#16 - Tackling the dreaded diesel bug - our tank was full of it! Now its bug, water and rust free.
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- Опубликовано: 31 мар 2022
- Our engine ran poorly and a run test with an auxiliary tank and fresh diesel showed that contaminated fuel was the problem - the dreaded diesel bug!
In this video Jason from Clean Fuel Marine pays a visit to sort the problem out. Although filtering can remove the bug, if you still have water in the fuel the bug will come straight back. Clean Fuel Marine, an authorised agent of Tankbusters, use 1 micron filters to filter out the bug, magnetic filters to pick up rust & metal debris, and most importantly, water filters to take the water out of the fuel. Without water, the bug can't survive so this stage is really important - beware of inferior 'fuel polishing' services that filter the bug, but leave the water in the fuel! Below are the contact details you'll need if you have a similar problem to us. Do give Narrowboat Adventures' a mention too if you contact them :-)
Jason can be contacted on 07757 221 776 or online at:
www.cleanfuelmarine.co.uk/
info@cleanfuelmarine.co.uk
Instagram: @cleanfuelmarine
Tankbusters, who we first contacted, can be found here:
www.tankbusters.co.uk/
Hope that you find this useful folks. Please leave a comment if you did, or if you have a question about the process. Thanks :-)
Adrian & Lynda
Thanks , great video , amazing amount of water in your tank, how your engine ran is a mystery to me .
His set-up is quite unique. We work with contractors here in North America. His system is very effective.
That was very interesting didn’t realise how involved the cleaning process is. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it. 😊
Many "fuel polishing" services are quicker and cheaper, but generally you get a temporary solution - especially so as most don't remove the water that enables the bug to survive. This is a very thorough clean.
Yeah!!!! Let’s go cruising. Good video.
Thanks. We made it to Stanstead Abbotts too - we're moored there now 😁
....you learn something new every day!
Yup! 😊
Howdy Guys and very interedsting process to get rid of the diesel bug and water. Could not believe how much water was in there. Cheers Keith Melbourne Australia
It was amazing how much water there was. It runs so much better now. 😊
Good video. I like these as it reminders people to keep an eye on their tanks. Now you're all polished its up to you to keep it clean.. :) Enjoy you're future cruises!
It's simple stuff keeping the water out, but something I, and many others, didn't know about. Hopefully this vlog will help people
Wow what difference. It should run lovely now.
Out cruising now - it's running lovely 😊
Air heated during the day goes out through the vent...only to be replaced at the end of the day by damp evening air...
which leads to the water in the air to condense out on the steel walls of the tank overnight..
every night for 50+ years...
The fuel pickup always is placed some distance above the bottom of the tank..
in this case, about 15 litres above the bottom...
You need double CAV style filters as found on most ag engines...
as farmers usually store farm diesel in steel fuel tanks...that suffer the same problems.
Some good points there. We also bought a long water absorbing thing that you put in your tank with one end tied to the bottom of the filler cap. That absorbs moisture and can then be removed after a month or so. Haven't fitted it yet. Will do soon
What a lot off problems them little blighters caused you. Now you have secured rain from getting in it should improve. Have joyful week.
It certainly was a problem. All running lovely now. Out cruising at the moment and having a very joyful week. 😊
One more action you would be able to take to minimise accumulation of condensed water in the fuel...operate the fuel levels from the 3/4 full to completely full range as much as possible.
This minimises the amount of air to expell and to draw back into the tank....just tip in the appropriate amount of algicide for the amount of fuel with which you are topping up the tank.....
Definitely a good idea. Particularly when not being used much in winter.
Hi both what a lot of trouble them little blighters caused. Hopefully now you have secured the wet from getting in all will be good. Enjoy your week.
Thanks. We've been out cruising all week and having a great time - although we've never had so many extreme weather changes in such a short time!
Cheapest filter system...fitting with inbuilt pump to eliminate air bubble after changing filter...
any 90's Japanese 4wd underbonnet filter system...
especially Toyota or Nissan...
New systems:
Double CAV filters to the engine....with clear plastic bowls to view water and crud..and empty it...any agri spares company or marine supplier....
or if you want possibly the best (and most expensive).... Racor marine grade double-filtered diesel filter system...
Sounds like a good investment.
Off to Stanstead Abbots you go. 👍
We made it too! Moored up there now. 😁
What was the other filter you didn't mention? It was round open vessel with a union flag on it and the liquid had the colour of tea. It seemed to reduce in capacity as the process went on.
Ha ha - took me a while! 🤣
Hi guys, can anyone point me in the right direction to find the metal fuel filter that is being used? Thank you.
Hi just wondered if he emptied and cleaned your tank and pipe work completely before returning your cleaned diesel as recommended by BP Fleet maintenance
He cycled the fuel round and round the system for hours. Pipes all had clean fuel in as we had been running the engine from an auxiliary tank.
Impressive video i am wondering if your treatment removes all the sticky black dead diesel bug which is formed about 3mm thick all along the bottom of my 200 litre narrowboat fuel tank
Hi there. The process involves quite high pressure in both the feed and return pipes and the guy doing it moved the metal 'lance' on the pipe end to different positions to get rid of the bottom layer. When he moved it, large pieces of black crud could clearly be seen arriving in the filter.
I'm pretty sure it got rid of everything. We've certainly had no issues since 😊
@@NarrowboatAdventures Thanks for your reply glad all's well
So how much did it cost to have it done? Please
It varies a great deal depending on how far they have to travel, how bad your tank is, how long it takes, and how many filters are needed. It cost us a little under £700. For a one off on a 20 year old, contaminated tank that seems fair value to me.
@@NarrowboatAdventures Yeah totally agree as a knackered up engine could cost thousands thanks for the Info 🤗🤗
Cladisporium resonae? sp.
That's the one! Such a little thing, yet causes so many BIG problems.
@@NarrowboatAdventures across so many industries
@@andrewmills744 Yup. Low sulphur and bio-diesel (with a bit of moisture) makes a wonderful home for the bug.
@@NarrowboatAdventures not like it's a useful microrganism that produces alcohol..... just mats of semi solid gunk. Aviation industry has a host of chemicals for various reasons none good for you
how much it cost
About £7-800 if I remember correctly
Two years ago I put 250 litres of white diesel into some new Jerry drums and an ex motor oil 205 litre barrel. I noticed the drum starting to leak around the rolled edge on the base so set about decanting to some new Jerry cans and it was full of shit rusty muck and looked rusty red. I filtered it as best I could but the filter funnel only took 20 litres before blocking. I found no water of note and no bug as it was generously treated when I put it in the drums. At £1.60 a litre I cannot afford to throw it. As I want it for my standby generator and car in the forthcoming disaster time. How do I tell it has no more dirt and safe to use? Nothing obvious but the colour is still there and it worries me. The water must have been in the diesel from the garage when I bought it.😢 the drums were full and sealed tight from the air?????
What surprised me is that the water and diesel mix really well! You can't see the water, but the water filters used to clean my tank took out 20 litres or more of water. I'd use it in your generator as easy to clean the tank out, but not so sure about the car...
Im a bit late, but 'modern' diesel has biofuel added which absorbs moisture from the air which can then separate out , not entirely sure of the process, but the end result is naff diesel. probably ended up with water sitting in the bottom of you metal barrel and rotted through causing the leak. To save it first thing id do is decant into some clear plastic barrels and let it sit overnight so any debris and water settles at the bottom then carefully pour the clean diesel off the top another jerry can. Also sounds like your metal barrel was rusting or contaminated before the diesel went in and its degreased all the crap, oil & rust off the inside of the barrel. Ive kept diesel in the 20/25litre plastic barrels you get chemi n stuff in for a year or more & its been fine, just make sure the lid is on and dont leave it outside in the sun or the plastic goes brittle.
Throw a lump of silver in the tank.
It might have been cheaper 😂
@@NarrowboatAdventures An old boy once told me... "Chuck an ord silver spoon int tank lad!".
@@MrKittykat111 😁
Why do you think that spending £700 on cleaning £40 worth of diesel is worth doing
Because if you try to just empty the diesel out you'll probably leave some bug and water behind meaning the problem could reoccur. Also, the dead bug forms a layer at the bottom that can get fed into your engine and it is very abrasive. This can trash fuel pumps and injectors. With our 20 year old boat, there was also rust and debris in there - not good if some of this makes its way down through to the engine. Yes, there may be cheaper solutions - but looking at the shite that came out of our tank, I think it was worth doing. Others may not, which is fair enough 😊
@@NarrowboatAdventures being a 70yr old retired mechanic and a 40yr long narrowboat owner I can tell you that them silly fuel polishing machines cause as many problems as they fix and are certainly no better then sucking out the old fuel and replacing it with new fuel mixed with a good additive
It's not just cleaning £40 worth of diesel, it cleans the whole tank, so's when you fill up your not putting fresh fuel into a shitty tank, that will contaminate your new fuel.
@@rogerferris3720 A very important point. 😊
@@rogerferris3720 no Roger the whole point is it is impossible to clean the whole tank without cutting the top off the tank cleaning it out then welding the top back you can only get to about 10% of the bottom of the tank through the filler you have then just disturbed the sediment on the bottom which cause you problems later on but if you are happy to waste £700 on something as stupid as doing this carry on its your money