Early season fuel

[Mark G]

I just purchased a 1992. It wintered over with slightly less than half a tank of fuel. There are only about 590 hours on the engine, so not much fuel was used each year. I can use another 1/4 of a tank (a bit more than half of what remains) running the boat back to my home port. That way I could refill and take on more than 3/4 of a fresh tank.

Or, should I top off before the 6-7 hour trip home? This assumes, of course, that I will have to motor. We hope to sail.

[Ron Hill]

Mark : You obviously have not been following the threads on dirty fuel and cleaning your fuel tank.  
First choice suggestion would be for you to remove the tank and get it cleaned now before you leave for home.  
Second choice would be - I'd try to get the boat home and then remove the tank and get it cleaned.  No sense in adding fresh clean fuel into a dirty tank.

By my calculations you've averaged less than 50 hrs a year which equates to less than 20 gal. of fuel/yr.  Think you need to get your tank cleaned.  To have the fuel "polished"(cleaned) is a band-aid as you'll put it back into a dirty tank!!  Your choice.  

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

Ron is a good source for sound advice.  If it would be difficult to clean the tank before departing you could probably get by if the weather was decent on your trip home and you packed an extra RACOR filter in case you do get plugged up.  (sloppy weather stirs the gunk up in the tank and can plug filters)  I'd carry a spare five gallons of diesel for the trip home in case of an emergency.  That way you'll have a nearly empty tank for the eventual cleaning that ought to be on the "to-do" list at some point.

[Jeff Tancock]

Mark....do you know your fuel is bad?
I have had problems in the past with my '88 but the tank wasn't as bad as I thought it would be when inspected. Just a result of moisture in the tank and a screen that was badly clogged up.
What you might consider trying is to pump out the fuel you have in the tanks now into a few buckets. Use the boats fuel pump and fuel filter so that you have clean diesel in the buckets.
At his point you have an empty tank that could be removed for inspection if you feel inclined. It's a bit of work but not that big of a deal.
It would be a good time to remove the screen on the pick-up tube and a chance to inspect and clean out the inside...maybe swish around some acetone or other solvent that will evaporate and not leave any harmful residue after dumping.
If you don't want to get into that right away you could pour the diesel back into the tanks and mix in the appropriate additives to disperse any water in the fuel etc. It is important to change all the fuel filters at this point, including the little one in the fuel pump. Now you will have clean fuel and clean filters (and maybe a clean tank?). You could even pump the fuel through one more time in case you have stirred up some sediment.
The only way you will know how to deal with you fuel and tank is by checking it all out as you go. It would still be a good idea to take spare filters and some emergency fuel for your first trip out and make sure you bleed your fuel system before you leave the dock.

[Ron Hill]

Mark : You don't know the actual condition of the inside of your tank is until you pull the tank and inspect it.
I have recently (this last month) heard from an owner that had installed a fuel polishing system aboard his 1992 C34 a few years back.  He used it religiously.  He recently removed the tank and told me that the last gallon of fuel was so thick (like chocolate) it wouldn't go thru the metal strainer on his funnel!!
Maybe like Jeff's tank yours isn't that bad(near spotless?), but consider that there has been VERY minimal fuel run thru your tank in the past 13years.  Of course if your PO was a racer and only kept 5 gallons in the tank, then no crud could grow up the sides over 1 inch from the bottom!

It's your choice on what you do - choose wisely.  OUT      





[/b]