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Old 10-06-2015, 12:09 AM   #1
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Do you fuel polish?

I talked to two long time GB owners recently who have never polished their fuel.

Do you?
If so, how and when?
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Old 10-06-2015, 12:22 AM   #2
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No, but have a very good filter system and being selective as to where I buy fuel seems to do the trick. Also, in recognizing the potential for water problems Art D was very clever in his tank designs with sloping bottoms and little chance for standing water.
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Old 10-06-2015, 12:30 AM   #3
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Did it once.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s...elp-11228.html
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Old 10-06-2015, 12:48 AM   #4
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Did it once.
And likely the best way IMHO.
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Old 10-06-2015, 12:50 AM   #5
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Do you fuel polish?

I do, only because the fuel polishing system came with the boat.
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Prior to refuelling, I transfer the fuel from the aft tanks to the forward tanks so the newest fuel ends up primarily in the aft tanks. Also, I move fuel around to trim the boat. Any movement of fuel from tank to tank goes through the fuel polishing system. I can also polish fuel from a tank and have it go back to that tank, but as you can gather it's not the most efficient way to polish fuel.

My fuel tanks are near new and I probably don't need to polish fuel, but because I can, I do.

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Old 10-06-2015, 01:25 AM   #6
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I have day tanks for each engine (385 litres each). These have no deck fills, and can only be filled via the fuel polisher. Although I can run from any tank, I always use the day tanks to ensure cleanest fuel possible is delivered to the engines. The polisher can move fuel from-to any tank, and also pressure-prime fuel lines/engine fuel filters if required.
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Old 10-06-2015, 01:33 AM   #7
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Here's my fuel manifold...

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Old 10-06-2015, 03:06 AM   #8
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I have a polishing system but don't polish the fuel that often. About every 2 years I run the tanks down to about 300 lts per side and then polish the fuel from tank to tank.
During the process I empty one tank , open it up and clean out the sumps, I then do the same to the other tank, equalise the tanks and then refuel for the next trip.
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Old 10-06-2015, 03:48 AM   #9
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Bay Pelican has a Gulf Coast Filter system using paper towels as the filter. I polish often and especially after moving the boat. When I remove the filter and when I drain the filter housing I can see what has been collected, especially the water.

My system was inexpensive, the filter housing, a Walbro pump, some hose and several ball values. It is not set up to run underway. It also serves as my transfer pump among the four diesel tanks.
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Old 10-06-2015, 04:20 AM   #10
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The above are all on board systems - what about the remote sort where a guy wheels a trolley up the dock, extracts your fuel, gives it a polish then puts it back.
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Old 10-06-2015, 05:16 AM   #11
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Do you fuel polish?

No we have a fuel tank , with sump, not just a box for fuel.

WE service the tank, then,

WE burn the fuel rather than run it 500 times thru a filter.
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Old 10-06-2015, 05:53 AM   #12
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My boat has two tanks. It's now set up where the engine and generator both draw from the starboard tank. Fuel can be added to either tank, but in practice will only be added to the port tank. My fuel polisher will polish either tank or transfer fuel in either direction. So all fuel will be added to the port tank and polished going to the starboard tank. Fuel transfer will also be used to trim the boat. The tank drains (pump connection point) are located in the bottom forward corner (lowest point). Likely I will develop a routine for a brief polishing of the starboard tank to remove any accumulation in that lowest point.

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Old 10-06-2015, 06:16 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawgwash View Post
I talked to two long time GB owners recently who have never polished their fuel.

Do you?
If so, how and when?
No. It's a waste of time and money in most cases.
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:18 AM   #14
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Quote:
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The above are all on board systems - what about the remote sort where a guy wheels a trolley up the dock, extracts your fuel, gives it a polish then puts it back.
See post #3
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:28 AM   #15
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No, I do run on low fuel level from time to time to circulate the fuel more frequently. Boats kept with full tanks and not used much have the most fuel issues IMO.
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:49 AM   #16
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The Venture has a port tank for the port engine and a starboard tank for the starboard engine. Each engine fuel tank has an electric pump on a timer that can polish that tank. Each pump can also transfer fuel to the other tank. The pumps are also useful to prime the engines after a filter change.
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:56 AM   #17
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There's a lot of very complicated systems around which in my opinion are a waste of money, or testimony to a good salesman.
Stainless steel tanks with a sloping bottom with a drain valve, drain a cup full of fuel to check for water, job done !
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Old 10-06-2015, 08:14 AM   #18
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Greetings,
OK. Here's the question for those that DO have a system and use it to polish fuel. Is there any sign of contamination of the filters after a polish? How bad?
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Old 10-06-2015, 08:23 AM   #19
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Very little sediment and water.
Sediment is mainly rust from inside the tanks(they are black steel) after 20 years they are in near perfect condition.YES I do have a sump on each tank, I built and tested the tanks myself whilst building the boat.
Most moisture is when I have carried less than 1/2 full tanks for a period of time in humid conditions.
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Old 10-06-2015, 09:06 AM   #20
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Quote:
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There's a lot of very complicated systems around which in my opinion are a waste of money, or testimony to a good salesman.
Stainless steel tanks with a sloping bottom with a drain valve, drain a cup full of fuel to check for water, job done !
That's just what I installed. My 30 year old stainless tanks rotted out from the bottom up, due to moisture accumulating underneath them.

I mounted the replacement tanks on wedge shaped supports to allow air circulation under the tanks, and give a slope down to a drain valve.

I also draw fuel off the bottom of the tank at another low point. I know some people don't like doing this due to the risk of a fuel line rupturing and draining the tank, but I prefer not to have any "dead" space in the tank which just accumulates gunk over time.
It all loosens up when the seas get rough, just when you least need the problems.
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