What Happened to my Diesel Fuel?

[SailingwithSoul]

Originally Posted by Aloha_float

Did you get my last message?

Hi Aloha, i did and checked out the website. I'm going to see if I can order one of the smaller bottles. I cleaned out the tank as best I could. So far the engine runs, starts right up and work like a horse. I'm using the yellow diesel and it's been working great. Thanks you you advise and recommendations. I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by senormechanico

It looks like someone added a can of frozen orange juice!

LOL...Unfortunately, it didn't taste quite as good.

[sdowney717]

since no inspection ports to clean it out, why not pump some E10 gasoline in there.
Then run a recirculating pump and filter to recyle the fuel over and over.
Pump it out and refill with diesel.

The e10 gasoline will kill any bugs and also clean the tank as ethanol is a great cleaner.
Then put the filtered fuel into your car. So little is wasted.

[Florida Mike]

Why not just get one or two 6 gallon outboard tank. Unless you’re doing long-range cruising you won’t use 6 gallons in a year just getting in and out of harbor. One of the big advantages is you can take it off the boat to get fuel that would keep the full. Most of them have a vent valve. Just my two cents, Mike.

[Free Agent]

Capt Dave Sipler, reviews the Mr. Funnel - YouTube

[Captn Larry B.]

you might want to disconnect the feed line to the engine and blow air back into the tank for an hour or so once you've added the new fuel. this does two things it cleans the lines and breaks the solids down do that a few times and it should help clean most all the tank since you can't get into it to clean it..you'll need an air compressor for that.... I never have had any of these problems but have done this on other boats. what I did to my boat was to add a third outlet line to an electric fuel pump with enough fuel line to go back to the tank fill and filter the fuel for 24 hours thru my racor then change the filter....If my boat sits for 5 or 6 months I do it again...sounds crazy but I have a clean tank and fuel

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Florida Mike

Why not just get one or two 6 gallon outboard tank. Unless you’re doing long-range cruising you won’t use 6 gallons in a year just getting in and out of harbor. One of the big advantages is you can take it off the boat to get fuel that would keep the full. Most of them have a vent valve. Just my two cents, Mike.

Depends on where you live and where you want to sail, etc. For me, it's a 45 minute run at 6k to get out to the Gulf of Mexico, where I prefer to sail. I just used up 6 gal. of diesel in a couple of weeks.

[SailingwithSoul]

Originally Posted by Florida Mike

Why not just get one or two 6 gallon outboard tank. Unless you’re doing long-range cruising you won’t use 6 gallons in a year just getting in and out of harbor. One of the big advantages is you can take it off the boat to get fuel that would keep the full. Most of them have a vent valve. Just my two cents, Mike.

Depending on the day, I usually have a 4-5 mile stretch of narrow channel I have to motor through, either leaving or coming back, but lways into the wind. I do use quite a bit of diesel during that time.

Originally Posted by Free Agent

Thank for the video. I'll check it out later today.

Originally Posted by Captn Larry B.

you might want to disconnect the feed line to the engine and blow air back into the tank for an hour or so once you've added the new fuel. this does two things it cleans the lines and breaks the solids down do that a few times and it should help clean most all the tank since you can't get into it to clean it..you'll need an air compressor for that.... I never have had any of these problems but have done this on other boats. what I did to my boat was to add a third outlet line to an electric fuel pump with enough fuel line to go back to the tank fill and filter the fuel for 24 hours thru my racor then change the filter....If my boat sits for 5 or 6 months I do it again...sounds crazy but I have a clean tank and fuel

Those are pretty clever ideas. One question about using the air compressor. Won't I be shooting diesel out of the breather hose by doing that?

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Depends on where you live and where you want to sail, etc. For me, it's a 45 minute run at 6k to get out to the Gulf of Mexico, where I prefer to sail. I just used up 6 gal. of diesel in a couple of weeks.

Similar by me.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

That's what I was thinking... looks like iron and water...

Maybe I'm missing something, but ... how would that happen? Heavy weather thru a vent fitting, loose fill cap allowing a few drops in....

As Neil Young sings "rust never sleeps"! If I were Sailing with Soul I would empty the tank and invest in an inspection camera:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: TOOLS OF A SAILOR: INSPECTION CAMERA
to at least see what is going on inside the tank before spending any more $. He should be able to see if there is rusting going on inside. I know I was surprised when I looked inside my boats fuel tank:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: IN THE TANK: Part One, Scene of the grime!
even though I used a biocide religiously