45Gunner
Active Member
- Sep 22, 2019
- 191
- Boat Info
- 2000 460 Sundancer. Garmin 8612 XSV, GHC 20 Autopilot, GMI 20, 215 VHF, GC 12, Fantom Radar.
- Engines
- Twin 450 Diamond Series 6CTA 8.3M Cummins.
When my car gets to 1/2 a tank, I top it off.
When I had airplanes, I topped the fuel tanks off before putting the plane to bed. It helped prevent condensation i.e., water collecting in the fuel tanks.
Back in the days when I had gasoline powered boats, I put the boat to sleep with 1/2 tanks unless I knew I was going on an extended cruise in which case the tanks would get topped off.
Now I have this beautiful boat with Cummins diesel engines and have been studying about diesels for several days now. Water in the fuel is a big deal. Here in South Florida, especially during the "winter" the sun can heat the boat up during the day and as soon as the sun sets, the temperatures drop setting up a recipe for condensation. My game plan is to top off the fuel tanks after each outing in order to help prevent condensation from forming. I was wondering how many of you do the same thing or if you have a different method, I would be grateful if you shared it with me. Full tanks means about another 3,200 pounds added on to the gross weight of the boat. The big cummins engines don't seem to notice the extra weight as the boat gets right up on plane. In the world of jet airplanes, the engines burn 10% more fuel to carry the extra weight. In other words you pay a penalty to carry extra fuel. I'm more concerned with clean fuel that burning a little extra fuel. Your thoughts?
Just as a side note, flight planning a jet means enough fuel to get to your destination considering winds and weather. Additional fuel to get to the furtherest alternate airport and enough fuel to hold for 45 minutes (Domestic flights). Airlines tightly regulate the amount of fuel carried because of the 10% burn penalty. And if you didn't know it, flight planning fuel is done by 1000's of pounds and not gallons.
When I had airplanes, I topped the fuel tanks off before putting the plane to bed. It helped prevent condensation i.e., water collecting in the fuel tanks.
Back in the days when I had gasoline powered boats, I put the boat to sleep with 1/2 tanks unless I knew I was going on an extended cruise in which case the tanks would get topped off.
Now I have this beautiful boat with Cummins diesel engines and have been studying about diesels for several days now. Water in the fuel is a big deal. Here in South Florida, especially during the "winter" the sun can heat the boat up during the day and as soon as the sun sets, the temperatures drop setting up a recipe for condensation. My game plan is to top off the fuel tanks after each outing in order to help prevent condensation from forming. I was wondering how many of you do the same thing or if you have a different method, I would be grateful if you shared it with me. Full tanks means about another 3,200 pounds added on to the gross weight of the boat. The big cummins engines don't seem to notice the extra weight as the boat gets right up on plane. In the world of jet airplanes, the engines burn 10% more fuel to carry the extra weight. In other words you pay a penalty to carry extra fuel. I'm more concerned with clean fuel that burning a little extra fuel. Your thoughts?
Just as a side note, flight planning a jet means enough fuel to get to your destination considering winds and weather. Additional fuel to get to the furtherest alternate airport and enough fuel to hold for 45 minutes (Domestic flights). Airlines tightly regulate the amount of fuel carried because of the 10% burn penalty. And if you didn't know it, flight planning fuel is done by 1000's of pounds and not gallons.