Item dropped into fuel fill stem

[Hardhead]

Originally Posted by sailm8

Buy another can of stabil and try drpping the foil piece into a cup of diesel and see if it floats. At least you will have some more info to brainstorm with.

Good idea. That, and the overfill, would be a beauty if it works.

[a64pilot]

I’d ignore it. The odds of you getting it out are slim and none.
I bet it’s sitting on the bottom of the tank, where it will stay

[Pendragon35]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I’d ignore it. The odds of you getting it out are slim and none.
I bet it’s sitting on the bottom of the tank, where it will stay

I'm with this. I think you can cause more problems solving this than it's likely to be.

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Worst case is it clogs the fuel pickup in the worst of circumstances. I think you need to find it. Its not just paper and cardboard as they have an aluminum foil facing and so will not just turn into mush.

Clogging the fuel pickup tube will not happen on a Sunday morning at the dock it will happen when you need the engine the most - Leaving it in the tank and hoping it will never cause a problem..... maybe Murphy doesn't live on your boat. You get in a seaway and running the engine and all the fuel gets stirred up it will NOT remain on the bottom of the tank

My suggestion is to have a fuel polishing company come down and run the fuel thru their machine OR have you remove all the fuel out of the tank using a pump and filter it as it goes into jerry jugs or a fuel barrel.

Another thought if you don't have an access port and the tank is full is to run a pickup hose down the fill to the bottom of the tank and the other end thru a filter funnel before it goes back to the tank. I did this process 25 years ago when cleaning a tank. I used a jabsco drill pump and it surprisingly worked well. It may take an hour or two depending on the volume of your tank

Good luck and report back on your solution

Chuck

[stormalong]

Why don't you try removing the fill hose and run a garden hose water stream through it to try and wash it out. If it is a 1-1/2 inch cardboard hopefully it is stuck in the hose. Of push a fishtape through it with a bit of rag on the end.

Whatever you try, remove the hose from the tank first to minimize the risk of pushing it into the tank.

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by PHR

Great collection of ideas. It felt like the start of a Robert Zemeckis movie with the little cardboard thingy floating in the wind, sitting for a second on the lip, then dropping down the tube.
I may try a shop vac too to see if that will suck it out. But like the overfill idea, and had not thought of that.
Thanks follks!

How do you overfill without peeing fuel out of the vent?

[hpeer]

If you just ignore it, not a terrible idea, keep a bicycle pump or small air compressor on board. That way if it does clog you can blow air back into the fuel line to dislodge the blockage.

In fact it’s a good idea to keep such kit because you never know when something will get sucked into the fuel pick up. Like a 3/4” square piece of sail cloth, form who knows where or how. When you are caught in a dead calm and drifting into an island. Great fun taking the tank top (34 screws) off while laying in my starboard cockpit locker.

Third day I owned the boat, my third day sailing! LOL.

[Cadence]

My DAG, Would be the foil will end up on the tank bottom and the carboard will decompose enough to get to your fuel filter. Incase my DumbAGuess is wrong, Had you considered a day tank

[Woodland Hills]

I think that before you go cutting holes in your tank you ought to get another can of additive, remove the disc and put it into a jar of diesel. See if it sinks or floats, wait a few days and see if it sinks or floats, then look to see if it breaks down over a month or so. Get some facts before you make a decision.

[wsmurdoch]

I have several times emptied my fuel tank by disconnecting the engine fuel line after the electric fuel pump, putting the hose in a 5 gal jug, and filling jugs one after another until the tank was empty. In the worst case I had filled all my gasoline and diesel jugs and a number of empty 1 gal water jugs filled with fuel before the tank was empty. It is how I have emptied my tank for cleaning, how I emptied the tank before repairing corrosion in the tank bottom, and how I emptied the tank before replacing it.

[a64pilot]

If your concerned about the dip tube clogging, pull it out and drill a hole or two in it real close to its bottom. That way any clog would have to cover the end and both holes to cause a blockage.
Just do not drill the hole anywhere except at the bottom. Any hole higher up will be the lowest point that you can suck fuel out of the tank, because of course as soon as a hole is not covered with fuel, it will suck air and your done.

If you feel you must have it out I think a pro fuel polisher is your best bet, can’t hurt to have your fuel and tank cleaned anyway.

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Why don't you try removing the fill hose and run a garden hose water stream through it to try and wash it out. If it is a 1-1/2 inch cardboard hopefully it is stuck in the hose. Of push a fishtape through it with a bit of rag on the end.

Whatever you try, remove the hose from the tank first to minimize the risk of pushing it into the tank.

I’d definitely be doing something like this first, as it might be a very easy fix. Just remove the fill hose from the tank and see if you can find it in the hose.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by PHR

Hi.

I was putting diesel additive down the fuel fill tube on my Hunter 49 SV, and the little cardboard paper thing inside the cap of the additive came off, flipped in the air, and on a little gust, fell into the freaking fuel fill tube while I watched in stunned amazement. I used several different items to try to see it (i.e., a borescope), or recover it. But it never went down it in the first place, it made it past 6 feet down the fuel tube, or it was stuck along the side of the tube and I missed it.

Worst case scenario, what would be the consequences of having a 1 1/2 inch round piece of pressed cardboard in the fuel tank?

I can't imagine it making it all the way to the engine in any fashion, but would it just clog the fuel intake within the tank, or mess with the fuel gauge, or what else? Would it be caught by a fuel filter? I do not want to make a bigger deal out of it, especially since I could not see it with the borescope, and I ran the engine without any problems right afterwards.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Weird situation.

Peyton
S/V Sail La Vie
San Diego

What is the composition of the additive?

If the base is a petroleum distillate, then at least the liquid mating surface of the disc has to be chemically impervious.

Your fuel draw tube should have a screen on it, of design just a flat piece of material will not block it, that will prevent the disc from clogging the fuel line.

Like another poster suggested. Try a sister disc to see if it will even fit down the fill tube.

If not, it likely didn’t really go in.

If so, put it in a jar of diesel and see if it decomposes.

If not, you likely have nothing to worry about, just leave it, (along with all the other flotsam and jetsam) in the tank.

If so, I’d disconnect the fuel fill hose and see if it got caught at the hose/tank connection.

If not, I’d remove the hose and blow it in reverse direction with compressed air to verify the disc wasn’t lodged in a bend in the hose.

If so, reassemble.

If not, remove any tank access or fitting and use an aquarium net (after verifying impervious to diesel) to go fishing (which may be complicated by tank baffles, if any).

The suggestion to overfill tank if the disk is verified buoyant to float it out the fuel fill fitting is interesting, but I suspect the disc could easily get stuck so that it won’t float out. Could be worth a try if all else fails.

Next steps would be to empty tank, invert it, and blow compressed air in the vent fitting to hopefully blow the disc out the fill fitting.

If it comes out, re-assemble.

If not cut the tank open, fish the disc out, and repair, or replace the tank.

[StoneCrab]

How about hiring a mechanic with a fuel polishing system to clean your fuel? I think it would be safer for the environment than over filling your tank and would have the added benefit of removing any water or sediment that has accumulated.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by StoneCrab

How about hiring a mechanic with a fuel polishing system to clean your fuel? I think it would be safer for the environment than over filling your tank and would have the added benefit of removing any water or sediment that has accumulated.

I don't think polishing would mitigate the potential problem till the cardboard decomposed. I agree on the over fill. What do you do with the overflow? A few drops of fuel can result in a fine.