 Check out the bookstore at IRBS.com |
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||
From: Arild Jensen (no email)
Date: Tue Apr 19 2005 - 13:20:22 EDT
Hugh asked.
Can anyone tell me if diesel deteriorates as gas does with time?
My tanks where filled six years ago but it's never been used. The
engine appears to run ok with this diesel but I'm concerned. The
boat is on the hard and it would not be too difficult to drain the
tanks now but not so once the boat is back in the water.
Thanks, Hugh
Depends on where you are located and what the condition of the tank
sediment is.
I picked up a truck in SF that had been sitting for three years.
I added a double dose of diesel fuel conditioner plus a bit of fresh
fuel.
It started fine and continues to run.
If the tanks were full and closed you have less to worry about.
Paul Kruse, a maintenance engineer once told me that he was responsible
for maintaining fuel dumps all round the world. They had 10,000 gallon
tanks sitting in all sorts of places and sometimes they would be unused
for 6 - 10 years. Fuel was still good.
But as Steve indicated if you are located in a hot humid climate and the
tanks had lots of water in them to start with then you may have a
problem.
Dip the tanks with water detector paste on stick and see if there is any
water in bottom. If not use a double dose of fuel conditioners and you
are good to go. As a back up precaution make sure you do have a supply
of fuel filters.
I heated my house for three years (free) on old diesel fuel pumped from
old disused tanks. Only once did I have a real problem. One tank had 30
gallons of water in the bottom. I used a three stage system. First stage
was settlement tank.
Solids and water separated out. Second stage filtration on transfer
pump.
Third stage was a final filtering using finest filter available.
If your boat doesn't have a fuel polishing system this is a worth while
upgrade. At today's prices simply dumping the fuel as a precaution is
kinda expensive.
Regards
Arild
___________________________________________________________________________
|| The Live-Aboard List : send a "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" request ||
|| in body of message to: ||
|