Understanding Your Trawler"s Diesel Fuel
Us trawler and motor yacht owners love the sound of our diesels; like music to our ears. The diesel power plants are the core of any boat.
But problems can occur with diesel fuel stored in your trawler's fuel tanks, affecting those diesel engines?
It is important to know what diesel fuel is to begin with. Diesel fuel is refined from crude oil. In oil refineries, crude oil is heated, and various hydrocarbon molecules are extracted to produce the fuel. Diesel is much heavier than gasoline and vaporizes much more slowly. It's frequently referred to as "fuel oil" because of its consistency. Oftentimes forgotten, diesel fuel is an organic matter.
"Give a diesel engine clean fuel and it will run forever." This old expression is less of an exaggeration than you might think. Repair statistics record that ninety percent of trawler diesel engine problems stem from fouled fuel. The hope of eliminating 9 out of 10 potential failures should put fuel-system upkeep at the top of your list.
The most frequent signs of fuel contamination in a yacht are clogged filters, and reduced engine performance. However, the absence of these conditions does not inevitably imply that your diesel fuel is not contaminated. As A Matter Of Fact, it is probable that every trawler's fuel is somewhat contaminated. Fuel pick-up tubes, where the diesel engine pulls fuel from the fuel tank, typically sit about 3/4 of an inch off the bottom of your fuel tank floor. This location is designed to protect the engine from contamination that has fallen to the bottom of the fuel tank. Therefore, you may never realize that you have a diesel fuel contamination problem until the fuel is disturbed in some way - such as when you are in rough waters in your trawler.
Water can get into trawler fuel storage tanks in different ways - by condensation of wet outside air, during transport from refineries to distributors, by leakage from faulty fill pipes or vents and by sloppy handling. Water can cause injector nozzle and pump corrosion, microorganism development and fuel filter plugging with materials resulting from the corrosion or microbic growth. Your trawler's fuel/water separators should be checked frequently for water and drained as necessary. In cold northern climates, ice formation in fuels containing water creates severe fuel line and filter plugging problems. Routinely getting rid of the water is the most effective means of preventing this problem; however, small quantities of alcohol may be used on an emergency basis to prevent fuel line and filter freeze-ups.
Frequent diesel fuel filter exchanges and the expensive and time consuming project of cleaning diesel fuel storage tanks have become standard periodic maintenance instead of waiting for a warning signal for diesel engine failure. Diesel fuel filter elements should give you several hundred hours or more and injectors some 15,000 hours. Even So, since diesel fuel is inherently unstable, solids begin to form and the gathering tank sludge will finally clog your diesel fuel filters, possibly ruin your injectors and cause diesel engines to smoke.
Diesel Fuel stored in trawler tanks for long periods (six months and more) requires specific care. This diesel fuel suffers from multiple problems that determine its quality. The presence of free water supplies the platform for microbiological development that result in the formation of slime and acids causing corrosion of metal surfaces such as storage tanks, pumps, injectors, etc. Left neglected this water layer will trap sludge and become the breeding ground for microbes, fungus, yeast and more. This poisonous mix creates acids that compromise the integrity of your storage tank, lines, pumps, fittings and worse, diesel machinery.
Another key agent leading to diesel fuel deterioration, is mechanical stress created by heat and pressure of pumps. Since most diesel engines return considerable amounts of fuel back to the storage tank, it is simple to see that the engine itself adds to fuel deterioration.
Microbes in the form of bacteria and fungus are present in all diesel fuels. Extended periods of fuel storage can make ideal opportunities for germs to grow in fuel tanks. The first indication of microbial contamination is mucous-like accumulations on fuel-filters. Bugs can only be removed from the fuel system by polishing or by forbidding their occurrences by use of a diesel fuel pesticide such as BioBor. I highly recommend it.
Should you use diesel fuel additives? There are plenty of additives on the market today that are designed to improve the operation and efficiency of diesel fuel. I opt to use Marvel Mystery Oil. Even So, if you use the proper additives, you can achieve peak performance from your fuel every time.
Most trawler fuel systems have primary and secondary filtering systems installed; Racor is a good example. Each time the diesel engine is operated, the diesel is polished by filtering and returning fuel back to the storage tanks. A separate polishing system can also be set up that filters the fuel independently of the engine operating.
But problems can occur with diesel fuel stored in your trawler's fuel tanks, affecting those diesel engines?
It is important to know what diesel fuel is to begin with. Diesel fuel is refined from crude oil. In oil refineries, crude oil is heated, and various hydrocarbon molecules are extracted to produce the fuel. Diesel is much heavier than gasoline and vaporizes much more slowly. It's frequently referred to as "fuel oil" because of its consistency. Oftentimes forgotten, diesel fuel is an organic matter.
"Give a diesel engine clean fuel and it will run forever." This old expression is less of an exaggeration than you might think. Repair statistics record that ninety percent of trawler diesel engine problems stem from fouled fuel. The hope of eliminating 9 out of 10 potential failures should put fuel-system upkeep at the top of your list.
The most frequent signs of fuel contamination in a yacht are clogged filters, and reduced engine performance. However, the absence of these conditions does not inevitably imply that your diesel fuel is not contaminated. As A Matter Of Fact, it is probable that every trawler's fuel is somewhat contaminated. Fuel pick-up tubes, where the diesel engine pulls fuel from the fuel tank, typically sit about 3/4 of an inch off the bottom of your fuel tank floor. This location is designed to protect the engine from contamination that has fallen to the bottom of the fuel tank. Therefore, you may never realize that you have a diesel fuel contamination problem until the fuel is disturbed in some way - such as when you are in rough waters in your trawler.
Water can get into trawler fuel storage tanks in different ways - by condensation of wet outside air, during transport from refineries to distributors, by leakage from faulty fill pipes or vents and by sloppy handling. Water can cause injector nozzle and pump corrosion, microorganism development and fuel filter plugging with materials resulting from the corrosion or microbic growth. Your trawler's fuel/water separators should be checked frequently for water and drained as necessary. In cold northern climates, ice formation in fuels containing water creates severe fuel line and filter plugging problems. Routinely getting rid of the water is the most effective means of preventing this problem; however, small quantities of alcohol may be used on an emergency basis to prevent fuel line and filter freeze-ups.
Frequent diesel fuel filter exchanges and the expensive and time consuming project of cleaning diesel fuel storage tanks have become standard periodic maintenance instead of waiting for a warning signal for diesel engine failure. Diesel fuel filter elements should give you several hundred hours or more and injectors some 15,000 hours. Even So, since diesel fuel is inherently unstable, solids begin to form and the gathering tank sludge will finally clog your diesel fuel filters, possibly ruin your injectors and cause diesel engines to smoke.
Diesel Fuel stored in trawler tanks for long periods (six months and more) requires specific care. This diesel fuel suffers from multiple problems that determine its quality. The presence of free water supplies the platform for microbiological development that result in the formation of slime and acids causing corrosion of metal surfaces such as storage tanks, pumps, injectors, etc. Left neglected this water layer will trap sludge and become the breeding ground for microbes, fungus, yeast and more. This poisonous mix creates acids that compromise the integrity of your storage tank, lines, pumps, fittings and worse, diesel machinery.
Another key agent leading to diesel fuel deterioration, is mechanical stress created by heat and pressure of pumps. Since most diesel engines return considerable amounts of fuel back to the storage tank, it is simple to see that the engine itself adds to fuel deterioration.
Microbes in the form of bacteria and fungus are present in all diesel fuels. Extended periods of fuel storage can make ideal opportunities for germs to grow in fuel tanks. The first indication of microbial contamination is mucous-like accumulations on fuel-filters. Bugs can only be removed from the fuel system by polishing or by forbidding their occurrences by use of a diesel fuel pesticide such as BioBor. I highly recommend it.
Should you use diesel fuel additives? There are plenty of additives on the market today that are designed to improve the operation and efficiency of diesel fuel. I opt to use Marvel Mystery Oil. Even So, if you use the proper additives, you can achieve peak performance from your fuel every time.
Most trawler fuel systems have primary and secondary filtering systems installed; Racor is a good example. Each time the diesel engine is operated, the diesel is polished by filtering and returning fuel back to the storage tanks. A separate polishing system can also be set up that filters the fuel independently of the engine operating.
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