I need to clean out my diesel tank and it is not removable. Any Ideas? I was thinking of trying to some how vacuum out the sludge I believe is in the bottom of the tank. The other thought I had was hooking up a new clean tank until I can get to cleaning out the old one.
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Fuel Tank
What I did not say in the previous post is that my engine will not start without spraying starting fluid into the air intake. This leads me to believe that the diesel has gone bad - low cetane- and the filters have clogged twice this past season. My assumption is that the tank is very dirty. Cleaning the tank seems to be in order.
What I did not say in the previous post is that my engine will not start without spraying starting fluid into the air intake. This leads me to believe that the diesel has gone bad - low cetane- and the filters have clogged twice this past season. My assumption is that the tank is very dirty. Cleaning the tank seems to be in order.
The term is fuel polishing and
There might be a company in your area that does it. They suck out your fuel into ckean drums or tanks and pump it back through filters into your clean tanks. It is used more often than not to remove the algy that grows in diesel after prolonged storage.
There might be a company in your area that does it. They suck out your fuel into ckean drums or tanks and pump it back through filters into your clean tanks. It is used more often than not to remove the algy that grows in diesel after prolonged storage.
rad
I started to have second thoughts about the fuel tank condition after I found the pickup screen totaly clogged and sucked all the way up to the top of the tank and after looking and it seemed pretty easy to remove the whole tank,then I thought how do you clean it? make an access hole? Figured out that a new and larger tank from Tempo marine products for less than 150.00 was the way to go, I ended up taking the little bit of fuel left in the tank and dumped it in the oil fill at home than tried looking inside with a mag light to its condition and couldn't see that well but I'm sure it was pretty cruddy in there BTW, Check the archive under fuel access ports cause I remember this post The other RAD
I started to have second thoughts about the fuel tank condition after I found the pickup screen totaly clogged and sucked all the way up to the top of the tank and after looking and it seemed pretty easy to remove the whole tank,then I thought how do you clean it? make an access hole? Figured out that a new and larger tank from Tempo marine products for less than 150.00 was the way to go, I ended up taking the little bit of fuel left in the tank and dumped it in the oil fill at home than tried looking inside with a mag light to its condition and couldn't see that well but I'm sure it was pretty cruddy in there BTW, Check the archive under fuel access ports cause I remember this post The other RAD
Buy two smaller tanks
Use a smaller tank and this will give you fresher fuel. If you now have a 20 get two 10's. Pump one until almost empty then the other . If you don't use very much fuel you might even want a 5 gallon tank . For me burning about a quart and hour 5 gallons is 20 hours or over 100 miles of motoring. Fresh fuel is better!!!!
Use a smaller tank and this will give you fresher fuel. If you now have a 20 get two 10's. Pump one until almost empty then the other . If you don't use very much fuel you might even want a 5 gallon tank . For me burning about a quart and hour 5 gallons is 20 hours or over 100 miles of motoring. Fresh fuel is better!!!!
Access Port
Google Seabuilt and consider that installing a clean out will cost as much as a one time fuel polishing but give you a permanent solution with results you can be sure of.
Google Seabuilt and consider that installing a clean out will cost as much as a one time fuel polishing but give you a permanent solution with results you can be sure of.
Clean that tank
Get yourself a whole bunch of marbles, or ball bearings. Put them in the tank and sail the boat. They will break all the crud loose and you can then suck it out. WARNING Don't try to motor much, unless you have a whole bunch of filters handy. It won't hurt anything to leave them in there, as long as they can't get to and stop up the fuel pickup.
Get yourself a whole bunch of marbles, or ball bearings. Put them in the tank and sail the boat. They will break all the crud loose and you can then suck it out. WARNING Don't try to motor much, unless you have a whole bunch of filters handy. It won't hurt anything to leave them in there, as long as they can't get to and stop up the fuel pickup.
Cleaning the Tank
Just a little more on cleaning the tank: the fuel pick up is about a 3/8 " tube cut off at a 45 degree angle and typically does not extended to the bottom. Without an access plate you can't get anything off the top and upper sides of the tank which from my personal experience, will have a sticky sooty texture. You can't clean off the float arm fuel guage device. Any crud left in the tank could be loosened by the solvent action of the low sulphur fuel and continue to be a risk for clogging the filters.
Just a little more on cleaning the tank: the fuel pick up is about a 3/8 " tube cut off at a 45 degree angle and typically does not extended to the bottom. Without an access plate you can't get anything off the top and upper sides of the tank which from my personal experience, will have a sticky sooty texture. You can't clean off the float arm fuel guage device. Any crud left in the tank could be loosened by the solvent action of the low sulphur fuel and continue to be a risk for clogging the filters.
I would never, never, never....
use starting fluid in a diesel. You are asking for big trouble, i.e., a $10k rebuild, by doing so. FWIW, everyone I know who had not cleaned his fuel tank in many years, and then decided to have his fuel polished, now has constant fuel-related engine problems. My advice in the short term would be to suck out the old fuel (and properly dispose of it....)with a hand pump and then put in new fuel and filters and see what happens. In the long term, add an access port to your tank (sometimes not an easy or inexpensive task)and manually clean it out now and then.
use starting fluid in a diesel. You are asking for big trouble, i.e., a $10k rebuild, by doing so. FWIW, everyone I know who had not cleaned his fuel tank in many years, and then decided to have his fuel polished, now has constant fuel-related engine problems. My advice in the short term would be to suck out the old fuel (and properly dispose of it....)with a hand pump and then put in new fuel and filters and see what happens. In the long term, add an access port to your tank (sometimes not an easy or inexpensive task)and manually clean it out now and then.
The fuel pickup screen should be removed
as a very first step by anyone with a new-to-him (or her) boat. It's a potential clog point just waiting to happen and screen is unnecessary.
as a very first step by anyone with a new-to-him (or her) boat. It's a potential clog point just waiting to happen and screen is unnecessary.
Fuel filter system
It is very simple to build yourself a polishing pump for off the shelf components from Northern Tool. With that referenced pump, plumb two water filters, similiar to Raycor, after the pump and cycle the fuel out of the tank back into the fuel filler hatch on deck for approx twenty minutes using straight filters. This process will flush the crudd from the fuel tank and filter it in the filters. Let the fuel "rest" for twenty minutes, and change the filters elements to H2O filter elements. Cycle the fuel through the filters for anoth twenty minutes. You should be able to "polish" the tank and fuel for all the built up crudd and water. Don't be surprised if your fellow boaters line up to "try out" the system. Tuthill Diesel Fuel Transfer Pump with Hoses — 12 Volt, 10 GPM, Model# FR1614
It is very simple to build yourself a polishing pump for off the shelf components from Northern Tool. With that referenced pump, plumb two water filters, similiar to Raycor, after the pump and cycle the fuel out of the tank back into the fuel filler hatch on deck for approx twenty minutes using straight filters. This process will flush the crudd from the fuel tank and filter it in the filters. Let the fuel "rest" for twenty minutes, and change the filters elements to H2O filter elements. Cycle the fuel through the filters for anoth twenty minutes. You should be able to "polish" the tank and fuel for all the built up crudd and water. Don't be surprised if your fellow boaters line up to "try out" the system. Tuthill Diesel Fuel Transfer Pump with Hoses — 12 Volt, 10 GPM, Model# FR1614
Shouldn't..
Shouldn't that be "The Original RAD" not "The other RAD"?? P.S. rad NEVER use starting fluid in a diesel. WD-40 is a great starting fluid for a diesel NOT starting fluid. My guess is your glow plugs are not working correctly..
Shouldn't that be "The Original RAD" not "The other RAD"?? P.S. rad NEVER use starting fluid in a diesel. WD-40 is a great starting fluid for a diesel NOT starting fluid. My guess is your glow plugs are not working correctly..
I'm not sure how well marbles or ball bearings will work
I guess it depends on your fuel tank, but many have baffles in them and won't allow the marbles to roll that far. Rad, before you go to all that trouble, why don't you try & rig something up where you run the engine from a portable tank with fuel you know to be clean from a truck stop. If the engine starts up great than you'll know its the fuel or somewhere in the fuel delivery system. What type boat & engine do you have ? I had an old Yanmar 2QM15 and it had trouble starting when it was cold (or sitting for a while) too. I don't think it was the quality or cleanliness of my fuel, I think it had more to do with the whole "fuel delivery" system. Maybe there was an air lock, or an air leak. I never really found out, I sold the boat before I got around to really fixing it but once started the engine ran great, so I kind eliminated the "bad fuel" theory from the equation PS. Maine Sail. Many of the Yanmars do not have glow plugs (which to me I see as a deficiency)
I guess it depends on your fuel tank, but many have baffles in them and won't allow the marbles to roll that far. Rad, before you go to all that trouble, why don't you try & rig something up where you run the engine from a portable tank with fuel you know to be clean from a truck stop. If the engine starts up great than you'll know its the fuel or somewhere in the fuel delivery system. What type boat & engine do you have ? I had an old Yanmar 2QM15 and it had trouble starting when it was cold (or sitting for a while) too. I don't think it was the quality or cleanliness of my fuel, I think it had more to do with the whole "fuel delivery" system. Maybe there was an air lock, or an air leak. I never really found out, I sold the boat before I got around to really fixing it but once started the engine ran great, so I kind eliminated the "bad fuel" theory from the equation PS. Maine Sail. Many of the Yanmars do not have glow plugs (which to me I see as a deficiency)
Yanmar 2QM15 starting
Tom S, We also have a Yanmar 2QM15 and it also has difficulty starting when it is cold or after sitting a while. We bleed the fuel system, charged the batteries, changed the oil, etc and it is still a stubborn starter. Mack Boring said the engine is known for the stubborn starting. I've even thought about repowering but the cost is unrealistic for a 1979 vintage boat. Does anyone have any further suggestions for helping start a 2QM15 engine? Unfortunately, we've do have a can of ether on board for a pinch.
Tom S, We also have a Yanmar 2QM15 and it also has difficulty starting when it is cold or after sitting a while. We bleed the fuel system, charged the batteries, changed the oil, etc and it is still a stubborn starter. Mack Boring said the engine is known for the stubborn starting. I've even thought about repowering but the cost is unrealistic for a 1979 vintage boat. Does anyone have any further suggestions for helping start a 2QM15 engine? Unfortunately, we've do have a can of ether on board for a pinch.
Rick, Its funny. I know someone else who had a 2QM15
and it started just fine. He had a different boat though. I have heard about others with a hard starting 2QM15, maybe its in the design. I don't know, but I get a feeling that it might have been something to do with the fuel tank (and maybe even more importantly) fuel return or hose's I don't know. I checked the cylinder compression and they seemed to be fine and Adding Cetane booster didn't seem to help. One thing I never checked was the mechanical fuel pump. (My boat didn't have an electric fuel pump) I wonder if due to its age the mechanical fuel pumps "bellows" weren't doing its job that well, but after the engine gets started it has enough momentum to suck the fuel through. Rad -- You might try this. If your engine doesn't have an electric fuel pump I might try and put one in line (search for one that has the capacity of a similar engine) One just like on my boat can be purchased from a Auto Parts store PS I too admit to having kept a can of starting spray on board
....I know , I know....it could cause problems, but I would use it very sparingly and only in an emergency
and it started just fine. He had a different boat though. I have heard about others with a hard starting 2QM15, maybe its in the design. I don't know, but I get a feeling that it might have been something to do with the fuel tank (and maybe even more importantly) fuel return or hose's I don't know. I checked the cylinder compression and they seemed to be fine and Adding Cetane booster didn't seem to help. One thing I never checked was the mechanical fuel pump. (My boat didn't have an electric fuel pump) I wonder if due to its age the mechanical fuel pumps "bellows" weren't doing its job that well, but after the engine gets started it has enough momentum to suck the fuel through. Rad -- You might try this. If your engine doesn't have an electric fuel pump I might try and put one in line (search for one that has the capacity of a similar engine) One just like on my boat can be purchased from a Auto Parts store PS I too admit to having kept a can of starting spray on board
....I know , I know....it could cause problems, but I would use it very sparingly and only in an emergency- Status