Fuel Tank Cleaning

[Gary Solari]

My boat is a 1989 model with about 1500 hours on the diesel.  I have always added biocide, water scavenger and fuel stabilizer (in the Winter) to the fuel.  It appear to me that my fuel is quite dirty and I am considering having the tank cleaned.  For those of you that had your tasks cleaned - how was it done?  The access to the tank except through the fill nozzle look very difficult.  Has anyone found a a better way to keep the tank from gathering sludge?   Does the tank in the Catalina have a baffle?  I am told if so, the tank may have to have an inspection port added to get it clean.  The fuel to engine seems OK but I am having to change my racor filters quite often.  The spin on too.

Thanks

Gary Solari
Windsong
Bellingham, WA  Hull no 829

[Ken Heyman]

Gary,

Ron has a nifty acetone treatment procedure that I used. You need to remove the tank which isn't a big deal. Stu had sent me a link to Ron's procedures with pictures. (maybe someone has the link at the ready--if not I'll hunt it down).

In short drain the tank - remove the screen off the pick up tube rubber hose - remove all fittings - waltz the tank out of the aft cabin - get a couple of gallons of acetone and slosh around in the tank roughly a third of a gallon at a time until the acetone runs clear. You also may want to look at the recent thread "dirty fuel revisited". The last post to it was May 16.

It worked for me.

Good luck,

Ken