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daviddiscenza · 11-07-2017, 13:47

Hello! The boat I purchased two years ago (33" Newport, 1986 vintage) sat for two years before I bought it. I had no problems until last September when the engine stalled just as I was about to enter my marina.

The cause of the problem was crud that had gotten into the pickup tube and stopped up the fuel line. I've gotten all that squared away and the engine has been running fine, but there's probably still some crud in the tank.

I've been presented with two options: 1) Polish the fuel or 2) empty the tank, dispose of the old fuel and clean out the tank through the access port. I'm leaning towards the second option.

Can anyone recommend a material I can use to soak up and remove the crud at the bottom of the tank?

Thanks to all who reply.

sailormed · 11-07-2017, 14:13

A good scraper and lots of elbow grease.

**Paul Elliott** · 13-07-2017, 08:19

Definitely go with option 2. I just use a lot of paper towels and discard them properly. The crud comes up easily. You may be able to save most of the fuel -- the good stuff floats on top while the water and crud sit at the bottom. Filter any fuel you reuse, and add a biocide.

**Lepke** · 13-07-2017, 21:46

I use Archoil AR 6200. I believe it will clean the tanks just by circulation. Pdf here: AR6200 Fuel Modification Complex – Archoil | Archoil
I would have included the pdf, but it's too big for Cruisers.
My tanks are from 1942. The boat had sat for 6 years w/o any mothballing. The POs were not good at maintenance. I used a 3x dose in the tanks that were buried between 2 WT bulkheads and under a solid galley floor. Several years later when I could open the tanks, they were free of dirt, sludge and water. I know, I walked around in them.

I have twin Detroit mains that circulate 70 gallons an hour, so a smaller boat may need a circulation pump. But circulating thru a good primary filter like Racor and secondary, should clean the fuel and tank. Depending on debris, you may need a filter change. My fuel is so clean I now run 2 micron primaries. I use AR6200 every fill. No problems with tanks that sometime sit a year.

daviddiscenza · 14-07-2017, 02:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

Definitely go with option 2. I just use a lot of paper towels and discard them properly. The crud comes up easily. You may be able to save most of the fuel -- the good stuff floats on top while the water and crud sit at the bottom. Filter any fuel you reuse, and add a biocide.

Thanks, Paul. I need to check how large my access port is. As usual, the tanks not in a convenient location on the boat so it requires a bit of time spent in an awkward position to get at it.

CSY Man · 14-07-2017, 04:52

I used paper towels and windex. Tank got so clean I could eat of the insides.
Did the same 5 years later. Still squeaky clean, I give credit to the Diesel additive PRI-D used religiously at every fill and filtering every time I added fuel.