more smoke

[Daddyo]

more smoke (help)

I'm running against a 1/2 knot tide and I'm getting considerably more white/gray smoke on both engines a bit more on one?

Update:
Running with tide now and same smoke. Fuel added the other day had a little gas still in the fuel hose (maybe as much a few gallons, but I don't know for sure, all on a 193 gallon load). Could the gas be the smoke? Seems to be fuel related as the smoke seems to be higher in both engines.
albeit higher on one then the other. Nothing extreme but much more then my engines normally have.

 

[DavidM]

Going with or against a tide should have no effect on the engine load. The speed through the water is the same.

So maybe it is the fuel.

David

 

[rwidman]

I'm running against a 1/2 knot tide and I'm getting considerably more white/gray smoke on both engines a bit more on one?

Update:
Running with tide now and same smoke. Fuel added the other day had a little gas still in the fuel hose (maybe as much a few gallons, but I don't know for sure, all on a 193 gallon load). Could the gas be the smoke? Seems to be fuel related as the smoke seems to be higher in both engines.
albeit higher on one then the other. Nothing extreme but much more then my engines normally have.

If you didn't have smoke before and it started when you took on fuel, the fuel is most likely the cause of the smoke.

I don't know how you got gasoline mixed with your fuel and I don't know what effect gasoline would have (except possibly reduced lubrication of injectors, etc.).

Can you go back to the fuel supplier and ask them to fix the problem? Or at least pump the contaminated fuel out?

Otherwise, I suspect each time you take on (good) fuel, the existing fuel will be diluted and eventually the problem will resolve itself.

 

[LaBomba]

If you didn't have smoke before and it started when you took on fuel, the fuel is most likely the cause of the smoke.

I don't know how you got gasoline mixed with your fuel and I don't know what effect gasoline would have (except possibly reduced lubrication of injectors, etc.).

Can you go back to the fuel supplier and ask them to fix the problem? Or at least pump the contaminated fuel out?

Otherwise, I suspect each time you take on (good) fuel, the existing fuel will be diluted and eventually the problem will resolve itself.

I agree, I would be taking on more fuel as soon as there is room.

 

[Daddyo]

If you didn't have smoke before and it started when you took on fuel, the fuel is most likely the cause of the smoke.

I don't know how you got gasoline mixed with your fuel and I don't know what effect gasoline would have (except possibly reduced lubrication of injectors, etc.).

Can you go back to the fuel supplier and ask them to fix the problem? Or at least pump the contaminated fuel out?

Otherwise, I suspect each time you take on (good) fuel, the existing fuel will be diluted and eventually the problem will resolve itself.

There was some in the tanker's hose but I don't know yet how much. I think he may have cooked my injectors.

 

[FF]

What color is the smoke?

 

[sunchaser]

asap

Pump out bad fuel
Do an oil change
Change fuel filters
Pray

If you suspect gas in trucked in fuel water could be there too. Good luck and by the way- always buy fuel from a large on shore known supplier.

 

[Daddyo]

What color is the smoke?

White/grey

 

[Daddyo]

asap

always buy fuel from a large on shore known supplier.

I did/do

 

[jleonard]

I doubt there is enough gasoline to make a difference if it "may have been" only a couple of gallons. IF you think (lack of) lubricity is to blame you could add a quart of 2 cycle oil to improve it.
It could also be bad (low quality) diesel. I have seen this before.

You can always take a fuel sample and send it to an oil analysis lab.

 

[sunchaser]

I did/do

A truck with a hose is not a known on shore supplier. A Chevron sign on a dock is - the Coal Harbor floating barge excepted of course. Saving money can get expensive.

Last summer I blew an aftercooler with lots of grey white smoke due to water ingestion. Water is hard on injectors too.

 

[Larry M]

Last fall we took on 476 gallons of diesel in Trinidad. Lots of smoke that caused a "black" transom. For us it was the fuel. Trinidad does their own refining and no EPA to worry about. We've burned through over half of the fuel and the fuel burn numbers haven't changed.

I agree with jleonard. A little gas shouldn't hurt a diesel engine like a FL120. They can run on just about anything.

 

[Daddyo]

A truck with a hose is not a known on shore supplier. A Chevron sign on a dock is - the Coal Harbor floating barge excepted of course. Saving money can get expensive.

Last summer I blew an aftercooler with lots of grey white smoke due to water ingestion. Water is hard on injectors too.

I hear you. They are a known trusted supplier that I have used and many of the megayachts use.

 

[sunchaser]

Daddyo

Do you have an onboard fuel transfer system which would allow you to isolate the bad fuel in one or two tanks and then put good fuel in the others?

 

[rwidman]

Is it possible that the "white/gray smoke" is actually steam from water in the fuel?

 

[Daddyo]

I just talked with the delivery guy and I'm now confident it was less then a gallon of gas so it's not that. I have to believe it would be some water. I can isolate the tank but I need that fuel for my offshore passage. I guess I'll just burn through it. If you look at the video from the "underway today" thread then you will see the smoke I'm referring to. Nothing huge but definitely more then I've had in the past.

 

[rwidman]

I just talked with the delivery guy and I'm now confident it was less then a gallon of gas so it's not that. I have to believe it would be some water. I can isolate the tank but I need that fuel for my offshore passage. I guess I'll just burn through it. If you look at the video from the "underway today" thread then you will see the smoke I'm referring to. Nothing huge but definitely more then I've had in the past.

Be sure to keep checking your filters and drain any water you find.

 

[Daddyo]

I added what little bit of Sea Foam I had (6oz) and the smoke is half what it was I guess I'm off to sea after all

 

[Marin]

What are the ambient temperatures doing in your area? Our water-injection exhaust systems put out steam in the winter, none in the summer. The colder it is, the more steam comes from the exhaust. We've seen boats running in the winter with the entire back end of the boat enveloped in steam. For those boats with whatever exhaust systems they have, it's normal.

 

[Daddyo]

80s. Turns out the little bit of SF didn't do much anything.

 

[FF]

White , Grey smoke ,with a cold, high time engine is normal.

The compression losses from older cylinders create incomplete combustion , till the engine warms up, the cylinders go back to normal and the rings start to seal.

Is the engine temperature normal, after 15 min of operation?

Has the engine been out of service for months?

Pull the dip stick and wipe it on a paper towel.

If clear liquid spreads faster than the usual black oil , perhaps you have some diesel in the crankcase.
With a small engine (quarts not gallons of lube oil ) a change of oil might be an interesting experiment.

 

[Daddyo]

Diluted by better then half with new fuel and the smoke is about half.

 

[LaBomba]

Diluted by better then half with new fuel and the smoke is about half.

Sounds promising, hopefully one more fill will get rid of the majority of the problem. Hope your weather improves.

 

[Codger2]

Where do you find the time and signal to reply to all these questions? (Let me restate that) Where do you find the necessary WIFI or cell coverage to respond to all these questions. ( At the speed you are traveling, you definitely have the time.

 

[Carolena]

I wonder if it could have anything to do with the sulfur content. Sounds like there has been no performance issue. Just a thought, as we will probably never know.

 

[Daddyo]

Where do you find the time and signal to reply to all these questions? (Let me restate that) Where do you find the necessary WIFI or cell coverage to respond to all these questions. ( At the speed you are traveling, you definitely have the time.

Yep, plenty of time. Verizon just about covers the whole east coast with 4G. The smoke really might not be any better after all. I talked to Brian at American Diesel and he wasn't sure at all either. The thought might be some fouled injectors. As soon as I can get some I'm going to put in some fuel treatment snake oil. My fuel burn does appear to be higher.

 

[rwidman]

.............Verizon just about covers the whole east coast with 4G. ............

I bought a Verizon hot spot for my trip from SC to FL last May and never lost signal.

 

[Daddyo]

I use the hotspot app I downloaded for my phone instead of paying V $1 per day for their app. Works perfectly.

 

[Al]

Daddyo- Surprised with your comment on Sea Foam not making a difference, however 6 oz in what must be a 60 gallon tank plus (guess on my part). Usually a pint can to 20 gallons is recommended. I have used this as a normal fueling task, adding a cup full with every fueling which averages around 20 gallons. While not a full pint the tank is continuous being fueled and Sea Foam added. While I don't have the issue, I don't have ANY issue either.
As to water in the fuel being burned, I'd be surprised you have a issue with water assuming you have either a 2 or 10 micron filter with collection bottom.(Rathon?)
If both engines are taking fuel from a single tank then the fuel is not smart enough to affect only one engine over the other. If the engine showing white is on a seperate tank and you have determined that it is water vapor, I'd tend to watch the coolent level on that engine for a head gasket leak. If each engine is on a separate tank and both tanks were filled with the same supply, it would seem that the gasoline would have been purged from the hose into the first tank if separate, or if a single tank with any volume, the gasoline would very little difference and in my opinion, not cause white steam. (Speaking from 15 years finishing as a Chevron Sales Representative)

Al Johnson-Ketchikan (Bridge to Nowhere) Alaska

 

[markpierce]

Grey smoke, in SE Alaska: