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Trawler and motor yacht owners love the sound of their diesels; like music to our ears. The diesel power plants are the core of any yacht. But problems can arise with diesel fuel kept in your trawler's fuel tanks, upsetting those diesels. It is valuable to know what diesel fuel is to start with. Diesel fuel is refined from crude oil. In oil refineries, crude oil is heated, and various hydrocarbon molecules are extracted to make the fuel. Diesel is much heavier than gas and evaporates much slower. It's frequently referred to as "fuel oil" as a result of its consistency. Often forgotten, diesel is an organic matter. "Give a diesel engine clean fuel and it will function forever." This old saying is less of an overstatement than you might think. Repair statistics show that 90% of trawler diesel engine problems stem from tainted fuel. The assurance 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 congested filters, and reduced engine operation. However, the lack of these conditions does not necessarily mean that your fuel is not contaminated. Actually, it is probable that each trawler's fuel is to some extent contaminated. Fuel pick-up tubes, where the engine pulls fuel from the tank, typically sit roughly three-quarters of an inch off the base of your fuel tank floor. This placement is designed to guard the engine from contamination that has settled to the bottom of the tank. As a result, you may never realize that you have a fuel contamination problem until the fuel is disturbed in some manner - such as when you are in violent waters in your trawler. Water can get into trawler fuel storage tanks in several ways - by condensation of humid outside air, during transportation from refineries to distributors, by leakage through faulty fill pipes or vents and by careless handling. Water can trigger injector nozzle and pump corrosion, microorganism growth and fuel filter clogging with materials resulting from the corrosion or microbial growth. Your trawler's water spectators should be inspected regularly for water and drained as needed. In chilly northern winters, ice formation in fuels containing water produces severe fuel line and filter plugging issues. Frequently elliminating the water is the most successful way of preventing this problem; however, small amounts of alcohol may be utilized on an emergency basis to avoid fuel line and filter freeze-ups. Regular diesel fuel filter changes and the expensive and time consuming task of cleansing diesel fuel tanks have turn out to be acceptable periodic upkeep instead of a warning signal for diesel engine breakdown. Diesel fuel filter elements should last several hundred hours or more and injectors some 15,000 hours. Then again, since diesel fuel is inherently unstable, solids start to develop and the accumulating tank sludge will eventually clog your diesel fuel filters, ruin your injectors and cause diesel engines to smoke. Fuel stored in boat tanks for extensive durations (6 months and more) needs particular attention. This fuel suffers from several problems that have an effect on its quality. The presence of free water provides the medium for microbiological growth that result in the formation of slime and acids creating decay of metal surfaces such as storage tanks, pumps, injectors, etc. Left unattended this water layer will catch sludge and become the breeding area for microbes, fungus, yeast and more. This toxic mix creates acids that compromise the integrity of your tank, lines, pumps, fittings and worse, diesel machinery. Microbes in the shape of micro organism and fungus are present in all diesel fuels. Extended periods of fuel storage can create ideal opportunities for microbes to grow in fuel tanks. The first indication of microbial contamination is mucous-like accumulations on fuel-filters and amplified requirements for fuel-filter replacement. Microbes can only be removed from the fuel system by polishing or by stopping their occurrences by use of a diesel fuel biocide such as BioBor. I highly suggest utillizing it. An additional significant factor leading to fuel deterioration is mechanical stress caused by the warmth and pressure of pumps. Since most diesel engines return significant amounts of fuel back to the tank, it is simple to see that the engine itself contributes to fuel deterioration. Should you utilize diesel fuel additives? There are many additives on the market these days that are intended to improve the functioning and efficiency of diesel fuel. I prefer to use Marvel Mystery Oil. However, if you use the best additives, you can realize top performance from your fuel each occasion. Most trawler fuel systems have primary and secondary filtering systems installed; Racor is a good example. Each occasion the engine is operated, the diesel is polished by filtering. A separate polishing system can also be installed that filters the fuel separately of the engine operating. Mike Dickens, the author, is a live aboard boat owner and owner/Broker of Paradise Yachts in Florida USA. Paradise Yachts offers used quality yachts to customers worldwide. 904/556-9431 Visit the Paradise Yachts website to view our selection of Used Trawlers, Used Motor Yachts, and Used Sailboats for Sale
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diesel fuel, motor yacht, trawler, yacht,
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