Our trials and tribulations with Pat's contaminated diesel have more than once graced this blog recently. However, today was the day when we engaged the services of a fellow boater and friend of Bob's that has the kit to test and clean contaminated diesel systems.
Our own checks for water were quite basic and certainly engine performance indicated that all was not well with the plumbing.
Initial checks of the contents of each of Pat's fuel tanks revealed something of a chamber(s) of horrors. The tanks have sloped bottoms, so sludge and water would tend to settle there. Pat had not been disturbed prior to the visit so as to fully settle out the fuel.
A suction pump and pipe inserted to the bottom extracted much that in no way resembled diesel. It was possible to sweep the area and slowly collect the grunge. Often the pipe would block with large particles and then had to be back flushed before continuing.
Port side tank - left, Starboard side tank right
This process continued until we were happy that the worst of the larger rubbish had been removed as the next stage employed the use of a fine filter to completely clean the diesel. The fuel was first cleaned in the port side tank, followed a while later with the starboard tank. Due to limited access to this tank, suction took place in the starboard tank with the return to the port tank. The flow then returned through the coupling pipe between the tanks.
Looking more like red diesel
Whilst all this was going on, a couple of other jobs occupied our time. Firstly, an additional and longer flexible coupling in the exhaust pipe was fitted. We were suffering from bad vibration resonances at certain engine revs, especially tickover, getting coupled into the various cabin components. To decouple these, the larger joint made an impressive improvement in isolating the engine from the craft. We have a small leak which will require fixing.
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