Diesel Bug

A little more info on the vessel / tank construction please. Also the operational parameters. You mention removing tanks which would indicate a rather small vessel. If tanks can be removed they should be able to be cleaned fairly well. If the vessel is large the tanks can usually be entered and cleaned. Unfortunately most tanks cannot be removed and cannot be fully accessed. If you cannot access all areas of the tank then cleaning will not be a complete answer. The amount of contaminates in the lines leading to the filters should easily be removed by the filters. I would not worry about those provided the lines are in good shape.

The one method that will serve well over time is to add a bulk filter in front of your other filters. However I don't know the current filter setup or how often they are clogging. Also is this an issue because of neglect of the tanks or fuel delivery and storage problems in your area.

I have had very good results with Diesel Kleen Clear Tank Diesel-conditioner. It eats the algae.

I use Grotamar 71.

http://www.echamicrobiology.co.uk/shop/GrotaMar71/3,13,0,0/default.aspx


European fuels now has to contain a minimum of 4% Biofuel, its a necessary evil to add this stuff to fuels to stop the growth.

Have you looked into having the fuel polished? This is a method that is used by a lot of boats. A portable machine is brought to the boat and the fuel is reciculated thru a series of filters until it comes out clean.

Unless you can access the interior of the fuel tanks in a way that allows thorough cleaning and drying of all surfaces and corners you will not eliminate the problem.

Fuel additives only kill the organisms which are not algae ... algae are plants and require light to exist and reproduce. Additives such as biocides kill the bacteria and that produces layers of very fine sediment that will clog filters just as effectively as the living organism. Polishing as advertised to boaters cannot remove the sediment or organisms that coat the tank walls. It makes the fuel look good at the dock and helps remove cash from the owner but does nothing to eliminate biological contamination.

If you have access to tank sides, access holes can be installed to allow cleaning. Otherwise it is a matter of biocide treatment and a large investment in filters and filter elements until rough seas and fuel flow purge the system. But, unless you keep all water out of the tanks, you will never eliminate the problem entirely. It will come back.

Marmot, I agree that polishing will no get the tank walls if you use one of the smaller fuel polishing systems. There are larger "industrial type" polishers that really agitate the fuel and will get roughly 90% of the contaminates out.

And the remaining 10 percent will very rapidly repopulate the tank.

Unlike higher orders of living organisms, bacteria don't require two to tango ... consider that if a single living bacterium remains in the tank, within 24 hours it might have somewhere around 2^48 family members to keep it company.

To put that number in perspective, it is 281,474,976,710,656 or 281 trillion, 474 billion, 976 million, 710 thousand, 656 of the little buggers ... give or take a couple million due to infant mortality and local overcrowding.

We don't know the size or accessibility of the tanks. However it is almost always most cost effective to install an oversize capacity bulk filter and filter monitoring gauges on the fuel supply to the engine. The cost of such an installation is usually on par with a tank cleaning (or less) but capacity is always there. The larger filter capacity will extend the fuel filter change interval and always provide clean fuel to the engine. Over time the tanks will become clean and the filter service interval will be greatly extended. If some crud remains and is not dislodged until you are in severe weather which method do you think will serve you better?

Got to thinking about that number and realised that if those were dollars it might be almost enough to support a nice yacht for a couple of years.

Hi,

An Alfa Laval MAB 103 would be high on my wish list to help keep the crud out of your engine.

I had a small Alfa Laval on my last boat. The big Alfas' are fine bits of kit but the little ones have plastic internals. After the transatlantic crossing I took the spinner out to clean it. The little plastic dog-drive fell off and slid down the hole in the middle, all in 3 months of use from new. $400 later and a lot of swearing followed. I still stand by them though, so good at their job.

Yes, and then when you take on fresh fuel, that 10% spreads like wildfire and you're back to where you started from within a few months. I have used The Diesel Kleen Products and they have worked well for me, and have disintegrated the algae.