Neighbor just opened a fuel polishing business. He had a cruising
sailboat yesterday that is planning to circumnavigate and decided to
clean his tanks.
Those tanks were full of the nastiest stuff! Even big chunks of gunk.
So if you are having the slightest filter problems, I'd look at
polishing. It ain't cheap, but is good insurance.
Gordon

On Apr 4, 12:03 pm, Gordon wrote:
Neighbor just opened a fuel polishing business. He had a cruising
sailboat yesterday that is planning to circumnavigate and decided to
clean his tanks.
Those tanks were full of the nastiest stuff! Even big chunks of gunk.
So if you are having the slightest filter problems, I'd look at
polishing. It ain't cheap, but is good insurance.
Gordon

What exactly is "Not cheap" 3-500 dollars maybe?

Build your own polishing system, using your own filters and
seperators.
Cheaper than having it done by a polishing service, and you might not
have a polishing service handy when you pick up bad fuel at some small
far away island.

Joe

wrote:
On Apr 4, 12:03 pm, Gordon wrote:
Neighbor just opened a fuel polishing business. He had a cruising
sailboat yesterday that is planning to circumnavigate and decided to
clean his tanks.
Those tanks were full of the nastiest stuff! Even big chunks of gunk.
So if you are having the slightest filter problems, I'd look at
polishing. It ain't cheap, but is good insurance.
Gordon

What exactly is "Not cheap" 3-500 dollars maybe?

Build your own polishing system, using your own filters and
seperators.
Cheaper than having it done by a polishing service, and you might not
have a polishing service handy when you pick up bad fuel at some small
far away island.

Joe



Not cheap is $100 per hour with a $200 minimum plus filters.
As for do it yourself, many (probably most)people have neither the
time, inclination, or knowledge to do it. So like most problems, throw
money at it and see if it goes away!
G

Fuel polishing WILL NOT work effectively if the tank walls have thick
films of deposited sludge ...and are not cleaned FIRST.
Polishing does not remove the sludge from the walls.

In article , Gordon
wrote:

Neighbor just opened a fuel polishing business. He had a cruising
sailboat yesterday that is planning to circumnavigate and decided to
clean his tanks.
Those tanks were full of the nastiest stuff! Even big chunks of gunk.
So if you are having the slightest filter problems, I'd look at
polishing. It ain't cheap, but is good insurance.
Gordon

Rich Hampel wrote:
Fuel polishing WILL NOT work effectively if the tank walls have thick
films of deposited sludge ...and are not cleaned FIRST.
Polishing does not remove the sludge from the walls.

In article , Gordon
wrote:

Neighbor just opened a fuel polishing business. He had a cruising
sailboat yesterday that is planning to circumnavigate and decided to
clean his tanks.
Those tanks were full of the nastiest stuff! Even big chunks of gunk.
So if you are having the slightest filter problems, I'd look at
polishing. It ain't cheap, but is good insurance.
Gordon

The big problem with gunk in your tank is not when you're putting
around in the calm bay. The problems occur when you encounter some rough
weather that stirs up all the gunk including the sludge on the sides.
My neighbors set up sucks the fuel out, filters it, and then shoots
it back into the tank at a high enough pressure to stir up the crap.
The bad one the other day had to be filtered 4 times for each tank to
clean up. And I'm sure there is some residual left on the walls but he's
a hell of a lot better off then before. Also, many tanks have small
inspection plates and baffles so I don't know a good way to clean those.
BTW, He got a call from the boatyard to come down and pump some tanks
that were leaking into a bilge. The boat is a 58 Krogen with built in
fiberglass tanks. The owners filled the tanks then had the boat hauled.
Went to dinner, came back to check on things and found diesel leaking
into the bilge from the bottom of 1 tank. Don't know if it cracked from
the lifting or ?
And I was wrong on his pricing. He gives an estimate based on $75 per
hour and he has a rough idea how long it will take. So the smallest job
is gonna cost 300 to 350 because of travel and setup. A large job won't
be much more because the actual time to filter isn't that much more.
Gordon

Chuck something like Soltron in, preferably from new. Kills bugs,
absorbs moisture in suspension - but won't deal with water at tank
bottom, breaks up sludges and residues all to a micron or so so it all
passes harmlessly through filters and is combusted in the engine. I
took 5 galls of the blackest and nastiest red diesel and chucked in
the recommended dose. After a week it was not back to clear bright
light red, but is was clear and red.
In addition any soot deposits in engine - backs of valves etc etc just
brush off with a soft brush.