I didn't provide any boat-specific recommendations for adding a redundant fuel/water separator because there are just too many factors, such as what kind of boat it is, what kind of fuel/water separator you already have, how much space you have, what is locally available, and whether you want a genuine "twin" of your existing unit or a cheap knock-off. The $30 solution variant is a simple straight bypass of the fuel/water separator and allowing the fuel filter on the engine to do all the work. This will run your engine for a while and get you out of trouble but I strongly prefer spending a bit more for the second fuel/water separator. The $30 three-way fuel valve in the video is also not a specific product recommendation, but the cheapest three-way fuel valve I could find on Amazon. I would recommend spending slightly more for a higher quality unit. I simply bought what they had at my local chandlery which was slightly more expensive, but not much more. You can also replace your existing fuel/water separator with a pre-built unit with two filters and a switch between them, but again that depends on the above factors, and they are much more expensive than just "twinning" your existing unit with a three way fuel switch. I really just wanted to motivate sailing yacht owners to explore relatively inexpensive ways to add resiliency to their fuel systems, like adding redundant fuel/water separators and tank inspection hatches, both of which are straightforward retrofits and one of the best bang-for-buck investments you can make for the safety of your boat.
Excellent suggestion. And to lend even more validity: this is standard practice on all commercial ships. We install dual fuel filters with a valve to switch between them. The whole thing comes as one unit. And as an added bonus, it allows you to change one fuel filter while still running the engine through the second filter. For anyone that wants the prebuilt dual units, search for duplex fuel filter.
Yes a pre-built duplex is definitely the best solution but as you noted a bit more costly. I really don’t understand why this isn’t standard on pleasure yachts too as it’s a small cost in the grand scheme of things.
Isolated each filter with 2 valves instead. If you clog one filter, you are likely to clog a second one. With each filter having isolation valves, you can change filters with the engine running.
You’re absolutely right - there are varying degrees of complexity that you can build into the system and I just showed the cheapest and simplest option. With a second valve you can change the dirty filter while underway but still have to bleed it, which means it may or may not be available immediately, depending on your setup. Still less downtime than doing a full install with no engine!
@@SailingTipsCaone can easily fit a lift pump for immediate bleeding, they cost nothing on eBay. Great that this discussion is taking place, so many good ideas forthcoming - you've opened a can of worms ;)
@@gurglejug627 The primary Racor separator housings on my boat had Racor housings with manual lift pumps to aid with bleeding which are super useful. Still takes longer than flipping a switch to a second pre-bled unit but I agree this is a discussion that needed to take place!
I've been there! Rushing below to change the filter before we ended up on the rocks. I succeeded, but it was close and your solution would have been great to have at that time. I did learn to always have the sails ready to hoist and an anchor ready to deploy any time that we were underway. Never go motoring along with the sails covered and the anchor stowed away, because you never know when the iron jib will stop working.
Yep...did that to our current boat about 20 years ago. Went a step further. 2 Racor 500 filters and 2 electric fuel pumps in parallel. Easy switch over if needed. Just bought a new boat that does not use an electric pump pump but will be adding a 2nd filter unit. But one of the first jobs will be pulling the tank out, cleaning it thoroughly and adding an access panel! Cheers and really great tip. Mike
Buy a cheap generic racor and a 12v fuel transfer pump & add a long pex wand to it and you have your self a tank cleaner to suck up all the nasty stuff from the bottom of your tank ! 😊
@jackdbur Yes...basically fuel polishing set up. Only reason I have ever wrestled out a tank is to have room to cut an access panel in the top. Every boat I have owned did not have an access panel!!! Should be standard. LOL! Cheers! Mike
I have a bypass filter system on my boat, but I don’t count on it to save me if my tank is full of sludge. The second one will plug up very rapidly. The answer to this problem is to keep your tank clean and inspected yearly. Put a biocide in it, if there’s any question as to whether there’s water in the fuel.
@@SailingTipsCa - My concern is that is conditions are bad enough to block up a filter, they are bad enough to block up a second filter too. Admittedly they may buy 10 or 15 minutes which might make a huge difference between safe water and being on the rocks. I guess it depends on the level of contaminants. The second set might be good for days or weeks. We use a product that dissolves the bugs and the engine then burns them in the diesel. The problem with this method is that our filters are _so_ clean that we are tempted to put them back on 😄(We always change them, but it is tempting!) Perhaps a follow up vid on bug killers?
@@SailingYachtSaltyLass Yes the amount of time the second filter buys you is limited and depends entirely on how contaminated the tank is. Even if you have to sail towards safe harbour it does give you some piece of mind that you’ll be able to maneuver inside the breakwater when you get there. Good suggestion on bug killers!
What I appreciate about not being able to afford a sailboat until maybe 5 or 6 down the line, is all the valuable information like this that I get to know about in the meantime! :)
Thank you. I don't have a sailboat, hope to have one some day but I understood how you made your case - explaining the impact, the process, the cause of the problem and the workaround. Many thanks
I live in the tropics so it's also best to have your tank full as often as possible. The air in the tank condensed into water as it cools nightly and taints the fuel.
@@SailingTipsCawhich won't work. The diesel you put in your boat has already absorbed water. More diesel (full tank) is more water. Good tank design, with a sump & drain valve to empty the water out is the only way, along with biocide treatment and a good separator & filter system
I live in the Philippines, an area well known for high humidity. I'll try to explain why condensation in fuel from the air is mostly a myth. At 30C/86F the most water air can contain at 100% humidity is 30 grams/cubic metre. A 100 gallon tank = 0.38 cubic meter. At 30C/86F, an empty 100 gallon tank could contain a maximum of 11.4 grams of water in the form of vapour, or 0.4 oz. So at the extreme end, the most water that could condensate out in an empty 100 gallon tank is less than half an ounce. Any engine could easily deal with this minuscule amount of water in the fuel. With my 40 gallon tank, the amount of condensation inside the tank is so small that I never once worry about it.
@@deerfootnz Keeping your tank full will clearly not have any effect on diesel that has already absorbed water before you put it in there! Yes a good sump/drain system is helpful and “easy” to design into a custom boat but may not be so easy to retrofit to a production boat.
@@NotExpatJoe It’s not always clear where the water comes from but as you noted you’re certainly not going to accumulate a large amount of condensation quickly, but rather it will take considerable time, depending on both the humidity, the difference between day and night temperatures etc. So let’s say your tank is half full and accumulates 5 grams of water per day. Not much at once but it could add up over time, accumulating a bit with each heating/cooling cycle. It would be interesting to do some empirical tests to see how much actually accumulates!
Great idea however just changing to a clean filter may not bring instant relief to the problem. Usually, you'll need to bleed the system before the engine will run again so learning that skill is very important.
Yes knowing how to bleed is very important! The idea here is to have both circuits pre-bled so you can just switch over to the fresh filter if the first one is blocked. This all assumes the engine stops due to a blockage in the filter and not sucking air into the system somehow.
Well said. Another option is a switch valve to an easy to clean 'day tank'. Thanks for a very good idea. Note also that filling with diesel from floating pontoon fuel stations in harbours means loads of muck coming into your diesel tank after rough weather. We came across northern Europe from Germany where we fitted an inspection hatch and polished the inside of the tank, to the UK in rough winter weather - after just 2 fill ups from floating diesel stations the filters blocked repeatedly - we used 5 new filters -no exagerration - after the engine stopped several times, twice in dangerous circumstances. That's just how bad marina filling stations are. I will implement what you suggest, but from a separate tank with a separate filter system i think. Nice one :)
Yes the day tank is a great idea! There are also some pretty good water/crud separating funnels that can help on the filler side which I like to use in unfamiliar fuelling locations.
A Baja Fuel Filter, used when filling your tank, can keep the junk from getting into the boat's Fuel tank. It is an aluminum cylinder with 3 or 4 filter stages inside. The filter stages are easily removed for cleaning
As a diesel owner who ran used fryer oil, I had similar problems. Resolved the same way with a redundant filter and valve I could flip on the side of the road and continue on my way. Excellent advice.
Thanks! Just curious - did you have issues sourcing used fryer oil in your travels abroad or did you mostly sail within a local region with known “supply chains”?
@@SailingTipsCa Those have been done. FWIR the weak link is the computer that overheats. 180*F fuel will raise the fuel system temperature and adjacent electronics. Become a good customer of a sushi place. they have the cleanest fryer oil.
@ Good tip on the sushi place! My truck already has the PMD (computer) relocation kit to move it away from the heat. I’ll read up on whether or not this might be sufficient. Thanks!
If you spend a bit more and put in a 500 series Racor fuel water separator you can change the filter in 5 minutes of less or just break down and buy a Racor duplex separator unit which combines a valve and two filter/separator units. It isn't going to cost $30 though. What I would never have on my boat is one of those filters with a screw on element on the bottom. Better yet is a day tank that only has filtered fuel in it. That tank, of course, needs its own fuel filters.
Completely agree with all your suggestions! Unfortunately many production boats come with the filters with the screw-on element as they’re the most inexpensive option. So you really need to decide, do I upgrade wholesale to a 500 series or just twin my existing unit. The expensive solution is clearly the best but both are better than doing nothing!
On one of the boats I ran we had vacuum gauges to show if we had a slowing down of fuel. I could change the filters in less than five minutes. Just turn the valve to a new one and didn't lose an engine. Then underway I would changer the old filter out and have it ready. Gman
Yes my marine diesel also has a vacuum gauge which helps be proactive. But it can still give a false sense of security if you’re only motoring in calm conditions…until you aren’t! Still a great addition and suggestion!
That's a great tip and something to really think about. Also might be a great idea just to have a spare one on hand so you can replace the dirty one. Have them easily accessible.
Good one. Another equally cheap safety fix is to have 2 other hoses with a pair of 3 way valves, connected into the system so that you can drop the ends of these hoses into a reserve fuel bottle or tank. It is far easier to keep a 20 liter drum of fuel clean ready for that storm emergency.
I have a day tank and 2 bunk tanks and 2 filters. The advantage of a day tank is you can filter clean fuel in and run the engine from that. The issue with using the main tank is getting crud stirred up from the bottom in rough seas. My day tank is gravity fed from the bottom of the tank so crud does not accumulate. In addition I can also loop in a fuel pump with a valve to polish it if I think there is crud in there e.g. at the beginning of the season. I also have an old perkins diesel with zero electronics. If it starts it will stay running unless you blow it up or run it out of fuel.
Thanks for this video... I have been adding redundancy all over my boat.... your diagram showed me that... my lift pump is in the wrong place! and I kinda knew it, but didn't know it... Thanks again
Yes nice to have redundancy! Many boats have the lift pump, secondary filter, and high-pressure pump all situated next to each other on the engine, but the lift pump can really be anywhere between there and the fuel tank Factors that would cause you to situate it closer to the fuel tank would be a really long fuel line or the tank sitting substantially below the engine.
I learned from running my own semi truck that algae would grow in the fuel tanks and start clogging up the fuel system. I started using Power Service, a product that killed the algae and I never had that issue again.
That's why I use a 15 gallon gravity tank. I fill from the tank, through the fuel/water separator, to the day tank. I first got through a Racor separator, then a second filter/separator, then to the tank. I just have to check the gravity tank so it doesn't go empty. it also has an angled bottom so when heeling the boat the exit fitting is never out of the fuel. ... I got this idea from the submarine I was on as their tanks are also filled with seawater as they use their fuel to maintain proper trim from an empty tank. Their separators are a cone type centrifugal system.
The other tip I saw, which would work well with your idea, is to keep a separate canister of diesel on bored that you know is clean. If your engine stops due to dirty diesel then detach the fuel pipe and insert it into the canister of clean diesel. Even better if you can do that through a separate clean fuel separator.
Good advise. We run a Racor twin filter with hot spare. One gets clogged, instant switch over to the spare. However, a stalled diesel engine can have many reasons why it won't run. Know your engine system inside out and keep on top of maintenance. I always advise doing it yourself rather than paying someone if you sail offshore or plan to go further afield. Not going to get an engineer to help you 100 mile offshore!
You’re absolutely right! Sometimes when you buy a boat it takes a bit of time to get to this point of knowing your engine inside and out but definitely what every sailor should strive for!
I raced a number of 34’-44’ sailboats for years. None had at least one Automatic Bilge Pump! Everyday started with a few pumps on the manual bilge pump but I can’t imagine hand pumping to save a boat! I have two Automatic/manual Bilge Pumps on my bassboat as well as an “Oh Crap Bilge Pump homemade setup with its own hose and power cord (with inline fuse) with battery clamps just in case someone else needed help fast. We used to treat the diesel regularly but racing sailboats may take years to run through a tank of diesel.
These days the racing safety regulations require you to have a certain number of bilge pumps, both automatic and manual, and like you I’d much rather have extra automatic pumping power because it could be exhausting to pump to save the boat! And yes racing boats consume very little fuel, unless there’s a long delivery for an event.
Wouldn't you want a second valve on the outputs of the filters where they re-combine back into the line that runs to the pump? That way you can fully isolate one filter or the other while the engine is running?
Yes a second valve would allow you to change a dirty filter while the engine is running, which the single valve doesn’t allow. But you’d still have to bleed the fresh filter after you’re done, which depending on your setup may be difficult. But definitely worth designing for this ability with a few extra parts if possible!
The industry standard Racor filter housings are available as dual mount units, with the second filter and the switch all integrated. And if you add a vacuum gauge (for about $30), you will always know the condition of the filter element. And if you make sure that the Racor primary filter (or whatever brand you choose) is finer than the engine-mounted filter, then you will never need to worry about the engine filter, (which is much harder to change.) And make sure that you have spare elements and a small supply of clean diesel available so that you can change a filter underway. And carry lots of spare elements, because -- if your tank has a lot of crud that gets stirred up -- you can plug a bunch of elements.
I added a Dryer-ite desiccant filter in the diesel vent line to stop any water from moist vent air getting to the tank. Color changers from blue to pink when it needs to be regenerated in an oven. You can buy them but I made mine from PVC pipe with screen at each end. No evidence of bugs in the fuel over 15 years and no need to top off the tank.
This explains why a friend of mine so highly recommended diesel biocide for our powerboats. It’s a fuel additive he claims we should be using regularly. I’m wondering if it could prevent the problem.
There are really good two stage filter systems that implement this but as you mentioned, its an upgrade totally dependent on the boat owner. I really like Keenan Filters - I believe they were once called Filter Boss. They have two stage filter systems that range from manual switching to automatic switching. I also use Fuel Right in my tank and have been in all three of my sailboats. It has proven to me that it cleans my tank and keeps it clean. I usually clean my tank using a siphon or polishing after my first treatment to remove all the water that is released from the sludge onc eit has cleaned the tank. Good safety vid!
As in the aviation world, redundancy is the key! This superb video should inspire owners to invest in their safety and peace of mind by implementing this upgrade! Far better to have it and never need to use it than wishing you'd installed it before setting out...
Rather than adding additional equipment to deal with dirty fuel, I have gone down the route of keeping a clean tank and avoiding stalls altogether. When we purchased our boat five years ago, i sampled the fuel from the lowest part of the tank to see if it had water. I did this with a probe which i smeared test paste on the bottom couple inches. The paste does not effect diesel but changes color if it comes into contact with water. This particular tank bottom is sloped down to the inspection area where the water would collect. We detected no water but if i did, i was prepaired to discuss cost reduction for the hassel of disposing of the fuel and cleaning of the tanks. I do not know the previous owners method of keeping water out of the tanks but it worked. i have taken the precaution of alway keeping the tank full when the boat is idle or in storage and adding bioside to make the fuel inhospitable to growth. I have never experienced a stall but cringe thinking about the times when even a short loss of engine power could have been very undesirable. If you are unsure if you're fuel is contaminated, a periodic view of the clear float bowl will help ( any trip while using the engine will provide a reilistic sample but the rougher the trip the better). I have not change filters in three years since the fuel system rebuild and approximately 300 hours later there is no water in the bowl and only a small amount of sediment which i believe is refinery/transportation dust contaminates. I do think there are circumstances where a second filter could save youre bacon as long as the operator understands its a short term work around and not a solution.
Good job on your diligence regarding fuel cleanliness - if only everybody was so diligent! And yes a second filter is really just a band-aid when you can’t do t hat. I did also eventually get around to cleaning my tanks “properly” and never had to change a primary filter after that.
Yes it’s definitely not a permanent solution to a dirty tank - just enough to get you out of trouble and back to safety - kind of like the mini spare tire in your car! Adding a second day tank is an excellent solution!
I rebuilt my iron fuel tanks out of epoxy and added a drainable sump that is plumbed with a three way valve to the oil change pump. This works exceptionally well since my tanks are three sided saddle style and slant to the sump. I also angled the return tube towards the sump to wash the gunk towards it. My pick-up is mounted on the top of the sump about three inches from the bottom. Because of the shape, this only leaves a couple of gallons of unreachable fuel.
Moisture does not always find its way into the tank. The seals on the tank fill port on deck eventually go bad or missing and people don't check them and slowly the bottom of the tank fills up with rainwater
I have this but last time I suffered an engine stop, the fuel suction pipe from the tank was blocked with fibers so it didn't help to shift to the other filter. It took me an hour to realize it, give up what I tried before and rig a temporary hose from the tank drain valve instead. Luckily I have two engines, otherwise I would have been in trouble. I cleaned the tanks two years ago and think this dirt came from the fuel station.
Yes a second separator definitely wouldn’t have helped with a plugged suction pipe unless each separator had its own to draw from the tank! Glad you had an extra engine and were able to make it back! I’m sure cleaning the tanks will help prevent recurrence.
I have strong doubts a boat could be saved in situations shown on pics … but the notion of doubling the fuel separator is excellent. I installed one myself.
Yes I wasn’t there (thankfully) and normally many things go wrong in order to wind up in such peril. Hopefully with a redundant primary fuel separator that is one less thing to go wrong!
I suck as a mechanic..So i fitted one of those soon after yacht purchase. I also fitted a day tank, to which only clean fuel goes onto. I don't really care much about the main tanks as i filter all fuel into days tank.
I worked with high level shipwrights for a lot of years on some sporky projects. I never learned how to sail, but I can build, thanks to the freaks that allowed me to apprentice under them. Old school technology made many Cape Horners mostly safe under a good skipper. I did a repair on a maybe 1920's Fife that got T-boned by a larger Mexican fishing boat. Demasted it and gave it a ribshot, but she didn't sink. The owner of the Fife was off the charts creepy and a lot of people said he had it coming. He had a solid boat.
If I could add my experience. I was in a force 8 gale with short steep seas and so yes, the fuel was really churned up. I can’t disagree with the idea of a second separator and changeover valve, my problem was clogged up pick up pipes in the tank. When I found the problem, the fix was straightforward but very uncomfortable. A second separator would not have prevented this from happening and in fact the separator, although dirty, was still operational.
This is the single most important sailing video you will ever watch, it could save you thousands of dollars or the life of you and your crew and your home. But the real lesson isn't another filter like he said, treat your tank life your life boat, because it is. Keep it clean and treated, and cycle it, and pressure test it. It's your Disaster Recovery powerplant. Use it more, cycle the fuel lubricate the seals and don't trust any hose over 5 years old, and get new stainless Triton clamps, every single time. I was also a mechanic. Don't forget your cutlass bearing and your packing either. And test those bilge pumps, even the manual ones. When you need them, they need to work. Use that engine! And get an EPIRB and a PLB and a lifeboat. USCG Vet and retired boat mechnanic.
Really depends on a number of factors, including the cleanliness and water content of the fuel going in, ambient humidity, temperature, whether more water is finding its way in from filler caps etc. All of that said if you give it a good cleaning such that there is no visible sludge left, and you are fueling up in a developed country, and there is no more water going in (other than humidity through the breather) you can probably go for a number of years without cleaning again. Best bet is to install an inspection port and look in there every six months or so.
LOL you could just do a fuel/water separator bypass for $30 to keep you off the rocks but I really did not want to recommend that because it’s far better to add the second unit!
My thoughts too. Racor 500FG, $145 plus pipes and plumbing, or forget all the baloney valve and plumbing and just fit a ready made duplex one, $1,429 from Scintex. Cheaper than a new boat!
See the Day Tank comments. That works. It's not uncommon for an entire case of filters to be "Not Enough" for a yacht that doesn't get shaken like Martini 4x a year
Yes preventative maintenance can definitely mitigate the requirement…but that doesn’t always happen and many of us buy our boats used and it takes a while to get to everything!!!
@@SailingTipsCa Well built and well maintained redundant systems are always more reliable since you don't have that single point of failure anymore, but in practice "redundant" systems are often left dormant and not operated for extensive periods of time, and then not actually working when required. For example, at a manufacturing plant I once worked in we had two air compressors of the same brand and about the same age. One of these compressors was the "backup" compressor. It was wired in with an automatic switch to turn on when the line pressure dropped. The other compressor could handle the entire demand for the plant and basically ran 24/7 for years straight. And it was on the annual PM schedule. One day we had storm damage that disrupted electrical service to the usual compressor, but the other compressor should have been fine. But when the pressure dropped and it it tried to kick on, the breaker kept blowing due to some kind of mechanical issue from sitting idle for a few years. Thus in my experience, maintenance aggressive PM schedules are more reliable than dormant "backup" systems.
I didn't like at all seeing how you took pictures of the disaster in Formentera Ibiza DANA. I was there and I was able to get out unscathed because I had a bigger engine. The idea of a double diesel line is very good, since seven would cause the engine to fail in the worst situations.
My experience with my boat and others is, the more joins, filters you add, the more chances of air leak developing and thats instant diesel stall. Much better to add conditioner to tank every fill like others said and every year open inspection hatch and suck anything if at all that has grown. Preventive (cleaning) is much better than reactive (backup). Also what about the second fine filter? If the primary is blocked, likely the sludge has been sucked through and made it to the fine filter as well. Also while some newer diesels, will self bleed, older ones dont and the line is under vacuum, often hard to bleed. I added a needle valve to the 2nd inlet of filter and connect when needed a diesel rated squeeze bulb. Now from jerry can I can prime the system to tank and bleed valve on block. Plus now I have spare fuel line and could plumb to jerry can if needed, pump water out of tank, do transfers, etc. If doing serious offshores, a valve on your breath line near the exit is probably a smart idea. In a roll over, water can find its way to the tank, its not uncommon to hear stories after roll overs of boats engines stalling shortly after starting. In bad weather close the breather valve, alert crew that it needs to be opened before starting.
Good suggestions thanks! You definitely don’t want unnecessary fittings, especially in inaccessible locations - I delivered a boat once that had air leaks for that very reason and we couldn’t find them. And you’re right pro-active is always better than reactive.
I have a 4 gallon day tank installed on my 30hp Yanmar. It solves a lot of these problems and gives me about four hours of clean fuel to burn. If I can't fix a fuel problem in four hours, I'm better off staying home. 😂
I had this happen to me heading back to the marina. Engine spuuteresd and dies just as I entered a narrow channel under a bridge. Boats behind me so I could not turn around and head back out. Rolled out the genoa and silaed under bridge till wind dies and I was pinned against the pilings..
My seawater intake for engine cooling got clogged in a storm and I almost ended up on the rocks, manufacturer had a sea water strainer on the inside of the boat, but it got clogged when it sucked up a bunch of sea weed - manufacturer cheaped on not installing a strainer or screen on the outside of the boat. The engine over heated and had to be rebuilt. Fortunately I got sail up just in time to stay away from the rocks.
The tank(s) should have a drain at the bottom to remove sludge. Drain until clean diesel only comes out. Additionally, use an adfitive to prevent bacteria growth AND keep tank full in winter to prevent water condensation - which is a root cause (and be sure to purchase quality fuel from operator with high sales volume).
Yes you could definitely do that, but would still have to bleed the filter you just replaced which could result in the engine being unavailable for ~10-15 minutes.
@@Brewbug Possibly…or if you add a pair of two-way valves, one on each side of the circuit prior to the Y that re-joins them you might be able to prime the spare if your primary fuel separator has an integral priming pump.
@@SailingTipsCa luckilly my experience was relatively calm. Bright sunny day, calm water, wide entrance to big sea port… we had enough time to turn back to open sea, analyze the situation with the boat owner and create plan B. But you’re right, in many other scenarios that must be terrible experience!
Thanks - having an engine stop from a clogged fuel/water separator is such a common problem that if this video saves just one boat it was entirely worth it!!!
The problem is that the fuel pick up is often well above the bottom of the tank. If you have a pickup at the very lowest point of the tank the engine is always drawing the dirtiest fuel through the filters and water traps long before it has an opportunity to accumulate. This allows you to deal with the issue early. It simply doesn’t allow the dreaded algae to multiply. It’s Murphy’s Law that things go pear shaped when you least expect it to!
A lot of plastics become brittle with exposure to UV light, over time. Take care if you're exposing a plastic tank to UV, unless that's approved by the tank manufacturer.
Build a fuel polisher. They are fairly cheap to make. A couple hundred at most. If you can afford to buy one, the best type is a centrifugal polisher. If you also use a day tank, you can fill the day tank through the polisher and never have this problem. If you don't have a day tank, use up the fuel in one tank then refill that tank from a second tank through the polisher. If you only have 1 tank, polish the fuel into jerry cans once a month.
No recreational sailboat diesel engine, even in full working order, will get any of the featured sailboats off a lee shore in those conditions. Yes, it is a good idea to clean your tanks, keep them full and have two filters but some situations are not salvageable.
Might be better to just have a small 1 gallon gravity tank that allows you to bypass the clogged filter with known clean fuel till you can address it. In my experience, the fuel line clogs up before the filter does. If your filter clogs, things are REALLY bad.
Primary maintenance is important. Drain and crack open your fuel tank/s, wet vacuum and wipe out any waste filth, maybe a rinse if it’s a smaller tank system, close it up again, clean refill, fuel additives, change all the filters, bleed and run system, move on. Be warned - if you do this, do it as quickly as possible, LOTS of ventilation, and protect yourself regarding fumes. You will regret it if you fume yourself - believe me.
Diesel nug, tge bain of most sailors lives. Perhaps its worth adding tank inspection and diesel polishing to the planned maintenace roster. And additionally when buying fuel from sources your not certain about.
This very thing happened to me as I was exiting a narrow channel in high winds. A simple valve would have made things easier and I was confident my fuel was clean 😢 . Oh I was able to sail my way out of trouble thank goodness for a quickly deployed roller furling jib . I love/hate my lazy jacks but they sure slow the process of raising the main you know you almost have to have your engine running and in gear to get it up
Thanks for sharing! Yes we also had to raise sails in a hurry in the middle of the night to get out of the way of that freighter, and thankfully there was enough wind to sail! We were also on the radio to the coast guard to inform them what was happening so they could keep the freighter informed.
Dear @SailingTipsCa your tip is very interesting. For microbes and sludge there are on Amazon some additive for diesel bio killer. Maybe an alternative when you have no sufficient space on board. What is your opinion on these prodoucts
I’ve always used them too and should have noted that in the video. However I’ve also not seen any studies on how well they actually work in various conditions…
The $30 variant is a straight bypass of the fuel/water separator and allowing the remaining filter on the engine to do all the work. I prefer a second fuel/water separator but the straight bypass will still run your engine for a while and is arguably better than nothing!
Every (small) G/A sports aircraft has a tank fuel drain to allow pilot to drain small amount of fuel and check for water due condensation. Strange we don’t have similar in boat tanks. Or a second higher in tank fuel takeoff. Switchable. And that second filter. I have my tank cleaned every time I suspect sludge. And run on GTL with virtually no bio sludge build up.
One challenge is in many boats the drain valve would be too low to use, no room for a cup to sample the fuel. I have solved this with a plug at the top of my tank with a internal aluminum guide tube to direct a hose to the lowest point on the tank. Also safer since there is nothing to leak at the bottom of the tank. This "top sump" allows water, the source of sludge, and particles to be removed with a hose and squeeze bulb into a clear container. I designed my tank with a low point, not a flat bottom. A flat bottom disperses the contaminants and makes it impossible to sump them out. My filters are always pristine at end of season. Former pilot turned boater...
@@warped-sliderulemaking the boat tail/nose heavy creates a low point in flat tank (shift your ‘stuff’ add 2 x 25 kg water canister.) then u can use that vacuum oil extractor you already have to clean out tank bottom corners. If you can reach it from above. I can (also ex pro pilot here….)
Its called diesel algae. Very easy to treat. Fill it up with Red Line or other 100+ products out there that prevents growth and elimates existing algea. My dad's diesel Benz had this problem...we learned the hard way. A mechanic charged us over $500 back in the 80's to have it cleaned out including the injectors. There are mechanics like that. All we had to do was add treatment and drive normally. These are dirt cheap products.
The idea is fine but the valve is very poor and liable to jam after a few years. The aircraft industry has abandoned this design. Look in the aircraft spruce catalogue for "newton fuel valves" and female 1/4 nps or npt fittings, there are other valves but around double the price.
That was the cheapest valve on Amazon. I bought the one they had at the local chandlery which was a bit more expensive. This is definitely one application where it makes sense to pay a few dollars extra. Even double the price is good value!
I would love getting a spare $30 filter system. Or wouldn't even mind paying double that. Where I live in Canada a basic Racor system was over $300 when I asked 😮 I may just go online and buy their double filter system.
@@sailorstu The $30 solution is for a straight bypass of the fuel/water separator which then leaves the secondary filter to do all the work and protect the engine. It will buy you a bit of run time to get out of trouble but I much prefer the double primary system. The double off-the-shelf system is really the nicest IMHO. Really depends on how much you have to spend.
@@jackdbur when I was looking, I saw some very cheap versions. However when I read more about them they only mentioned gasoline. I know the principle is the same, as in the fuel floats ontop the water. So they probably work. However I am just not certain if anything else is different. Oh, in my profession ( driving trucks in extreme environments ) in a bind we will just rinse our fuel filters in Methol Hydrate and it always gets the trucks running. We only run those trucks 3 months a year, so it isn't exactly the most healthy environment for them.
Excellent Idea, but the reality is, its a bit more than $30 for this solution.. really closer to $400-$450 when you factor in the second racor housing!
The $30 gets you a simple bypass but clearly better to fully twin the primary! The cost of that depends entirely on what you already have from under $50 for a cheap knock-off to $500 for a premium model. On my boat the genuine Racor twin is currently about $300.
The shots of a bay full of grounded boats with sails to shreds is quite misleading, as I am pretty sure none of them (let alone all of them) ended up in that situation due to a blocked fuel filter.
Yes some of the yachts in two of the video segments dragged anchor. Many of them then tried to motor out but failed. It’s often a cascading series of failures that leads to yachts on the beach.
I didn't provide any boat-specific recommendations for adding a redundant fuel/water separator because there are just too many factors, such as what kind of boat it is, what kind of fuel/water separator you already have, how much space you have, what is locally available, and whether you want a genuine "twin" of your existing unit or a cheap knock-off.
The $30 solution variant is a simple straight bypass of the fuel/water separator and allowing the fuel filter on the engine to do all the work. This will run your engine for a while and get you out of trouble but I strongly prefer spending a bit more for the second fuel/water separator.
The $30 three-way fuel valve in the video is also not a specific product recommendation, but the cheapest three-way fuel valve I could find on Amazon. I would recommend spending slightly more for a higher quality unit. I simply bought what they had at my local chandlery which was slightly more expensive, but not much more.
You can also replace your existing fuel/water separator with a pre-built unit with two filters and a switch between them, but again that depends on the above factors, and they are much more expensive than just "twinning" your existing unit with a three way fuel switch.
I really just wanted to motivate sailing yacht owners to explore relatively inexpensive ways to add resiliency to their fuel systems, like adding redundant fuel/water separators and tank inspection hatches, both of which are straightforward retrofits and one of the best bang-for-buck investments you can make for the safety of your boat.
Excellent suggestion. And to lend even more validity: this is standard practice on all commercial ships. We install dual fuel filters with a valve to switch between them. The whole thing comes as one unit. And as an added bonus, it allows you to change one fuel filter while still running the engine through the second filter. For anyone that wants the prebuilt dual units, search for duplex fuel filter.
Yes a pre-built duplex is definitely the best solution but as you noted a bit more costly. I really don’t understand why this isn’t standard on pleasure yachts too as it’s a small cost in the grand scheme of things.
It is common but not standard on smaller "quality brand" motor yachts, and pretty much standard on larger ones.
@@darthkek1953 Yes unfortunately not common on most “production-quality” sailing yachts under ~45 feet.
Isolated each filter with 2 valves instead. If you clog one filter, you are likely to clog a second one. With each filter having isolation valves, you can change filters with the engine running.
You’re absolutely right - there are varying degrees of complexity that you can build into the system and I just showed the cheapest and simplest option. With a second valve you can change the dirty filter while underway but still have to bleed it, which means it may or may not be available immediately, depending on your setup. Still less downtime than doing a full install with no engine!
@@SailingTipsCaone can easily fit a lift pump for immediate bleeding, they cost nothing on eBay. Great that this discussion is taking place, so many good ideas forthcoming - you've opened a can of worms ;)
@@gurglejug627 The primary Racor separator housings on my boat had Racor housings with manual lift pumps to aid with bleeding which are super useful. Still takes longer than flipping a switch to a second pre-bled unit but I agree this is a discussion that needed to take place!
I've been there! Rushing below to change the filter before we ended up on the rocks. I succeeded, but it was close and your solution would have been great to have at that time. I did learn to always have the sails ready to hoist and an anchor ready to deploy any time that we were underway. Never go motoring along with the sails covered and the anchor stowed away, because you never know when the iron jib will stop working.
It’s a harrowing experience for sure - good thing you had the sails ready to hoist and anchor ready to deploy - both good practices!!!
Yep...did that to our current boat about 20 years ago. Went a step further. 2 Racor 500 filters and 2 electric fuel pumps in parallel. Easy switch over if needed.
Just bought a new boat that does not use an electric pump pump but will be adding a 2nd filter unit. But one of the first jobs will be pulling the tank out, cleaning it thoroughly and adding an access panel!
Cheers and really great tip.
Mike
Yes the Racor 500s are with parallel pumps are a very nice solution, and a bit more expensive, but worth it if you can do it!!!
Buy a cheap generic racor and a 12v fuel transfer pump & add a long pex wand to it and you have your self a tank cleaner to suck up all the nasty stuff from the bottom of your tank ! 😊
@jackdbur Yes...basically fuel polishing set up. Only reason I have ever wrestled out a tank is to have room to cut an access panel in the top. Every boat I have owned did not have an access panel!!! Should be standard. LOL!
Cheers!
Mike
@@jackdbur That’s a great suggestion - thanks!
@@michaellippmann4474 Access panels should also be standard!
I have a bypass filter system on my boat, but I don’t count on it to save me if my tank is full of sludge. The second one will plug up very rapidly. The answer to this problem is to keep your tank clean and inspected yearly. Put a biocide in it, if there’s any question as to whether there’s water in the fuel.
Yes regular maintenance is key to keeping a yacht running reliably! Biocide is a helpful part of that.
Add a diesel bug killer with every fill. Stop the bug from ever getting hold.
100%
Yes highly recommended - I should have noted that in the video!
@@SailingTipsCa - My concern is that is conditions are bad enough to block up a filter, they are bad enough to block up a second filter too. Admittedly they may buy 10 or 15 minutes which might make a huge difference between safe water and being on the rocks. I guess it depends on the level of contaminants. The second set might be good for days or weeks.
We use a product that dissolves the bugs and the engine then burns them in the diesel. The problem with this method is that our filters are _so_ clean that we are tempted to put them back on 😄(We always change them, but it is tempting!)
Perhaps a follow up vid on bug killers?
@@SailingYachtSaltyLass Yes the amount of time the second filter buys you is limited and depends entirely on how contaminated the tank is. Even if you have to sail towards safe harbour it does give you some piece of mind that you’ll be able to maneuver inside the breakwater when you get there. Good suggestion on bug killers!
Absolutely 💯
What I appreciate about not being able to afford a sailboat until maybe 5 or 6 down the line, is all the valuable information like this that I get to know about in the meantime! :)
The great thing about sailing is that the learning never stops before, during, or after you own a boat!!!
Thank you. I don't have a sailboat, hope to have one some day but I understood how you made your case - explaining the impact, the process, the cause of the problem and the workaround. Many thanks
I hope you get your sailboat someday and remember this!
Ive watched a lot of vids on sailing and thus is the first i have seen of you and probibly one of the best simple vids i have seen. Good work mate 👍
That's great to hear - happy you liked it! I also like short vids!
@SailingTipsCa straight to the point. Awesome. Too many drag on and on and don't really teach anything.
I live in the tropics so it's also best to have your tank full as often as possible. The air in the tank condensed into water as it cools nightly and taints the fuel.
Yes that’s a great way to minimize the amount of water in the tanks too!!!
@@SailingTipsCawhich won't work. The diesel you put in your boat has already absorbed water. More diesel (full tank) is more water. Good tank design, with a sump & drain valve to empty the water out is the only way, along with biocide treatment and a good separator & filter system
I live in the Philippines, an area well known for high humidity. I'll try to explain why condensation in fuel from the air is mostly a myth.
At 30C/86F the most water air can contain at 100% humidity is 30 grams/cubic metre. A 100 gallon tank = 0.38 cubic meter. At 30C/86F, an empty 100 gallon tank could contain a maximum of 11.4 grams of water in the form of vapour, or 0.4 oz. So at the extreme end, the most water that could condensate out in an empty 100 gallon tank is less than half an ounce. Any engine could easily deal with this minuscule amount of water in the fuel. With my 40 gallon tank, the amount of condensation inside the tank is so small that I never once worry about it.
@@deerfootnz Keeping your tank full will clearly not have any effect on diesel that has already absorbed water before you put it in there! Yes a good sump/drain system is helpful and “easy” to design into a custom boat but may not be so easy to retrofit to a production boat.
@@NotExpatJoe It’s not always clear where the water comes from but as you noted you’re certainly not going to accumulate a large amount of condensation quickly, but rather it will take considerable time, depending on both the humidity, the difference between day and night temperatures etc. So let’s say your tank is half full and accumulates 5 grams of water per day. Not much at once but it could add up over time, accumulating a bit with each heating/cooling cycle. It would be interesting to do some empirical tests to see how much actually accumulates!
Great idea however just changing to a clean filter may not bring instant relief to the problem. Usually, you'll need to bleed the system before the engine will run again so learning that skill is very important.
Yes knowing how to bleed is very important! The idea here is to have both circuits pre-bled so you can just switch over to the fresh filter if the first one is blocked. This all assumes the engine stops due to a blockage in the filter and not sucking air into the system somehow.
Well said. Another option is a switch valve to an easy to clean 'day tank'. Thanks for a very good idea. Note also that filling with diesel from floating pontoon fuel stations in harbours means loads of muck coming into your diesel tank after rough weather. We came across northern Europe from Germany where we fitted an inspection hatch and polished the inside of the tank, to the UK in rough winter weather - after just 2 fill ups from floating diesel stations the filters blocked repeatedly - we used 5 new filters -no exagerration - after the engine stopped several times, twice in dangerous circumstances. That's just how bad marina filling stations are. I will implement what you suggest, but from a separate tank with a separate filter system i think. Nice one :)
Yes the day tank is a great idea! There are also some pretty good water/crud separating funnels that can help on the filler side which I like to use in unfamiliar fuelling locations.
A Baja Fuel Filter, used when filling your tank, can keep the junk from getting into the boat's Fuel tank. It is an aluminum cylinder with 3 or 4 filter stages inside. The filter stages are easily removed for cleaning
@@banderson8444 Exactly - there are a few variants around!
As a diesel owner who ran used fryer oil, I had similar problems. Resolved the same way with a redundant filter and valve I could flip on the side of the road and continue on my way. Excellent advice.
Thanks! Just curious - did you have issues sourcing used fryer oil in your travels abroad or did you mostly sail within a local region with known “supply chains”?
@@SailingTipsCa haha, sorry no, a VW TDI
@@alzaidi7739 Ahhh…yes you did say road in your initial post!!! I might look into fryer oil for my old Chev 6.5 truck…
@@SailingTipsCa Those have been done. FWIR the weak link is the computer that overheats. 180*F fuel will raise the fuel system temperature and adjacent electronics. Become a good customer of a sushi place. they have the cleanest fryer oil.
@ Good tip on the sushi place! My truck already has the PMD (computer) relocation kit to move it away from the heat. I’ll read up on whether or not this might be sufficient. Thanks!
If you spend a bit more and put in a 500 series Racor fuel water separator you can change the filter in 5 minutes of less or just break down and buy a Racor duplex separator unit which combines a valve and two filter/separator units. It isn't going to cost $30 though. What I would never have on my boat is one of those filters with a screw on element on the bottom.
Better yet is a day tank that only has filtered fuel in it. That tank, of course, needs its own fuel filters.
Completely agree with all your suggestions! Unfortunately many production boats come with the filters with the screw-on element as they’re the most inexpensive option. So you really need to decide, do I upgrade wholesale to a 500 series or just twin my existing unit. The expensive solution is clearly the best but both are better than doing nothing!
I have 2 x 150L liners for my diesel tanks, and they get removed and cleaned once a year.
It takes 2 hours from start to finish for both.
Interesting idea! Do they just come out through an access port?
On one of the boats I ran we had vacuum gauges to show if we had a slowing down of fuel. I could change the filters in less than five minutes. Just turn the valve to a new one and didn't lose an engine. Then underway I would changer the old filter out and have it ready. Gman
Yes my marine diesel also has a vacuum gauge which helps be proactive. But it can still give a false sense of security if you’re only motoring in calm conditions…until you aren’t! Still a great addition and suggestion!
That's a great tip and something to really think about. Also might be a great idea just to have a spare one on hand so you can replace the dirty one. Have them easily accessible.
Yes absolutely carry spares as well! It can be hard to install them and bleed the system in rough conditions though…
Good advice. I have an additional fuel filter fitter in my diesel cruiser's fuel system, which I can switch to in times of need.
Excellent - nice to have that redundancy readily available!
Good one. Another equally cheap safety fix is to have 2 other hoses with a pair of 3 way valves, connected into the system so that you can drop the ends of these hoses into a reserve fuel bottle or tank. It is far easier to keep a 20 liter drum of fuel clean ready for that storm emergency.
Yes that’s a great suggestion - nice to have several options for getting that engine running again!
I have a day tank and 2 bunk tanks and 2 filters. The advantage of a day tank is you can filter clean fuel in and run the engine from that. The issue with using the main tank is getting crud stirred up from the bottom in rough seas. My day tank is gravity fed from the bottom of the tank so crud does not accumulate. In addition I can also loop in a fuel pump with a valve to polish it if I think there is crud in there e.g. at the beginning of the season. I also have an old perkins diesel with zero electronics. If it starts it will stay running unless you blow it up or run it out of fuel.
Thank you. I was reading down the comments looking for the keys to success - Polishing and day tank.
Yes a day tank and polishing are excellent upgrades! Just requires a bit more space, cost, and planning.
Thanks for this video... I have been adding redundancy all over my boat.... your diagram showed me that... my lift pump is in the wrong place! and I kinda knew it, but didn't know it... Thanks again
Yes nice to have redundancy! Many boats have the lift pump, secondary filter, and high-pressure pump all situated next to each other on the engine, but the lift pump can really be anywhere between there and the fuel tank Factors that would cause you to situate it closer to the fuel tank would be a really long fuel line or the tank sitting substantially below the engine.
I learned from running my own semi truck that algae would grow in the fuel tanks and start clogging up the fuel system. I started using Power Service, a product that killed the algae and I never had that issue again.
Good suggestion thanks!
That's why I use a 15 gallon gravity tank. I fill from the tank, through the fuel/water separator, to the day tank. I first got through a Racor separator, then a second filter/separator, then to the tank. I just have to check the gravity tank so it doesn't go empty. it also has an angled bottom so when heeling the boat the exit fitting is never out of the fuel. ... I got this idea from the submarine I was on as their tanks are also filled with seawater as they use their fuel to maintain proper trim from an empty tank. Their separators are a cone type centrifugal system.
I think a gravity tank as you’ve done is an excellent idea!!!
The other tip I saw, which would work well with your idea, is to keep a separate canister of diesel on bored that you know is clean. If your engine stops due to dirty diesel then detach the fuel pipe and insert it into the canister of clean diesel. Even better if you can do that through a separate clean fuel separator.
Yes that’s a good suggestion - belt and suspenders!!! It’s nice to have lots of options!
sometimes growth occurs on mesh filter that is inside intake tube inside the tank, so fuel never gets to the separators in first place
@@viktorbek5098 Yes it can really grow anywhere the right conditions exist!
Then you have to bleed the system in time.
@@dboboc Yes that’s the beauty of having a redundant pre-bled system already installed!
Good advise. We run a Racor twin filter with hot spare. One gets clogged, instant switch over to the spare. However, a stalled diesel engine can have many reasons why it won't run. Know your engine system inside out and keep on top of maintenance. I always advise doing it yourself rather than paying someone if you sail offshore or plan to go further afield. Not going to get an engineer to help you 100 mile offshore!
You’re absolutely right! Sometimes when you buy a boat it takes a bit of time to get to this point of knowing your engine inside and out but definitely what every sailor should strive for!
The fact is that you can buy generic racor housings so cheap why would you have only one !😊
I raced a number of 34’-44’ sailboats for years. None had at least one Automatic Bilge Pump! Everyday started with a few pumps on the manual bilge pump but I can’t imagine hand pumping to save a boat!
I have two Automatic/manual Bilge Pumps on my bassboat as well as an “Oh Crap Bilge Pump homemade setup with its own hose and power cord (with inline fuse) with battery clamps just in case someone else needed help fast.
We used to treat the diesel regularly but racing sailboats may take years to run through a tank of diesel.
These days the racing safety regulations require you to have a certain number of bilge pumps, both automatic and manual, and like you I’d much rather have extra automatic pumping power because it could be exhausting to pump to save the boat! And yes racing boats consume very little fuel, unless there’s a long delivery for an event.
Wouldn't you want a second valve on the outputs of the filters where they re-combine back into the line that runs to the pump? That way you can fully isolate one filter or the other while the engine is running?
Yes a second valve would allow you to change a dirty filter while the engine is running, which the single valve doesn’t allow. But you’d still have to bleed the fresh filter after you’re done, which depending on your setup may be difficult. But definitely worth designing for this ability with a few extra parts if possible!
The industry standard Racor filter housings are available as dual mount units, with the second filter and the switch all integrated. And if you add a vacuum gauge (for about $30), you will always know the condition of the filter element. And if you make sure that the Racor primary filter (or whatever brand you choose) is finer than the engine-mounted filter, then you will never need to worry about the engine filter, (which is much harder to change.) And make sure that you have spare elements and a small supply of clean diesel available so that you can change a filter underway. And carry lots of spare elements, because -- if your tank has a lot of crud that gets stirred up -- you can plug a bunch of elements.
Excellent suggestions! I agree that the dual mount units with the integrated switch are the nicest solution.
I added a Dryer-ite desiccant filter in the diesel vent line to stop any water from moist vent air getting to the tank. Color changers from blue to pink when it needs to be regenerated in an oven. You can buy them but I made mine from PVC pipe with screen at each end. No evidence of bugs in the fuel over
15 years and no need to top off the tank.
That’s a good way to keep most of the moisture out of the tank - thanks for sharing!
Excellent point.. I've been stranded due to algae sludge on land. It feels like glue and melted plastic A fast switchover valve is elegantly simple.
Yes funny it’s not standard given how inexpensive and effective it can be!
This explains why a friend of mine so highly recommended diesel biocide for our powerboats. It’s a fuel additive he claims we should be using regularly. I’m wondering if it could prevent the problem.
Yes it’s best practice to add diesel biocide! It can help prevent the formation of sludge but doesn’t get rid of the sludge that’s already there…
There are really good two stage filter systems that implement this but as you mentioned, its an upgrade totally dependent on the boat owner. I really like Keenan Filters - I believe they were once called Filter Boss. They have two stage filter systems that range from manual switching to automatic switching. I also use Fuel Right in my tank and have been in all three of my sailboats. It has proven to me that it cleans my tank and keeps it clean. I usually clean my tank using a siphon or polishing after my first treatment to remove all the water that is released from the sludge onc eit has cleaned the tank. Good safety vid!
Thanks! And thanks for sharing your pro-tips!!!
You have three sailboats? Lash 'em together and make a home-made trimaran.
I am joking and hope I improved not diminished your day. :-)
As in the aviation world, redundancy is the key!
This superb video should inspire owners to invest in their safety and peace of mind by implementing this upgrade!
Far better to have it and never need to use it than wishing you'd installed it before setting out...
That’s my hope with this video - to inspire boat owners to make a small investment for a huge payback in safety and reliability!
Great advice!! All sailing boats should have this!
Absolutely!
_One big tank ~ one BIG PROBLEM!_ Back up your backup with a backup.
Yes separate tanks is a nice solution!
Rather than adding additional equipment to deal with dirty fuel, I have gone down the route of keeping a clean tank and avoiding stalls altogether. When we purchased our boat five years ago, i sampled the fuel from the lowest part of the tank to see if it had water. I did this with a probe which i smeared test paste on the bottom couple inches. The paste does not effect diesel but changes color if it comes into contact with water. This particular tank bottom is sloped down to the inspection area where the water would collect. We detected no water but if i did, i was prepaired to discuss cost reduction for the hassel of disposing of the fuel and cleaning of the tanks.
I do not know the previous owners method of keeping water out of the tanks but it worked. i have taken the precaution of alway keeping the tank full when the boat is idle or in storage and adding bioside to make the fuel inhospitable to growth. I have never experienced a stall but cringe thinking about the times when even a short loss of engine power could have been very undesirable. If you are unsure if you're fuel is contaminated, a periodic view of the clear float bowl will help ( any trip while using the engine will provide a reilistic sample but the rougher the trip the better). I have not change filters in three years since the fuel system rebuild and approximately 300 hours later there is no water in the bowl and only a small amount of sediment which i believe is refinery/transportation dust contaminates.
I do think there are circumstances where a second filter could save youre bacon as long as the operator understands its a short term work around and not a solution.
Good job on your diligence regarding fuel cleanliness - if only everybody was so diligent! And yes a second filter is really just a band-aid when you can’t do t hat. I did also eventually get around to cleaning my tanks “properly” and never had to change a primary filter after that.
Brilliant, thanks! Filing your valuable information for future use and a reminder.
Glad it was helpful!
on older cars in cold winter areas, you never let your gas tank near empty, less room for condensate to form and prevent water freezing in lines
Yes that’s the common thinking with Diesel tanks in boats too!
Hi there, good idea ... until it's also blocked.
Maybe a bypass to a second tank could help? Also with a T valve. But behind the seperator.
Yes it’s definitely not a permanent solution to a dirty tank - just enough to get you out of trouble and back to safety - kind of like the mini spare tire in your car! Adding a second day tank is an excellent solution!
I rebuilt my iron fuel tanks out of epoxy and added a drainable sump that is plumbed with a three way valve to the oil change pump. This works exceptionally well since my tanks are three sided saddle style and slant to the sump. I also angled the return tube towards the sump to wash the gunk towards it. My pick-up is mounted on the top of the sump about three inches from the bottom. Because of the shape, this only leaves a couple of gallons of unreachable fuel.
Sounds like a great retrofit - thanks for sharing!
Moisture does not always find its way into the tank. The seals on the tank fill port on deck eventually go bad or missing and people don't check them and slowly the bottom of the tank fills up with rainwater
Yes those seals are an important maintenance item to keep an eye on!
I have this but last time I suffered an engine stop, the fuel suction pipe from the tank was blocked with fibers so it didn't help to shift to the other filter. It took me an hour to realize it, give up what I tried before and rig a temporary hose from the tank drain valve instead. Luckily I have two engines, otherwise I would have been in trouble. I cleaned the tanks two years ago and think this dirt came from the fuel station.
Yes a second separator definitely wouldn’t have helped with a plugged suction pipe unless each separator had its own to draw from the tank! Glad you had an extra engine and were able to make it back! I’m sure cleaning the tanks will help prevent recurrence.
I have strong doubts a boat could be saved in situations shown on pics … but the notion of doubling the fuel separator is excellent. I installed one myself.
Yes I wasn’t there (thankfully) and normally many things go wrong in order to wind up in such peril. Hopefully with a redundant primary fuel separator that is one less thing to go wrong!
I suck as a mechanic..So i fitted one of those soon after yacht purchase. I also fitted a day tank, to which only clean fuel goes onto. I don't really care much about the main tanks as i filter all fuel into days tank.
A day tank is a great suggestion if you have the space!!!
Exelllnet job. I've actually have been thinking of this while on my refit.
Cool - that’s the perfect time to add something like this!
I worked with high level shipwrights for a lot of years on some sporky projects.
I never learned how to sail, but I can build, thanks to the freaks that allowed me to apprentice under them.
Old school technology made many Cape Horners mostly safe under a good skipper.
I did a repair on a maybe 1920's Fife that got T-boned by a larger Mexican fishing boat.
Demasted it and gave it a ribshot, but she didn't sink.
The owner of the Fife was off the charts creepy and a lot of people said he had it coming.
He had a solid boat.
Thanks for sharing!
If I could add my experience. I was in a force 8 gale with short steep seas and so yes, the fuel was really churned up.
I can’t disagree with the idea of a second separator and changeover valve, my problem was clogged up pick up pipes in the tank.
When I found the problem, the fix was straightforward but very uncomfortable.
A second separator would not have prevented this from happening and in fact the separator, although dirty, was still operational.
Yes this doesn’t address the potential issue of a clogged pickup or anywhere else in the system for that matter!
This is the single most important sailing video you will ever watch, it could save you thousands of dollars or the life of you and your crew and your home.
But the real lesson isn't another filter like he said, treat your tank life your life boat, because it is. Keep it clean and treated, and cycle it, and pressure test it. It's your Disaster Recovery powerplant. Use it more, cycle the fuel lubricate the seals and don't trust any hose over 5 years old, and get new stainless Triton clamps, every single time. I was also a mechanic. Don't forget your cutlass bearing and your packing either. And test those bilge pumps, even the manual ones. When you need them, they need to work. Use that engine!
And get an EPIRB and a PLB and a lifeboat.
USCG Vet and retired boat mechnanic.
Great advice - preventative maintenance and preparation is always the best solution - thanks so much!!!
This is great advice. In the real world how often would a fuel tank need to be cleaned? Thanks
Really depends on a number of factors, including the cleanliness and water content of the fuel going in, ambient humidity, temperature, whether more water is finding its way in from filler caps etc. All of that said if you give it a good cleaning such that there is no visible sludge left, and you are fueling up in a developed country, and there is no more water going in (other than humidity through the breather) you can probably go for a number of years without cleaning again. Best bet is to install an inspection port and look in there every six months or so.
Brilliant advice, thanks so much :)
Thanks - glad you liked it!
All you need is this $30 part plus another one in excess of $200 plus all the plumbing for installation. But that’s not a catchy TH-cam title.
LOL you could just do a fuel/water separator bypass for $30 to keep you off the rocks but I really did not want to recommend that because it’s far better to add the second unit!
My thoughts too. Racor 500FG, $145 plus pipes and plumbing, or forget all the baloney valve and plumbing and just fit a ready made duplex one, $1,429 from Scintex. Cheaper than a new boat!
@@philgray1023 Yes the ready made duplex one is the most elegant solution and still far cheaper than a new boat!
A dirty game, TH-cam forces us to play…
Curvy girls in bikinis work for the thumbnails too!
For a sailing yacht, a $230 part is priceless..
Crimony what a great insight. Thanks. I'm on it.
Glad you liked it!
See the Day Tank comments. That works.
It's not uncommon for an entire case of filters to be "Not Enough" for a yacht that doesn't get shaken like Martini 4x a year
Yes the day tank is a great solution if you can make it work!
This can also be prevented by aggressive preventative maintenance schedules. Boats are not the place the test the length of maintenance intervals.
Yes preventative maintenance can definitely mitigate the requirement…but that doesn’t always happen and many of us buy our boats used and it takes a while to get to everything!!!
@@SailingTipsCa Well built and well maintained redundant systems are always more reliable since you don't have that single point of failure anymore, but in practice "redundant" systems are often left dormant and not operated for extensive periods of time, and then not actually working when required.
For example, at a manufacturing plant I once worked in we had two air compressors of the same brand and about the same age. One of these compressors was the "backup" compressor. It was wired in with an automatic switch to turn on when the line pressure dropped. The other compressor could handle the entire demand for the plant and basically ran 24/7 for years straight. And it was on the annual PM schedule.
One day we had storm damage that disrupted electrical service to the usual compressor, but the other compressor should have been fine. But when the pressure dropped and it it tried to kick on, the breaker kept blowing due to some kind of mechanical issue from sitting idle for a few years.
Thus in my experience, maintenance aggressive PM schedules are more reliable than dormant "backup" systems.
I didn't like at all seeing how you took pictures of the disaster in Formentera Ibiza DANA. I was there and I was able to get out unscathed because I had a bigger engine.
The idea of a double diesel line is very good, since seven would cause the engine to fail in the worst situations.
That must have been terrifying to be there - glad you made it out!!!
My experience with my boat and others is, the more joins, filters you add, the more chances of air leak developing and thats instant diesel stall.
Much better to add conditioner to tank every fill like others said and every year open inspection hatch and suck anything if at all that has grown. Preventive (cleaning) is much better than reactive (backup).
Also what about the second fine filter? If the primary is blocked, likely the sludge has been sucked through and made it to the fine filter as well.
Also while some newer diesels, will self bleed, older ones dont and the line is under vacuum, often hard to bleed. I added a needle valve to the 2nd inlet of filter and connect when needed a diesel rated squeeze bulb. Now from jerry can I can prime the system to tank and bleed valve on block. Plus now I have spare fuel line and could plumb to jerry can if needed, pump water out of tank, do transfers, etc.
If doing serious offshores, a valve on your breath line near the exit is probably a smart idea. In a roll over, water can find its way to the tank, its not uncommon to hear stories after roll overs of boats engines stalling shortly after starting. In bad weather close the breather valve, alert crew that it needs to be opened before starting.
Good suggestions thanks! You definitely don’t want unnecessary fittings, especially in inaccessible locations - I delivered a boat once that had air leaks for that very reason and we couldn’t find them. And you’re right pro-active is always better than reactive.
I have a 4 gallon day tank installed on my 30hp Yanmar. It solves a lot of these problems and gives me about four hours of clean fuel to burn. If I can't fix a fuel problem in four hours, I'm better off staying home. 😂
Yes a day tank is a great solution for a bit more space and money!
I had this happen to me heading back to the marina. Engine spuuteresd and dies just as I entered a narrow channel under a bridge. Boats behind me so I could not turn around and head back out. Rolled out the genoa and silaed under bridge till wind dies and I was pinned against the pilings..
Yikes - that must have been very frustrating! Hopefully you got it sorted somehow…
You highlighted the need for a fuel polishing system to remove both the water as well as the sludge.
Yes…which I most production boats also unfortunately don’t have…
My seawater intake for engine cooling got clogged in a storm and I almost ended up on the rocks, manufacturer had a sea water strainer on the inside of the boat, but it got clogged when it sucked up a bunch of sea weed - manufacturer cheaped on not installing a strainer or screen on the outside of the boat. The engine over heated and had to be rebuilt. Fortunately I got sail up just in time to stay away from the rocks.
That must have been terrifying! Did you have an audible overheating alarm installed? Glad you got the sails up and made it out!
Clean the tank annually, keep the tank full, and then always fill the boat using a racor fuel filter funnel, no more problems
Those suggestions will go a very long ways to ensure reliable motoring!!!
The tank(s) should have a drain at the bottom to remove sludge. Drain until clean diesel only comes out. Additionally, use an adfitive to prevent bacteria growth AND keep tank full in winter to prevent water condensation - which is a root cause (and be sure to purchase quality fuel from operator with high sales volume).
Totally agree! Unfortunately many tanks are situated such that it’s hard to impossible to install said drain!
Add another valve after the 1st fuel water separator so you can remove it for maintenance while the spare is in use?
Yes you could definitely do that, but would still have to bleed the filter you just replaced which could result in the engine being unavailable for ~10-15 minutes.
@@SailingTipsCa ah so that would have to be a 3 way valve too then?
@@Brewbug Possibly…or if you add a pair of two-way valves, one on each side of the circuit prior to the Y that re-joins them you might be able to prime the spare if your primary fuel separator has an integral priming pump.
That happened to me once.
Good advice, thanks!!
It’s a terrible experience to loose power when you need it!!!
@@SailingTipsCa luckilly my experience was relatively calm. Bright sunny day, calm water, wide entrance to big sea port… we had enough time to turn back to open sea, analyze the situation with the boat owner and create plan B.
But you’re right, in many other scenarios that must be terrible experience!
@@wojteks8887 Glad it turned out so much better than it could have!
Great advice. Thank you 🙏🏼 Subscribed for more ✌🏼💜🙏🏼
Thanks for the sub!
Awesome good advice, thanks so much.
Glad you liked it!
Great video.
Thanks!!!
Excellent tip
Thanks - having an engine stop from a clogged fuel/water separator is such a common problem that if this video saves just one boat it was entirely worth it!!!
No. The main fuel problem is badly located filler caps and vents. No salt water? No problem.
That is definitely a problem as well!
The problem is that the fuel pick up is often well above the bottom of the tank. If you have a pickup at the very lowest point of the tank the engine is always drawing the dirtiest fuel through the filters and water traps long before it has an opportunity to accumulate. This allows you to deal with the issue early. It simply doesn’t allow the dreaded algae to multiply.
It’s Murphy’s Law that things go pear shaped when you least expect it to!
Yes it’s ironic that the elevated fuel pickup designed to avoid picking up dirty fuel contributes to the accumulation of dirty fuel!
The ultraviolet light inside the tank also helps to inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Good suggestion - I’ve never used that but will check it out!
A lot of plastics become brittle with exposure to UV light, over time. Take care if you're exposing a plastic tank to UV, unless that's approved by the tank manufacturer.
@@alanm8932 Good point!
Build a fuel polisher. They are fairly cheap to make. A couple hundred at most. If you can afford to buy one, the best type is a centrifugal polisher.
If you also use a day tank, you can fill the day tank through the polisher and never have this problem.
If you don't have a day tank, use up the fuel in one tank then refill that tank from a second tank through the polisher.
If you only have 1 tank, polish the fuel into jerry cans once a month.
Those are great suggestions - thanks! Unfortunately most boats don’t receive this level of diligent maintenance…
No recreational sailboat diesel engine, even in full working order, will get any of the featured sailboats off a lee shore in those conditions. Yes, it is a good idea to clean your tanks, keep them full and have two filters but some situations are not salvageable.
Yes sometimes there’s just too much wind and if your anchor doesn’t hold there isn’t anything else you can do!
Might be better to just have a small 1 gallon gravity tank that allows you to bypass the clogged filter with known clean fuel till you can address it. In my experience, the fuel line clogs up before the filter does. If your filter clogs, things are REALLY bad.
Yes and this gravity tank could be designed to be easier to keep clean!
Primary maintenance is important. Drain and crack open your fuel tank/s, wet vacuum and wipe out any waste filth, maybe a rinse if it’s a smaller tank system, close it up again, clean refill, fuel additives, change all the filters, bleed and run system, move on.
Be warned - if you do this, do it as quickly as possible, LOTS of ventilation, and protect yourself regarding fumes. You will regret it if you fume yourself - believe me.
Yes primary maintenance is always the best solution, and as you noted use lots of ventilation!!!
great idea, I don't sail but what a great insight!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks man! On point!
Thanks - glad you liked it!
Diesel nug, tge bain of most sailors lives.
Perhaps its worth adding tank inspection and diesel polishing to the planned maintenace roster. And additionally when buying fuel from sources your not certain about.
Yes tank inspecting and fuel polishing is a good practice!
This very thing happened to me as I was exiting a narrow channel in high winds. A simple valve would have made things easier and I was confident my fuel was clean 😢 . Oh I was able to sail my way out of trouble thank goodness for a quickly deployed roller furling jib . I love/hate my lazy jacks but they sure slow the process of raising the main you know you almost have to have your engine running and in gear to get it up
Thanks for sharing! Yes we also had to raise sails in a hurry in the middle of the night to get out of the way of that freighter, and thankfully there was enough wind to sail! We were also on the radio to the coast guard to inform them what was happening so they could keep the freighter informed.
How did sailors manage before diesel engines? More prudent seamanship I suppose. And less shipping.
LOL and they didn’t have clocks to incentivize them to be on time! Lots of old ships were lost on the rocks still…
@@SailingTipsCa True.. Good point about time!
Thanks for this.
Glad you liked it!
Dear @SailingTipsCa your tip is very interesting. For microbes and sludge there are on Amazon some additive for diesel bio killer. Maybe an alternative when you have no sufficient space on board. What is your opinion on these prodoucts
I’ve always used them too and should have noted that in the video. However I’ve also not seen any studies on how well they actually work in various conditions…
that's exactly what happened to me this summer! As you say, always at the worst possible moment ;)
Yes - hope everything worked out okay in the end!
A good idea, but.musrepresented as a $30 part. You need to include the several hundred dollar filter system.
The $30 variant is a straight bypass of the fuel/water separator and allowing the remaining filter on the engine to do all the work. I prefer a second fuel/water separator but the straight bypass will still run your engine for a while and is arguably better than nothing!
Great idea but the pickup tube can and does get clogged. Happened to us. Best to keep the tank clean.
Yes the pickup tube can also get clogged so really best to keep the tank clean if possible!
having a bottom tank drain helps clean out sludge,,
Yes that’s a nice feature…sadly many boats don’t have that!
Thank you for this obvious hint
Thanks - glad it was helpful!
Better to keep your tank clean. Polish the fuel with a separate pickup located very close to the bottom of the tank.
Yes this is definitely a better solution and involves a bit more planning and expense!
Great video.
Thanks
Thanks!
Every (small) G/A sports aircraft has a tank fuel drain to allow pilot to drain small amount of fuel and check for water due condensation. Strange we don’t have similar in boat tanks. Or a second higher in tank fuel takeoff. Switchable. And that second filter. I have my tank cleaned every time I suspect sludge. And run on GTL with virtually no bio sludge build up.
We do have that in well designed boats. I have two tanks with drains.
One challenge is in many boats the drain valve would be too low to use, no room for a cup to sample the fuel. I have solved this with a plug at the top of my tank with a internal aluminum guide tube to direct a hose to the lowest point on the tank. Also safer since there is nothing to leak at the bottom of the tank. This "top sump" allows water, the source of sludge, and particles to be removed with a hose and squeeze bulb into a clear container. I designed my tank with a low point, not a flat bottom. A flat bottom disperses the contaminants and makes it impossible to sump them out. My filters are always pristine at end of season. Former pilot turned boater...
Good idea!
Very few (small
@@warped-sliderulemaking the boat tail/nose heavy creates a low point in flat tank (shift your ‘stuff’ add 2 x 25 kg water canister.) then u can use that vacuum oil extractor you already have to clean out tank bottom corners. If you can reach it from above. I can (also ex pro pilot here….)
Or add the valve and a cartridges fuel polishing system with an alarm and valve to purge the junk out of the bottom.
Yes on-board fuel polishing with an alarm would be a great upgrade!
Thanks good info..new sub 🎉
Glad you liked it and thanks for the sub!!!
Its called diesel algae. Very easy to treat. Fill it up with Red Line or other 100+ products out there that prevents growth and elimates existing algea. My dad's diesel Benz had this problem...we learned the hard way. A mechanic charged us over $500 back in the 80's to have it cleaned out including the injectors. There are mechanics like that. All we had to do was add treatment and drive normally. These are dirt cheap products.
Yes biocide is relatively inexpensive and a great item to add to the maintenance routine!
Great idea .
Glad you think so!
The idea is fine but the valve is very poor and liable to jam after a few years.
The aircraft industry has abandoned this design.
Look in the aircraft spruce catalogue for "newton fuel valves" and female 1/4 nps or npt fittings, there are other valves but around double the price.
That was the cheapest valve on Amazon. I bought the one they had at the local chandlery which was a bit more expensive. This is definitely one application where it makes sense to pay a few dollars extra. Even double the price is good value!
I would love getting a spare $30 filter system.
Or wouldn't even mind paying double that.
Where I live in Canada a basic Racor system was over $300 when I asked 😮
I may just go online and buy their double filter system.
@@sailorstu The $30 solution is for a straight bypass of the fuel/water separator which then leaves the secondary filter to do all the work and protect the engine. It will buy you a bit of run time to get out of trouble but I much prefer the double primary system. The double off-the-shelf system is really the nicest IMHO. Really depends on how much you have to spend.
Generic racors can be had for less than a hundred dollars!
@@jackdbur when I was looking, I saw some very cheap versions.
However when I read more about them they only mentioned gasoline.
I know the principle is the same, as in the fuel floats ontop the water. So they probably work.
However I am just not certain if anything else is different.
Oh, in my profession ( driving trucks in extreme environments ) in a bind we will just rinse our fuel filters in Methol Hydrate and it always gets the trucks running.
We only run those trucks 3 months a year, so it isn't exactly the most healthy environment for them.
Typical sailing boat issues 😂 As a motor boater I empty my tank a couple of times a year just by burning my fuel.
LOL - that’s pretty good that you “only” empty your tank a couple of times per year!!!
Excellent Idea, but the reality is, its a bit more than $30 for this solution.. really closer to $400-$450 when you factor in the second racor housing!
The $30 gets you a simple bypass but clearly better to fully twin the primary! The cost of that depends entirely on what you already have from under $50 for a cheap knock-off to $500 for a premium model. On my boat the genuine Racor twin is currently about $300.
Good vid; thumb+subscription!!!!
Greetings, Henk, the Netherlands….
Thanks!!!
The shots of a bay full of grounded boats with sails to shreds is quite misleading, as I am pretty sure none of them (let alone all of them) ended up in that situation due to a blocked fuel filter.
Yes some of the yachts in two of the video segments dragged anchor. Many of them then tried to motor out but failed. It’s often a cascading series of failures that leads to yachts on the beach.