Fuel Doctor

Hi Guys

I placed this question in the Power Systems section then I relised that this product is made in Queensland.

Has anyone used it and what do you think of it.

Flybridge31 said:

Hi Guys

I placed this question in the Power Systems section then I relised that this product is made in Queensland.

Has anyone used it and what do you think of it.

Click to expand...

I prefer WA beer and SA wines

sunchaser said:

I prefer WA beer and SA wines

Click to expand...

Actually, WA does some lovely wines and SA a fine beer or two.

Back to the topic. I have spoken to the bloke who sells it(Fuel Doctor) a while ago.

He certainly believes in his product and I'm tempted to give it a go, as I am in the middle of cleaning out 30 odd years of rubbish in the bottom of my tanks. The attached photo's are not for the faint hearted.

The last photo is of samples my mechanic keeps to show customers the good ,the bad and the ugly, mine is the far left, pretty bad.

I am posting this second photo as one of the samples is of a locally made additive , from Victoria, that has separated from the diesel and apparently caused havoc to the injectors and cylinders of some boats who have used the product, serious havoc.

This certainly has nothing to do with 'Fuel Doctor', just a general heads up to do a little research first before adding anything to your fuel.

Edit-sorry the site won't allow me to attach any photo's

That's exactally why I'm asking for end users advice.

Thanks for the info

Don't know much about The Fuel Doctors treatment but know that he does good work on cleaning tanks and polishing existing fuel.

I personally use Soltron as a fuel additive and have done for about 10 years. swear by it.
Every so often add another brand to diversify the treatment.

Cheers
Benn

I have a document from Volvo that states that no additive is necessary and then in the next paragraph recommends two additives. Sounds like something the government would write.

Most experts seem to feel that you should only use a fuel additive to treat a specific problem. If you don't have a problem, you shouldn't use an additive.

Many of us use fuel additives "just in case" but it's a matter of faith, there's no proof that any of them do anything positive.

Greetings,
Mr. r. "... there's no proof that any of them do anything positive" EXACTLY!!! At one point I was adding Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) to my tanks not necessarily because I was trying to address any particular problem but simply because "everyone" seemed to be adding something to their fuel. At one point I asked Bob Smith (Lehman Guru) about MMO and he said it wasn't necessary but it wouldn't do any harm. Well, at $$ per bottle and no noticeable changes/improvements I gave up using the stuff. As has been mentioned in previous threads IF adding "Magic does everything" snake oil to your tanks gives you a sense of security, then by all means go ahead. For me, regular filter changes and a close eye on any water/sediment accumulation does the job.

We have had a few fuel and tank cleaning experts on this board that have confirmed RT's assessment.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
As has been mentioned in previous threads IF adding "Magic does everything" snake oil to your tanks gives you a sense of security, then by all means go ahead. .

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Which is exactly why I said WA beer and SA wines are great, the precise outcome is known! To be happy:

1. Manually clean your tanks,
2. keep the water out and
3. insure good fuel

Adding stuff won't hurt but it sure doesn't make up for ignoring one of the above 3.

Regarding fuel additives, I do not think they are needed for engines that are being used and whose fuel is not being stored for very long. Usually.

My truck, 7.3L diesel, only gets a fuel additive when the temperature drops to single digits. The fuel distributor should have added enough additive when the delivery truck was loaded but to make sure the fuel will not gel in really cold weather, especially if the temperature is dropping drastically, I use an anti gel additive. I doubt I do this more than a couple of times every few years.

My tractor can sit for weeks/months before between usages due to work and weather issues. Worse, the tractor can have fuel bought in the fall when temperatures were high, thus little to no anti gel additive, and still have that same fuel in the winter when the temperatures drop. As a result, I do use a fuel additive with the tractor diesel fuel every time I fill up. I also use a biocide from time to time just because it is easier to prevent an infection than cure one and the fuel sits for awhile. No sign of a problem so far. If I used the tractor engine as much as my truck, I would not use that much additive.

The only additive I think is required is anti gel for cold weather and biocide. At least for quality fuel.

Later,
Dan

I tend to agree with most of the comments made. I looked at the Fuel Doctor web site and the demo video was interesting.

As was stated most experts seem to feel you should only add an additive to treat a problem.

I've got water in my tank. I think I've fixed the problem but I've still got water in my tank. You guys know how hard it is to empty a couple of hundred litres of fuel and dispose of it.

I agree I keep an eye on the filters and empty them or change them as required. It's when one engine stops out at sea that I lose my S---.

It has been suggested to manually clean the tank. What does that mean? How do you do it?

Keep water out. Totally agree.

Insure good fuel. You guys know as well as I do you have no control of whats coming out of the bowser.

Fuel in my boat sits around longer then it does in my car. I have no need to add an additive in my car.

Look for commercial fuel polishers. They will empty the fuel, cut inspection holes in your tanks, clean out the spooge and reinstall the filtered/cleaned fuel with nice new inspection plates on your tanks. When they are empty, you can also change that old gate valve for a ball valve, add a site tube and even add a drain to drain water etc out.

Wow, that is scary looking stuff

I use a Gulfcoast filter system to polish the fuel, it removes moisture and traps the ashphate type sludge that settles out of diesel fuel over time. This has change my Racor filter element changes to yearly only because the filter paper may degrade if used for a longer period of time. With the price of fuel purifying is the way to go not additives.
Bill

It's all snake oil. Two things to add, only when a problem presents itself. Straight Biocide if the bug appears and ethanol if the water cannot be 100% mechanically removed from the tanks.
I fitted 10k worth of furl computers to a clients small ship. Shortly after he trialled several different additives that claimed all sorts of miracles of less smoke, better fuel consumption etc. End result, abosultely no difference in performance but a considerable hole left in the owner's wallet. These additives will do NOTHING for a well maintained engine.
The client rung me recently to tell me he had been using the additives in his truck and had noticed a difference in fuel consumption on the onboard computer. I told him the difference was I was maintaining his ships, not his truck. He got the trucks nozzles replaced (90 000km) and all was good.

Sure fire way to avoid fuel problems ..... use it.

I'm going to come back to my original question.

Has anyone used this product from Fuel Doctor?

This product was written up, and advertised (nexus likely) in Afloat Mag. this month, probably where Ron saw it. Products like this always draw the "snake oil" critics. There is at least one past thread discussing the several types of product and how they operate. I`ve not used Fuel Doctor but the advert and edit piece say it has been around a while and is used commercially in bulk fuel storage. I currently use "Fuelmaster", used something else until it got banned for causing cancer in lab rats. I think both helped (maybe not the rats though), the now banned product came recommended by my then diesel mechanic, highly competent, ex Navy, not at all gullible, cleaned up a dirty tank in my previous boat.
In fairness, no substitute for a physical tank clean, but worth a try, you`ll know soon enough from the filters and drainage if it is helping. Maybe check Fuelmaster`s site too, for a comparison.

Why is it always anecdotal evidence like "my mechanic recommends it" rather the mechanics themselves coming out and recommending it? Trust me, I've been responsible for burning more fuel than most of you will ever see and large commercial operators simply do not use the stuff because it doesn't work (except where there is an existing problem with bug and/or water). When that is the case then much cheaper, better generic alternatives are available. Any commercial operator that does use snake oil and claims a benefit is running with poorly maintained engines to start with. If they think using an additive is the answer they need to change their engineering staff and crew. But feel free to use it and advise others to use it, no skin off my nose and could even be bucks in my pocket.

Nightcap, if you make a $ from me spending $50 over 2-3 years on a fuel additive, that`s your good fortune.
Comment it is not the mechanic saying it but the boat owner, what`s that about? I don`t see him using TF. If I write that`s what he told me, be assured, in my case, it`s what he told me.
Now let`s see if anyone can answer the OP`s question, now posed twice, rather than criticize him exploring the concept.

I must confess I have not used Fuel Dr, but was advised by my diesel mechanic to use this, and all has been well.

Chemtech: Fuel Additives

And I let my tanks sit less than half full for ages and hardly ever change my filters, (because they don't seem to need it), but I believe the fact my tanks are linked and always self-level and both draw from the bottom of the tank, is probably my best protection. (Nordhavn also follow this principle I believe), as I hardly ever have more than a tspnful of water from the primary fuel filter bowl, and the engine never runs rough - ever. Oh bugger, I've probably jinxed myself now….

As I said, the evidence is ONLY ever anecdotal, therefore it has no credibility.