Jugging diesel; "Baja" filters

[Jammer]

Do you find it necessary to haul diesel to your boat in jugs (or cans or some other container), rather than using the far simpler method of having a marina or tank truck utilize a hose to fill the tank?


Do you see this as an inevitable necessity, or something born of insufficient fuel tankage in your boat?


Do you carry jugs with you, or obtain them locally only as needed so they do not stay on the boat?


Are "Baja filters" still in use to deal with the inevitable contamination that results when handling fuel in open containers? Who makes and sells them?


How do you deal with the malodorous mess at the conclusion of this fueling process? Do you and any more fragrance-centric individuals who travel in your company find this objectionable?

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Do you find it necessary to haul diesel to your boat in jugs (or cans or some other container), rather than using the far simpler method of having a marina or tank truck utilize a hose to fill the tank? Generall, no. However, there are time when one does, depending on how far afield you want to cruise. If you want to schmooze all over the world, you want jerry jugs and Baja filters. There are places where you can arrange for tanker trucks, and some fuel barges some places (I was very impressed with the boat handling skill of a fuel barge driver on Sydney Hbr..) Generally, one finds marinas with fuel docks.




Do you see this as an inevitable necessity, or something born of insufficient fuel tankage in your boat? Not a problem when fuel stops are close together. Tankage can be limited. Depends on the boat.


Do you carry jugs with you, or obtain them locally only as needed so they do not stay on the boat? Schmooze world, yes, because small countries may not have yacht-friendly places to take on fuel.


Are "Baja filters" still in use to deal with the inevitable contamination that results when handling fuel in open containers? Who makes and sells them? Used to be available through WM and Downwind Marine in San Diego, I'd check Defender, I do not know who makes them.


How do you deal with the malodorous mess at the conclusion of this fueling
process? Do you and any more fragrance-centric individuals who travel in your company find this objectionable?

For goodness sake! Color me astonished! No Mess. What is left in the filter goes in the dirty diesel jug, and is used at low water somewhere below the high water line to start the fires that you make to burn your garbage down to ash and bury. It is the way the locals prefer you to get rid of it. No yachtie delicate sensibilities to offend.

If you're going to stay in the US, you probably won't need to jerry jug, but you will learn to dock at many different kinds of piers. We jerry jugged fuel and water in Mexico, Marquesas, Societies, (did not stay beyond out water capacity in the Tuamotus, they were not equipped to have extra for visitors) Tonga, Cook Is., Fiji, Solomon Is. (But not in New Caledonia, only water, there, when we circumnavigated Grand Terre.)

Ann

[Paul L]

It depends a lot where you are cruising. As Ann said if its world wide then you will at times need jerry jugs. We've used jerry jugs in places where the fuel dock was too hostile. Beam wind, tight quarters, ugly wall.

To move fuel from a jerry to the tank without a mess we use shaker siphons. They are magic and work really well.

[JPA Cate]

Oooh, yes! Jim would use a paper towel between his mouth and the vent in the jerry jug, and then blow in to start the syphon. No worries. Could use any old clean rag. We have one of those shaker sypon hoses now, I've only seen them in Oz, but they may be elsewhere, as well.

Ann

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Paul L

It depends a lot where you are cruising. As Ann said if its world wide then you will at times need jerry jugs. We've used jerry jugs in places where the fuel dock was too hostile. Beam wind, tight quarters, ugly wall.

To move fuel from a jerry to the tank without a mess we use shaker siphons. They are magic and work really well.

We have one that uses a squeeze bulb to start it...very easy and very clean.

Haven't done this area, so it may be different but have come across delivery trucks a couple times...they really didn't want to deal with 30-50gallons...we only got in on it because a couple other boats were getting 300-500gallons and as long as he was there...

[svHyLyte]

Because we have only limited capacity in our main tank (40 gal's), when we make a long passage, we usually carry 3 5-gal jugs of extra fuel as well. Refilling the main tank at sea always proved problematic until we discovered the "Puff Siphon" (see--click on--Puff Siphon). This device has made the refueling process far easier and "mess free". Because I pass the fuel through a Baha Filter when we fill the jugs, in theory we shouldn't need to pass the fuel through the filter yet again when refueling but, with the jugs sitting in the well under the cockpit, they are exposed to weather and could pick up some water, hence, unless conditions are really crappy, we do re-filter the fuel a second time as it is introduced to the main tank. As for the small amount of fuel residue that remains in the bottom of the filter when we're done, I have a half-gallon jug (formerly a swimming pool acid container) that the residue is decanted into for later disposal ashore.

FWIW...

[Bleemus]

Jiggle siphon and this filter which beat the Baja in testing . . .


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[a64pilot]

Hose available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075CSQKS6...6-bffd06ef50b9
Also add a vent to your CARB compliant cans, makes them a whole lot easier to use without spilling, and if they have those ignorant CARB spouts, those can be replaced too.
https://www.amazon.com/JSP-Manufactu...8-7&ref=sr_1_7

[Cpt Mark]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Jiggle siphon and this filter which beat the Baja in testing . . .


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'd like to see the "testing" that was done between these 2 products. I have both and frankly there is no comparison between the two. The original Baja filter is just so much better.

Where do you buy one as the originals haven't been made in years? When I thought I wasn't going to be able to ever sail again I sold mine online through Latitude 38 electronic ads.

Now that I can sail again I ran across a pristine used one at a local used boat parts place.

[rthompsona]

We have had several times when we felt the need to carry additional jugs of fuel. We took out last boat down the St. Johns in Florida, where there is no diesel from Lake Monroe to Jacksonville. More recently, we made the passage from Florida to Panama via Guatemala. We carry 60 gallons of diesel in the tank, which is good for a little over 60 hours in our pocket catamaran. We carried an additional 60 in jugs which we used on several legs of the trip. Yes, there were a couple of places where we had to fill the jugs and carry them to the boat. Most recently we stopped at a marina near the Panama canal which had plenty of diesel, but no gasoline. We had to carry fuel for the dinghy from the nearest gas station.

[Bleemus]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

I'd like to see the "testing" that was done between these 2 products. I have both and frankly there is no comparison between the two. The original Baja filter is just so much better.



Where do you buy one as the originals haven't been made in years? When I thought I wasn't going to be able to ever sail again I sold mine online through Latitude 38 electronic ads.



Now that I can sail again I ran across a pristine used one at a local used boat parts place.

Practical Sailor did the test a few years ago. Before Baja filters stopped production.

[Sailmonkey]

Hell, we fuel with jerry cans at home. the fuel is cheaper and we don't use enough of it to justify an annual trip to the fuel dock.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

We have one that uses a squeeze bulb to start it...very easy and very clean.

I was just about to say the same. Use a standard outboard fuel line with a squeeze ball. Easy to start the flow. No mess. Even makes underway fuel transfer simple.

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Haven't done this area, so it may be different but have come across delivery trucks a couple times...they really didn't want to deal with 30-50gallons...we only got in on it because a couple other boats were getting 300-500gallons and as long as he was there...

Agree (again … what’s going on? ). My current yacht club has no fuel dock. Fuel trucks can be ordered, but I doubt they would come down to deliver the 58 gallons I need. Given the amount of fuel I typically need, it’s easy to do it with jerry cans.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

I'd like to see the "testing" that was done between these 2 products. I have both and frankly there is no comparison between the two. The original Baja filter is just so much better....

Exactly what is wrong with Mr. Funnel? No fair bashing without giving details.


They were tested side-by-side by Practical Sailor (2002). You can Google it. There were probably other tests.

[zstine]

OP says far easier to drive to a fuel dock!?... I prefer jugging. Gas stations are cheaper and often have a dinghy dock near them. Now, I sail so 2 5gal jugs a month is all I burn. Maybe you burn more so it's a pain... how about burning less.. solar not generator l, sail not motor...
As far as the Baja filter, I use a Mr funnel, it helps. There are some places that are dirty and others not bad. But I always put diesel in my auxiliary tank, which has a filter before the main tank to which I transfer it. Then the Racor before the engine filter. The filter between my tanks needs regular cleaning... doesn't matter if you jug or go to the dock. The fuel is dirty in some places and Yes, some places don't have a marina with fuel. So you either wait or jug.