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Roger
Glad you noted the crud in the bottom of the Shelco housing.... this debris is/are the nucleation sites upon which such particle grow/ agglomerate. Full or topped-off tanks - never unless Im travelling. Water in oil is in two phases: 1. sensible (free) water that drops out by gravity, 2. water that is emusified (bound) in the oil. Fuel oil that is long term exposed to atmosphere saturated with water (from vapor) will eventually settle out in the bottom of the tank. I never ever 'top off' a tank unless I plan to use most of it in the short term. Why store the oil in a tank with an atmospheric vent only to have it uptake water (vapor), etc.? Simple solution is only upload what you need plus some reserve; if storing long term, drain the oil and burn it in your home heater as EMPTY tanks dont 'condense' water. The probable chief organism that thrives in fuel oil tanks is Cladosporium Resinae - ***a fungus*** that is spread by spores ... most probably aspirated through the tank VENT pipe. Currently Im using a bio-blocking 0,2µM abs PTFE membrane filter capsule on my vent and will compare the tank innards on my next scheduled clean-out (in 2 years). Million gallon field fuel tanks rarely become contaminated; its the teeny boat tanks that usually have the particulate/ contamination problems. Im currently travelling and using a lot of fuel so Ive temporarily removed the desiccant vapor trap on the vent line. regards to all. |
#2
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posted to rec.boats.cruising
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"RichH" wrote
Why store the oil in a tank with an atmospheric vent only to have it uptake water (vapor), etc.? Exactly. Please confirm that I'm correct in the advice to others (some outside the newsgroup) that there is no point in filling the tank unless it's filled up into the vent so that the surface area of fuel available for water vapor transfer is the cross section of the vent pipe and not the whole top of the tank. Since this is impractical in many vessels and impractical in most normal operation, the whole topping up the tank thing is a crock. I'm going to put a desiccant vapor trap on my sounding tube for the winter which is easy to do and tape over the vent. -- Roger Long |
#3
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posted to rec.boats.cruising
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![]() Please confirm that I'm correct in the advice to others (some outside the newsgroup) that there is no point in filling the tank unless it's filled up into the vent so that the surface area of fuel available for water vapor transfer is the cross section of the vent pipe and not the whole top of the tank. Since this is impractical in many vessels and impractical in most normal operation, the whole topping up the tank thing is a crock. I'm going to put a desiccant vapor trap on my sounding tube for the winter which is easy to do and tape over the vent. -- Roger Long Here's a website that gives a brief tech description of what is happening .... sorry that its JetFuel but the same happens with diesel, etc.: http://www.flowmeterdirectory.com/fl..._07082401.html My professional (filtration engineering) work in this area has included the ultra-pure ultra-dehydrated oils used in high voltage transformers, contactors and tap changers ... although sealed, eventually become contaminated with water (free, dissolved and emuslified) which radically changes the dielectric strength of the oil. The water uptake is all by 'chemical equilibrium'; you put in ultra-dehydrated oil - come back in 2-3 years and remove the water ( or replace the equipment if if shorts out due to the water and generated particles). Simple physical-chemical equilibrium at work. Bruce reported using oil that was barreled in WWII. Entirely possible if the barrel was filled at temperature that sterilized the contents, is totally sealed, no water entered, and no fungal spores got in. After all, that oil is zillions of years old and it stayed in the ground because no microorganism used it as a nutrient source, etc. |
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