Best Diesel fuel additive ?

[TwoRivers]

I have just discovered some water/trash/gunk in my Racor fuel filters. What is the best cleaner/additive to treat the fuel that is available locally at auto stores/walmart etc. ? I am new to DE boats and diesel engines so thanks for the replys. My tanks are 93 gallons each .
Randy

 

[Duke]

Clean the tanks.

I wouldn't depend on an additive to get the water and gunk out of your fuel tanks. Can you open them and clean them or at least get a suction hose to the back corner to pull the water bottom out? It's never a good idea to put the gunk in solution and run it through the engine, at least not the engines we are talking about. A 15,000 kw 2 stroke will eat about anything short term, unfortunately an engine like that is the size of your house....
Duke

 

[TwoRivers]

Very hard to get to pump out ? Have about 25 gallons in one tank and 50 gallons in the other tank ?

 

[WC1966]

I have had luck w/this

NAPA has a version of this, I have a pick up at the forward end of the tanks and am able to hold the hose on the bottom, and it worked, be sure to hold the hose!!

 

[Blitzen]

How quickly did that amount of water accumulate in the filter?

 

[nausetwidgeon]

Fuel Cleaning

I had a similar issue with about the fuel in my tanks. I disconnected the out bound side of my racor attached a second filter (just a home heating oil style filter I added in for extra filtration). Purchase a small pump and just circulate from one tank to the other since now you are double filtering the fuel which is pretty much what the companies who advertise fuel polishing do. Pump does not have to be explosion proof since this is diesel not gas. I also pulled my sending units when the tanks were empty and cleaned the inside of the tanks with.

 

[TwoRivers]

"cleaned the inside of the tanks with"
Cleaned the inside of tanks with WHAT ? The water accumulated over a period of 8 months, as I am a new bie I just now realized to check the fuel filters. I will do MUCH better in the future !
Thanks

 

[Duke]

Assuming you put some hours on in the last 8 months, you look like you are in pretty good shape. Two concerns with picking up water from your tanks come to mind. If they are aluminum tanks the water will eventually corrode through the bottoms, also you might have a substantial amount of water below or aft of your pickups that might manifest itself when you start rolling or pitching in rough water and shut you down. Check and see if your tanks have low point drains on them where you can drain the water off. You don't have to pump all the fuel out of the tanks to get the water if you can get a suction hose to the low point in the tank.

 

[captainlarry84]

Your Racor looks OK. Your fuel is nice & pink, The bottom has some water. Looking at the picture I do not think you have any algae. You need to find your source of water. Keeping fuel tanks full is always a plus. With full tanks there is no room for condensation
To build up which cause the water to form.

I would recommend briber to keep any potential algae growth away. I would not use any water dispersing types of additives. These contain alcohol which will raise problems with your fuel filters. In addition you do not want to break down any water and introduce it to your injectors.

You will need to just keep a watchful eye on your Racor. The water in that bowl is pretty dark so chances are it has been in there for awhile. Just make sure you keep the water level below the ports.

I would also remove that plastic drain valve. They are more both then they are worth. I replaced mine with a brass petcock. When you want to drain the water I just crack the Tee handle top and open the cock. For safety reason on the petcock I keep it capped.

If you want to use and additive this is the one I like:

http://fppf.com/index.php/component/catalog/?task=catalog.product&id=16


On a closing note I am looking at your shaft. It looks like 1 . That set screw is the main defense against the shaft pulling out of the coupler. It should be either safety wired, or just put a water hose clamp over it so it can spit out.

 

[nausetwidgeon]

I made a small mop with 1/4" rod and rags. I made sure that i soaked up every drop of fuel and water as well as getting all the sediment out of the tanks. As far as the water getting in I had and issue where my spray rail broke and at certain cruise speeds water was coming off of the end of the broken portion and spraying right into my tank breather.

 

[VPC]

solution

pay someone to "polish" the fuel make sure you do the fuel lines and pick ups change all filters primary and secondary take no shorcuts and then monitor, check the necks of the fills for any possibility of water getting in and all fuel connections, if the fuel pickups aren't located toward the rear of the tank you'll need to make a jig of sorts with either copper tubing or a rigid fuel hose so that you can get into all the recesses of the tanks. if you have two tanks you may want to double up on the raccors do it right and have peace of mind,

 

[captainlarry84]

I made a small mop with 1/4" rod and rags. I made sure that i soaked up every drop of fuel and water as well as getting all the sediment out of the tanks. As far as the water getting in I had and issue where my spray rail broke and at certain cruise speeds water was coming off of the end of the broken portion and spraying right into my tank breather.

You should redo your vent lines with a drip loop. That will prevent the water that gets into the vent line from getting into your tank.