Diesel fuel additives

[giantfan]

I am new to whole diesel world.

The boat that I just purchased has twin Cummins 370 HP motors.

The guy I bought the boat from didn't use the boat much and since it was sitting so much (In Marco Island) he developed an alge problem in the fuel tanks. He had them filtered a month before I bought it, but the company that did the service told him that they can never get it all out.

Now here's the question.

What do you recommend to keep this problem at bay? I will be burining plenty of fuel as my boat is one of the few in the marina that isn't a flower pot, but I still don't want to have any problems.

What do you guys recommend

[WAHOONBOX]

GREAT FREAKIN QUESTION HERE FAN!

I AM WATCHING THIS ONE WITH MY FUEL CAP WIDE OPEN....I MEAN EYES WIDE OPEN! LETS ROCK WITH THIS ONE GUYS!

[whitey]

Dump a bottle of Bio Bor in the tank when you fuel up and you will be fine. Also make sure you carry some extra fuel filters because the algae is going to clog the filters.

[homewrecker]

Been there done that got the T shirt.After 2 seasons of trying everything under the sun that was recommended,I finally just pumped the tanks dry and used a Butyl Alcohol based degreaser diluted with warm water in a bug sprayer to clean the tanks then flushed them with warm water and Dawn dish soap then rinsed them with water,pumping the tanks out between each step.Then I replaced all the fuel lines as well as Racors,only because these were 12 years old and I felt they needed replaced.That was 5 years ago and knock on wood I havent had a problem since.I dont miss those days of having to change the racor filters at the most inconvenient times and usually in the roughest seas.I use the FPPF product "Killem" I think its called when I fill up to make sure I dont get any contamination from the tanks at the Marina.Good Luck,I hope you dont have the frustrations that I had endured over those 2 seasons.

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

Lucas fuel treatment works great will also cut down on sooting at the transom has good lubricants in it also which you need with todays diesel. Run it in my boat and all my trucks and equipment at the yard. Also use lucas oil treatment in my engines 20% to 80% oil no gripes from the mechanic.

[Seaker]

Contact a reputable yard and have them dose the beejessus with biocide overnight then have then triple filter your fuel . Cost is minimal and then run the snots out of it trating every tank with more biocide. Carry pleanty of primary and secondary filters and keep the initla runs inshore until your comfort level is good

Congrats on the new ride and good luck

[fishskipper]

Interesting topic!! Theres dozens of products out there and the Bio Bor is a good one. I've use a bunch of different ones over the years, but Capt. Troy Crane (friend , dock partner and SFC member) introduced me to Shaeffer Oil Co. I've been sold every since when you add it to your tanks you do need to have a good supply of racors. I can see the top of my tanks and when I drip a little around the fill you can see where it breaks down all the crud. Anyhow I'm really sold on their products and I also use their oil... A little more expensive, but you can run it a lot longer between changes.....They have a great penetrating oil and a spray engine cleaner that is biodegradable.
Check them out at www.shaefferoil.com.................. I'm not affiliated with this company in any way!

[luis02]

Originally Posted by homewrecker

Been there done that got the T shirt.After 2 seasons of trying everything under the sun that was recommended,I finally just pumped the tanks dry and used a Butyl Alcohol based degreaser diluted with warm water in a bug sprayer to clean the tanks then flushed them with warm water and Dawn dish soap then rinsed them with water,pumping the tanks out between each step.Then I replaced all the fuel lines as well as Racors,only because these were 12 years old and I felt they needed replaced.That was 5 years ago and knock on wood I havent had a problem since.I dont miss those days of having to change the racor filters at the most inconvenient times and usually in the roughest seas.I use the FPPF product "Killem" I think its called when I fill up to make sure I dont get any contamination from the tanks at the Marina.Good Luck,I hope you dont have the frustrations that I had endured over those 2 seasons.

I am an authorized FPPF distributor. Let me tell you, after sampling a milliong additives, I thought the FPPF products were the best. Killem is the biocide, but I prefer the 8+ Cetane for everday use. FPPF recommended not to use the Killem every fill up. They say 2-3 times a year is adequate. Like I said, I use the 8+ Cetane for every fill up. When I'm in the islands, I use the Marine Diesel Treatment, which is an all around additive.

[giantfan]

Originally Posted by homewrecker

Been there done that got the T shirt.After 2 seasons of trying everything under the sun that was recommended,I finally just pumped the tanks dry and used a Butyl Alcohol based degreaser diluted with warm water in a bug sprayer to clean the tanks then flushed them with warm water and Dawn dish soap then rinsed them with water,pumping the tanks out between each step.Then I replaced all the fuel lines as well as Racors,only because these were 12 years old and I felt they needed replaced.That was 5 years ago and knock on wood I havent had a problem since.I dont miss those days of having to change the racor filters at the most inconvenient times and usually in the roughest seas.I use the FPPF product "Killem" I think its called when I fill up to make sure I dont get any contamination from the tanks at the Marina.Good Luck,I hope you dont have the frustrations that I had endured over those 2 seasons.

I sure hope it doesn't come to that. Sounds quite time consuming.


Thanks everyone for all of your replies. I think that I am going to give that Killem a shot and see how that goes for awhile. I will be checking the racors daily and have already bought a bunch of filters.

what size "microns" filters should I be using?

[Seaker]

I figured if the 10's began to get grundgy real quick I could see the problem and try to head it off before I began to plug the secondarys.

I have not had any problems and in season we run about 700 gallons per week

Of course your mileage may vary