Best Diesel Fuel Water remover

Hi All, I have a trawler with Iron fuel tanks. Tanks were cleaned 2 years ago manually & are in good shape. I have the boat in winter storage in Virgina & I always keep the tanks full to keep condensation out. I was thinking of adding a additive to remove any trace of water. What would be a good product for this & what product would be best for iron tanks? Thanks for you input. Gary

I don't think you want to use an additive as it would just emulsify the water and would then damage your injectors. The best way is to use a filter, like a Racor, that will trap and let the water settle out.

Meridian is absolutely right.


All water removal additives for diesel are nothing more than the same ingredient as Dawn dish detergent. They emulsify the water into the oil (sort of the reverse of what happens when you wash your hands). But if you have significant water emulsified in your diesel, you might blow an injector tip when that water violently expands to steam.


So don't emulsify the water, let it settle out in a Racor water separator filter.


David

Gary, agree with others that an emusifying agent is not a good idea. Also they don't tend to work unless tank is agitated, which is not easy on the hill.

If you have tank cleanout panels or can lance tank from the top all the way to the bottom, do that. Suck whatever is on the bottom corner of the tank.

Eric.

BTW, how is the boat doing otherwise??

Thank you all for the replies. Eric, the boat is doing fine, spending the winter at Atlantic Yacht Basin, Chesapeake VA.

For 15+ years, I been using 911 diesel additive red bottle,, you can buy at most automotive stores. To absorbs water/moisture back into they fuel. Never had any fuel problems or injector. I have polished the fuel each year with no water in the Racor filters.

Why do people not use a desiccant air filter on the fuel tanks, oil vent, and transmission vents?

Most of the dryers you can empty out the silica or calcium sulfate into a pan and bake before reusing every few months.

I know you still have to worry about buying fuel with water in it, but I do not think that happens all that often from quality fuel sources.

Phil Fill said:

For 15+ years, I been using 911 diesel additive red bottle,, you can buy at most automotive stores. To absorbs water/moisture back into they fuel. Never had any fuel problems or injector. I have polished the fuel each year with no water in the Racor filters.

Click to expand...

Phil,
I think you have a great source of CLEAN diesel fuel, and that has more to do with your trouble free 15 yrs than the fact that you use this additive.
There is no substitute for proper filtration, and the new emissions standards have really upped the ante in fuel cleanliness.
However, those of us who still run old school injection can benefit from the new technology in filtration, there is no excuse any more for feeding your beast dirty fuel.
Seaboard Marine offers nice kits and accessories to upgrade any system.
Their website offers some informative articles on the subject, well worth the read.

There are both emulsifiers and De emulsifiers that work differently.

A de emulsifier will knock the water out of suspension and drop it to the bottom of the tank.

A fuel tank with a sump, or even just a low point drain can use this.

The emulsifier mixes the water with the fuel , making it far harder to separate with any filter.

Be sure any pump sucks the fuel thru the fuel filter , not push it thru.

Gar

You and most of us are good candidates for additives. Why? As kapnd said, we currently have no fuel issues and by using additives can emphatically state "I've been using additive XXX and all is good." This is called reverse logic. I fall prey to it all the time.

kapnd said:

Phil,
I think you have a great source of CLEAN diesel fuel, and that has more to do with your trouble free 15 yrs than the fact that you use this additive.
There is no substitute for proper filtration, and the new emissions standards have really upped the ante in fuel cleanliness.
However, those of us who still run old school injection can benefit from the new technology in filtration, there is no excuse any more for feeding your beast dirty fuel.
Seaboard Marine offers nice kits and accessories to upgrade any system.
Their website offers some informative articles on the subject, well worth the read.

Click to expand...

You might be right about having clean fuel source but fuel will deteriorate over time. Its the sepatating over time that is my main concern, as the filters will clean the fuel.

The Eagles tanks are 37 years old, there for I am more concerned about the tanks having water/moisture causing rust than clean fuel. There for using an additive with the main purpose is to absorb water back into the fuel. Not water/moisture no rust or algea. Tank intakes will not draw water dirt off the bottom unless the fuel is agitated.mixed. However I do polish the fuel thru out the year especially in stormy weather and try to turn the fuel every couple of years.

In colder climates the same kind of additives are used in the fuel right out of the pumps to prevent moisture/water from freezing and injector damage. So I figure a little more will not hurt.

If I had fuel tanks that were going on 40 years old and questionable, I'd be straight away building me some new tanks this winter.

This may help.

Diesel Tank Snake Water Absorber | B3C Fuel Solutions

The very best water prevention additive is complete access to the inside of the tank. Then you can actually clean them. No more worries.

kulas44 said:

The very best water prevention additive is complete access to the inside of the tank. Then you can actually clean them. No more worries.

Click to expand...

That's the answer right there. A proper "sump" with a drain will cure 90% of tank fouling issues. What is frustrating is that most boat mfrs, even some of the higher end ones, fail to make any sort of provision for this.

Ski in NC said:

That's the answer right there. A proper "sump" with a drain will cure 90% of tank fouling issues. What is frustrating is that most boat mfrs, even some of the higher end ones, fail to make any sort of provision for this.

Click to expand...

I am not a yacht builder, and don't know ABYC rules and such, but I have been told that bottom drain fittings are a no-no, presumably due to danger of leaks?

Greetings,
Mr. k. "...presumably due to danger of leaks?" I strongly suspect that is the reason. By the way, ABYC listings are only suggestions which yacht manufacturers have agreed to abide by, NOT rules. Unfortunately, insurance companies consider them rules and act accordingly wrt. surveyors comments. Don't get me started on our last insurance survey where the surveyor started quoting ABYC "rules". Just been informed by my off site expert the no bottom drain issue only applies to gasoline tanks

"And thirdly, the Code is more what you’d call “guidelines” than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner."

So build in a sump with a pipe plug directly above. Make it accessible and one can use a hand pump (or outboard squeezball) once a season to suck out any water.
Solves the problem without a bottom fitting.


OR simply mount the tank at a slight angle so the water goes to a corner in lieu of a sump.

Capt.Bill11 said:

"And thirdly, the Code is more what you’d call “guidelines” than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner."

Click to expand...

Tell that to your insurance carrier and if you have a loss good luck. We had an insurance audit, spent 6 hours going thru the boat. 19 items not meetinh ABYC code, had 60 days to bring up to code, and 3 grand later. BUT it was worth it as I sleep better.

Old saying, s happy tank is a used tank. Mild steel is better than aluminum or SS for fuel tank. A maintained and a used mild steel will last a long time. I am hoping for another 40 years.

Keep Water Out in the First Place

The video in this link was shot a few years ago on our sailboat. The product has since changed a bit to a full metal enclosure while growing evidence supports not needing to "recharge" the desiccant. The H2Out inventor says you can essentially install and forget about it as the silicon continuously regenerates its adsorption capabilities.

H2Out AVD Buy Tested

Mild steel, or black iron as the boat brokers prefer to call it, is a decent material for a fuel tank.....as long as, it was installed correctly, primed and painted correctly, never gets wet, never has water sitting in it, etc. etc, etc. It cannot compare to 5086 aluminum. 304 SS is even better than mild steel. 316 SS even more so. Both are seldom used due to stress cracking in the corners and bends and crevice corrosion. Of course Monel is the very best but now its about like unobtainium, expensive. If i were looking at a boat with steel tanks I would factor in my own figures for replacement and subtract that from the asking price. Steel tanks in a boat over 20 years old are on borrowed time. Good luck, hope it happens to the next owner.

"Of course Monel is the very best but now its about like unobtainium, expensive."

Now with copper and nickle down about 50% Monel should make a comeback , as even the cheapest boat assemblers will want to tout "forever" no fuel problems.

"Steel tanks in a boat over 20 years old are on borrowed time. Good luck,"

Perhaps, but if properly built and installed AND was built as a fuel tank, with a proper sump, only the sump might be rusty inside, if not maintained..

kulas44 said:

If i were looking at a boat with steel tanks I would factor in my own figures for replacement and subtract that from the asking price. Steel tanks in a boat over 20 years old are on borrowed time. Good luck, hope it happens to the next owner.

Click to expand...

I have seen SS, Al, FRP and steel tanks all go early or last well beyond 20 years. It depends upon design, installation, care and build quality.

In industry steel tanks for diesel can last for half a century, parked outside on a concrete slab. Lots of myths and general statements on this subject. My favorite real life forays into this subject are old tractors and trucks with half century old steel tanks still looking and running good. Ever seen a vintage diesel Mercedes with anything but a steel tank?

A great artical from Practical Sailor on fuel additives.

Having been using Bio-for, I learned that I should have also been using an anti-corrosion additive.

Especially since I had not been keeping both tanks full mainly for financial reasons.

Lastly with the increased use of bio diesel, I don't understand why one would not add some additives to control moisture.

Wxx3 said:

I learned that I should have also been using an anti-corrosion additive.

.

Click to expand...

Didn't pull the article up, what is corroding?