Diesel water sensor system

I did not look to see, but if your boat has dual Racors.......i.e. 2 per main engine....you have more than enough capacity for trapped fuel impurities. The Racor is a turbine style filter that has a floating ball in it to prevent water from reaching the primary filter on the engine. About the worst thing you will experience with your set up is that someday in about 5 years, you might clog up the filters. The engines will slow when that happens so carry spare elements on the boat with you and learn how to change them, prime the filters and drain off the water and microbial build up.

A single Racor does the same job but it just has 1/2 the capacity for flow, so when you get a clog, it happen sooner.

The boat really does no need anything ewlse unless you folks over there have very poor quality fuel.

If you add anything, add a fuel polishing system....... like Walker's.....and if you do not now, consider treating the fuel you put in your boat with a biocide. Depending upon Yanmar's recommendations, you may also need an additive disperse moisture and to lubricate the fuel pump and injectors when ultra low sulpher arrives.
 
Thanks Frank for the info,

I (only) have the single Racor system Racor 500MA Fuel Filter on my engine's...
We don't have poor quality fuel over here, but when I filled the diesel tanks for winterize, I forgot to close one of the deck plate caps real tide.
I don't know if a lot of water leaked in the tank, but I want to take no risk.

The walker system is nice but a little bit expensive I think.

What kind of additive for disperse moisture and to lubricate the fuel pump and injectors you recommend? (brand)
I looked in to the Yanmar manual but they don't mention an additive especially for Yanmar.

Thanks Peter
 
Peter,

I use products made by Power Service Inc.:


http://www.powerservice.com/

Look under "Products".

I favor them because I have diesel trucks, cars, tractors, construction and off road equipment, and 2 fuel tanks, as well as the boat. Power Service products work in all the applications so I can buy in bulk to save money and they work extremely well.

I use 3 products:

Bio-Kleen Biocide in everything, all the time in maintenance doses and once a year in tanks here and on the boat to "shock" them.

I use Diesel 9-1-1 at the same time I shock the tanks to break up the microbe chains which allows them to pass thru the filters and injectors.

And, I use Diesel Kleen+ Cetane Boost all the time in everything to continually dispurse water and for fuel system lubrication. It is ULSD compliant and has less then 15 PM of sulphur and provides the lubricity that the fuel no longer has.

We have large temperature swings and even though our fuel quality is very god, we still get some microbial growth due to the moisture that condenses in the tanks. What I do works very cost effectively here. Read the product descriptions and chose what you need for your situation.
 
Thanks for the info!!

I am going to do my homework whit this.

Because I want to tread my diesel anyway.

The problem is that I don't know how many water leaked in the tank.
It can be very little or half a gallon.

What would you do beside the Biocide and additive treatment?
My tanks don't have a drain on them.

Is there a test?

Peter
 
If the cap was on and just not tightened, probably very little water entered. I would use a diesel additive designed specifically for dispursing water. If you can get Power Service products, use all 3 I mentioned....the biocide to kill or prevent microbial growth, the 9-1-1 to dispurse water and the Diesel Kleen to help the clean up and lunricate the fuel system components.

The key factors are to kill and prevent microbial growth and to disperse the water with an additive that allows the water to pass thru the system.

If you do have a lot of water in the system, it will show up in the Racor, so check the bowl frequently and drain off any you see. If you continue to pick up water in the side you left open, you may have to get a fuel cleaning service to come to the boat and clean the tank for you.

But, I doubt you got much water in the tank............
 
Ok Frank thanks!

I don't know how many water had entered in my tanks.
The cap was really not tightened, and the climate here is much different than in Florida.
I can tell you that it rained here for 2 weeks.
Also a problem is that my tanks are completely full for the winter and that I almost don't move my boat for the coming months.
So I don't think that putting an additive in my tanks is a solution right now.
Maybe only the biocide, but I don't know if it mixes enough whits the diesel.

Checking the racor filters also only have sense if I am cruising again.

Peter
 
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