I have noticed my dual Racor 500 fuel filters showing quite a bit of black sediment in the bowls so I decided it was time to clean the fuel system before I have any major problems or imminent disasters while underway. I removed all the screws holding the inspection port to the fuel tank, making sure to index the cover to be certain it goes back on the same way. When I pulled the cover off, which by the way also has the fuel gauge mounted on it, I found the gauge float covered in black gunk, which I assume to be dead algae. The fuel in the tank, which was about 1/2 full also looked black. I plan on pumping out all the fuel into jerry jugs and burning it in my house furnace. I’d like to be sure that my tank, fuel lines and filters/ filtert units are clean and free of gunk and dead algae. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts of the best way to go about this or any things to watch out for, any useful hints, or things I might overlook? I want to do this only once and get it right.
I plan on agaitating the fuel with some kind of paddle or spatula while pumping it out of the tank into the jugs. Should I have a few gallons of clean fuel available and use it to rinse tank after /during scrubbing ytank walls with a long handled brush , perhaps disposible diapers or absorbant engine pads to wipe out tanjk sides ,bottom? Then fill atnk with clean fuel and pump it out of tank, through lines to flush them out?
What about return line, should I even be concerned about that small amount in the line? DO you think it neccesary to remove racors (a rather dauntinhg project as they are rather hard to get at and remove considering all the connections andfaasteners, or would just changing out the elements be sufficient?
What about preventing any future dead algae problems and maintaining a clean fuel tank and fuel supply…some say use Biophor some say never use it. I have been using that plus Stabile since I got the boat 3 years ago but who knows how it was maintaained previously?
The boat is a1982 Freedom 33 cat ketch with the 3gm Yanmar.
BTW, Happy Spring…look forward to Some great summer cruises.
I would suggest that you get some StarTron Enzyme Tank Cleaner by StarBight. Use that for 2 tank fills and then switch to using their StarTron Enzyme Fuel Treatment when you refill. Emptying the tank sounds like a good start. I think that this should take care of the rest, unless you want to bring in a fuel polisher.
– Geoff
I have never heard of those additives, will definately look into them. I take it you have experience with themm and have had good results.? I am pumping out old stuff and burning it at home, as matter of fact ,pumed out five gallons and its burning in my furnace as I write this. I used a clear suction hose and as I moved it around the bottom of tankk could see it go from clear red to jet black so I kept moving it as to keep the black stuff flowing up the hose. Definately a lot of crud in the tank. Puzzled as to how to get to other side of baffle, will have to do my best with the hose through the hole in the baffle.
I use the StarTron Fuel Treatment every tank. I’ve run 2 tanks of the Tank Cleaner through without any changes, but I always thought that my tanks were clean. I have friends who have used the Tank Cleaner with great success. Just follow the instructions and then watch your filters as the use of this product may cause them to load up a lot faster. I have a vacuum gauge on my Raycor, so I can easily see how it’s doing. Be sure to carry spare filters if you just start using this and carefully listen to your engine. You don’t want to be going into a tricky location and find my engine starving for fuel because of a clogged filter.
You may find that the Tank Cleaner only comes in large quantities, so find a friend(s) who wants to clean out his tank too and split the bottle. I have enough for myself and many other boats.
– Geoff
Assuming your F-33 tank is like mine (your description so far sounds the same) its easy to clean the tank itself. I do it every couple of years.
I just remove the inspection port when the tank is is low on fuel. I then use light rags or paper towel to reach in and manually clean the tank sides bottom and especially the recessed part where the feed tube is. I then pump out the rest of the fuel ( I find it easier to clean with some fuel in it but I don’t let the black stuff build up much).
The only challenging part is there is a baffle and you have to slide whatever you clean with under/around this (sometimes I use a thin gripper tool)(and you don’t want to use paper towel since if it rips its hard to get out. In the part that’s beyond the baffle I probably don’t get everything out but I do get it mostly clean and one can always agitate etc.
I’ve never had visible black in the racors so can’t comment on that.
I just did this last summer on out 30/32. I had just bought the boat and the fuel and the boat had been sitting dormant for the last 8 years. The fuel was getting slimy and milky. I drained the tank (all 18 gallons of it) into cans. I then had a gallon of non aerosol brake parts cleaner from the dealership I was working at. I sprayed that all over in the tank using a small pressure sprayer used for treating weeds in my lawn. The wand was flexible enough to reach in behind the baffles. I then mopped out the brake cleaner and let dry out. Oh, and I also flushed the filler line with clean diesel during the draining process. Once the tank was cleaned out, I replace the racor and small engine filter. I then removed the return line from the tank and put it into a separate container. I started the engine, purged the air out and after seeing clean fuel from the return line, I reinstalled. I added clean fuel with a good biocide to the tank and she runs great.
These suggestions are great ! Thanks for your help, I hopefully will be finishing this job tomorrow. This fuel has been sitting pretty stagnant in this tank for quite a few years so there is quite a mess, just glad I got to it before I got stuck somewhere. I cleaned up the fuel float and linkage today, but could not get to the boat as I had some other pressing chores (yard work) Will ley you know how it goes, thanks
Well, I went to local chandlery and found the starbright fuel tank cleaner and fuel treatment. Your right about there only beinga very large jug of the tank cleaner…passed on that for now as I am short on cash but picked up the fuel treatment. I will see if I can find someone to split cost of the tank cleaner. Went to boat and finished pumping out fuel. There was so much crud arouind the pick up tube recess I am surprised that fuel even managed to be picked up. I am convinced if I had not tackeled this ,I would have been stuck somewhere this summer, probably at the worst time! I used absorbant engine pads and a scrub brush to clean out all the crud and slime from the forward half of tank. I had to resort to a small"toothbrush size" brush to clean out that pick up recess. I would have liked to pull out the pick up tube but unfortunately there is not enough clearence to rotate either or both the pickup tube and /or the cut-off valve. Either one will only rotate about 1/2 turn before hitting either the deck beam or the tank. Obviosly , the pickup and cutoff valve were already on tank when it was installed and then the deck was installed with the deck beam layed too close to the pick up tube…consodered making a cut into beam but it would have to be to heavy a cutout, guess I will live with it and hope I never havbe to remove it.
I have the forward half of tsank clean now but I can see the back half, behind the baffles is just as cruddy. I wisll try to rig up some kind of pressure washert to insert in there like the suggested insecticide spayer. I can’t believe all the sand and gravel that was in the tank. Mus get in through cockpit fuel fill and must be in deisel fuel that was used and just built up ovefr time. Amazing!!
On the maiden voyage onboard (new to me) my 1986 F36/38 bought three years ago i ended up disabled (engine would not run) luckily just off Anacortes Marina on my way from Seattle to Point Roberts. It was the constant clogging of fuel filters with water and dirt. Emergency tow (20 minutes in duration) to the marina cost me $350!! Having had a SS tank with an inspection port covering entire tank on my previous boat i was feeling somewhat apprehensive having an aluminium tank under the quarter berth fixed plywood board and not knowing what was in the tank. So i cut the plywood open just little wider than the tank. figured out it will be impossible to take the tank out, I resorted to opening a 6 inch diameter round hole in the middle of tank top. Tank interior did not look good and i found baffle plates, which required cutting another two 6" diameter holes above each of the sections. After that I pumped out all of the fuel, scooped the water and grime collected. Scraped off the rest of the hard stuff. sanded/wire brushed the tank interiors as clean as i could. Fitted 1/2" inch larger diameter aluminium covers and sealed with liquid gasket maker (nota drop of diesel leak so far) . I am sure my tank is good to go for another 25 years, but in case it needs earlier attention, it will take 30 minutes to open up for inspection and cleaning.
About every four or five years I let my Hoyt 32’s tank get down to only a gallon or two. I pump that out and discard it, along with any water and funky gunk in the bottom of the tank. I’m fortunate that I can easily reach into mine through a clean out port and scrub it out. I just use a green plastic scrubby pad and “fuel dryer”. Fuel dryer is something that is supposed to absorb the water in fuel and allow it to pass through the engine. It sure smells suspiciously like plain isopropyl alcohol. It does cut through the gunk very easily, though.
Once everything looks bright and shiney I wipe everything down with some paper towels and refill it with fresh fuel. Good for another four years or so.
Thanks folks for all the great help, suggestions and ideas, sure is helping me deal with this important maintenance project. I am seriously thinking of doing what plolic and others have done, that is, cut another opening in the tank to gain access to the other half beyond the baffle. Does a six inch opening seem adequate or wood 8 inch be better ? I should measure the opening already there, ha , ha, but I am at home and did not think of that while I was there yesterday, well, I will do that today. I will have to find a good sealent or gasket material, and I guess nylon or similar typr washers for insulating the stainless steel screws and also coat threads with tefgel. I am fortunate in one aspect since the tank is under the sole in the bilge so all I have to do is lift up the sole hatch and the whole tank is there, no cutting of plywood covering! The thought of ever havinvg to remove this tank inspires me to do my best to maintain its health. It looks like it would not be an easy job to remove it. I wonder if anyone with a F-33 has had to do this yet? I agree, Rick S. , that the fuel dryer is in fact just alcohol, just like the gas line anti-freeze sold for cars in the winter. Alcohol sucks up lots of water. Its a great dehydrating agent which I remeber using in biology class to dry out specimens for mountingon microscope slides. I also am suspicious of the starbright fuel treatment and tank cleaner in that they both sure look and smell the same…makes me wonder if theey just labled and packaged them differently or maybe just diluted one ,or concentrated one so they would have two different products…or is that just my suspicioius/skeptical side coming out? :mrgreen:
I did an extra opening in the fuel tank of my F44. with the intention to clean and inspect the tank from inside. my tank is 85 gallons and roughly consists of 3 sections so I’ve been thinking to make 2 more inspection ports but after cutting second port I concluded that all the dirt / water / gunk mostly accumulates in the lowest point, where the original inspection port is , so probably second port been done mostly for my peace of mind and I decided against the third one. The second section was much cleaner. The size of the original port is such that I can stick my whole arm inside the tank to get to all corners and clean it inside very nicely. I just pumped the oil out from the tank via the port into several plastic jars (about 30 gallons in total).
My neighbor is utility engineer, he looks after big oil burners on some plant. According to him the diesel fuel does not have any expiration. I let the oil sit in the jars for some time (probably 3 weeks or so ) so all water / sediments / e.t.c. went on the bottom 1/3 of jars . After that I pumped the approx. top 2/3 of fuel back into the tank via some cheap home depot filter with 10 microns cartridge.
Another thing is the water inside the tank. While I kept the tank empty and opened I could clearly see about 1 oz. of water accumulating in empty tank over night. My boat spent about 10 years on the hard with tank about half full and I could clearly see the line of corroded aluminum from the water accumulated inside the tank over the years…. I saw all of the corrosion in the first section (the lowest part of the tank. ). My tank is not leaking … but I can imagine this could be a big problem… for now I cleaned my tank as good as I could , sanded it from inside and painted with some super penetrating, fuel resistant substance (I forgot what it is called , I still have that plastic container somewhere in the house so I can look it up , if someone interested) .
That has been done more than 2 years ago…. 2 seasons later … I have not had any fuel related problems yet… (knock on wood)
Just wanted to add that I cut square opening, bough thick corrosion resistant aluminum plate and sheet of cork for gasket from mc-master. Secured everything to the tank with a bunch of stainless screws
I got 2 Seabuilt access plates for my fuel tank and put one on each side of the baffle. They’re a little pricey, but an excellent product and not hard to install. The 8" plates have a 6" cutout, which makes it really easy to get an arm in for cleaning, and to be able to see inside the tank with a flashlight. I sucked fuel out into Gerry cans with an oil extraction pump - put the hose through the fuel gauge hole. Then cut the holes with a 6" holesaw, and carefully wiped out residue and aluminum shavings. Poured fuel back into tank through a filter and measured it as I poured so I could mark actual levels on the gauge. Now I have a better idea how much fuel is actually in the tank.
Well, I went ahead a nd followed what some of you have done, I cut another access hole in my tank.! I measured the original and made a 6 inch hole with my Bosch recipricating saw…it was a bit tricky making the cut with the saw in the tight space but it came out just fine. I measured the tank wall thickness ,which is 1/8" and also measured the thickness of the original cover plate, which is 3/16" and also 8 inch diameter. I will use a local metal fabricating shop I have used many times in te past, to make me a 8 inch by 3/16" disc for my new covber plate. I thought of haviing them make me up some 2 piece semi-circular backing plates but since the originals are just tapped with machine screws into the tank walls I guess it is good enough since that has lasted over 30 years with out a problem. I will us plastic washers between the stainless screws and the aluminum tank.
There was a good amount of crud and debris in the second chamber so I am gla I decided to go ahead and add the extra opening. Tommoroow I will be mucking it out and cleaning it up with some clean deisel and drying out with alcohol, so I can then vacumn out and sand and pepples etc, that are left behind. I am not sure yet of what to use for sealing the plate to the tank…either a rubber gasket like the original or some type of sealant. Any suggestions? I have some fairly thich rubber from truck inner tube I could use to make a gasket but not sure if that is resiliant enough.
Boy, my boat hasn’t ever been in such shambles! I have several projects going right now, all in various stages of completion…didn’t plan it this way, meant to try to finnish one project at a time but things just came up and next thing I know I have part of the overhead down (so I can startt repalcing it) my Dickerson propane bulKhead mount fireplace partially installed, decided to get fancy and inset into the bulkhead and back with tiles, so \fabricating a “box” for the opening and will be laying tile over it. Making cardboard mock-ups of everything to be sure it all goes together with pleasing dimensions. My supercold machine is sitting in its opened box waiting its turn to be installed, and my cushions are nearly complete, have got all back from upholsterer except for port settee. Curtains and hatch covers will follow. This fuel tank project jumped straight to the head of the list as the good weather started getting closer and when I saw what the inside of the tank looked like! …oh yea, and the sail-loft just called today to tell me my sails were ready for pick up…I still have’nt removed the boat cover yet! So what place does bending the sails on take?
While we own sailboats and sail a lot more than motor, we need to make sure our engine will run when needed in those rare moments when we really need it. My reason for opening the tank up, and i was more than glad I have, was that one bad experience coupled with another boat that was acting as a committee boat for a local race when the weather picked up and they could not start the engine (for exactly the same reason) and ended up blown on the beach as a total constructive loss, luckily no injuries. Any boat over 30 feet anchored and experiencing 30+ knots of wind and dragging anchor will only manage to move to safety with a reliable engine, and lets not forget that even a small amount of water and s…t in the tank will most likely act and clog the filters when the boat is rock and rolling in that seaway, and for an engine to run we need fuel. As I mentioned on my previous sailboat (Dufour 31) i had 17gallon SS fuel tank that I inspected and found as clean as glass out of a dishwasher, but the 35 gallon aluminium fuel tank on my 1986 Freedom 36 had a lot of crude and slimy grime all over the tank that i was glad to have cleaned it and can inspect any time I suspect or see sedimentation by opening the small hole where the level gauge is. to seal inspection holes I used slightly larger aluminium plates, ss screws and liquid (out of a tube) diesel fuel sealant. keep the tank full most of the time and not a drop of leak even in heavy weather and movements.
Those Seabuilt access are really nice pieces of hardware and if my budget allowed I would probably be using them. The 3/16" aluminum coverplate should work fine as that is how the original is done and other people have done it the same way.
Plolic, can you tell me where to find this diesel fuel sealent, is it generally available in most hardware stores or maarine chandleries ? Is there any brand name? thanks…oh and I definately agree with youir feelings about a reliable engine, exactly why this project has taken priority of all the others.
i have used Permatex® Form-A-Gasket® No. 2 Sealant
Ah, yes, I am familiar with that , that should be a good choice, thanks