drop of diesel from the tank and replace it with new but it still clogs with the gel.

People are giving me lots of advice but I'm not sure which way to go with this problem. Do I really have to some how cut a hole in the tank and polish it some how clean? Do I need to replace the whole tank? How the heck do I do that? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

George

 

[KD3PC]

what size (microns) filters? How many and where are they in the fuel system
water separator? any water there?
additives used?

Polishing is an option, but if you have a tainted tank, that needs to be cleaned before doing so, for it to be effective.

What does the gel look/feel like and where is it accumulating the most?

 

[jtm]

KD#PC is on to something- I've read that if you use the new-er 5micron filters- which the engine may not have been designed for - you can be starving the system and clogging the system unnecessarily and putting added wear on the pumps which are trying to suck the fuel thru a finer screen.

what is the proper screen size for your engine???

 

[Jon Bastien]

Fuel filters for the H290

I did a lot of research on filters for my H290 recently, and determined that Yanmar calls for a 10 micron filter at the engine (part #104500-55710); with a little further digging, I determined that I could use a Fram C7516 filter instead. The drawback to using a non-Yanmar branded filter is that you don't get the O-rings (Yanmar part #24341-000440) with the filter cartridge.

The generally recommended setup is to use a 20 or 30 micron filter in a separate, water-separating filter in the fuel feed line, and the 10 micron filter in the engine's filter. Unfortunately, I suspect this boat left the factory with the Racor 100-series fuel filter, for which you can only purchase 5- or 10-micron filter elements... thus, my boat actually has 2 separate 10-micron filters.

As for the goop in your filter elements, can you tell us a little more about it? Color, consistency, quantity (does it fill the filter bowl, or just 1/4" at the bottom?), is it stuck to the filter?...

--Jon

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

No doubt about it, as KD3PC relates, your first choice is to have a fuel oil polishing company first clean the tank interior with a pressure washer (uses your dirty fuel in the pressure pump to do the cleaning) and then polish that fuel. That probably means also replacing your fuel supply and return lines as well. After this, best to keep a biocide in the tank as well. That would be a first rate job.

Out of complete desperation, you might look at Biobor diesel fuel biocide. Do a search of Biobor under the search menu here as it seems to be well regarded. Their literature states that an initial heavy dose of Biobor (270 ppm) will kill all existing growth and a maintenance dosage of 135 ppm thereafter will prevent future growth. This assumes that the tank is kept reasonably free of water. After that, you'd still be replacing fuel filters for some time but it would eventually taper off as the gel disappears from the tank and fuel lines. This would be a fifth rate job.

I've managed to avoid fungal problems for 14 years with regular additions of Biobor and a quick pump (Pela crankcase oil pump) from the bottom of the tank each year to ensure it's relatively free of water.

I can imagine that changing fuel filters every 20 hrs. is not much fun and expensive to boot so you may want to do some additional research on fuel tank hygiene.

 

[Nelsonhow]

I bet you have a load of bad fuel.

Polishing is a possibility but if you can remove the fuel tank over the winter and clean it out you can get a better job and save a bunch. After you may want to replace all the fuel lines I bet you'll solve the problem. If you have a 10 gal tank like on my H-30 removing it once drains isn't to hard.

A 10 gal rectangle tank probably doesn't have any baffles and you can usually see inside the tank from the gauge whole. A gas tank shop (if there are any left) can steam clean the tank or you can use a rag attached to a flexible rod like I did.

 

[Sailgunner]

Clean fuel is one of the most important issues on a boat. I installed an inspection plate in my tank and clean the tank each year. I use biobor as prescribed and each year when I clean the tank there is always some black stuff in the bottom. I always have peace of mind that my fuel filters are not going to clog up at the worst possible moment.

 

[harv]

Hi
Your Pela solution looks good. Looked at the Pela website.
Which model do you use? It looks like it has a 43" solid probe.
How do you get it into the tank? How much fuel do you usually take out?

 

[RichH]

Gel3 -
• Exactly what micron sized filters are you using in your fuel system?
• What is the approx. dimensions of these filter cartridges?
• From whom are you buying these filters?
• Exactly what is COLOR of the gel? ... and what's the COLOR of your diesel fuel?
• Exactly where is the gel being captured? .... is it being captured on the outside margin of the filter pleats ? or on the inside of the filter pleats?
• Do you have pressure/vacuum gages installed with these filters and if so what is the vacuum reading when these filters 'plug'?