Water in Diesel

[Jason]

Last pump out of the year, plus top off the diesel.

It's cold out, I have my son with me.

Harbor is busy, so we tell the attendent we can take care of it ourselves. I'm working on the pump out, my son on the diesel.

I had a small air leak at the waste vent so I started running water over the air leak with a hose.

I did this not know my son had taken off the diesel fuel cap, which is "downhill" from me. Water is running over the cap and into the diesel tank. I don't know how much water got in the tank before I threw the hose over the side, my guess at a minimum; at least a gallon or two.

Any ideas on what to do now? My only thought is to use the fuel pump and pump the entire tank out into another tank and have plenty of [SIZE=-1]fuel filter/water separators handy. Problem is where do I get a tank large enough to hold the diesel, then, how do I get it back in?

Maybe this is a task for the boat yard - dunno.

Thanks for any ideas.

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[treilley]

If I am not mistaken, the water will settle out on the bottom. Pump out until you get clean diesel and then add water absorbers.

 

[Peregrine]

Several years ago I had a friend put water in my fuel tank, thinking he was filling a water tank. The solution was to rig a surgical tube with a weight on the end that we ran down the fill tube to the bottom of the tank. We then pumped the water out into another container. When we got fuel through the line we stopped... let the tank settle some more and then pumped again. All told he had put in about 10 gals. of water. Over 24 hours we were able to get all the water out. When I started the engine I watched the water seperator very closely, but there was not a drop of water left.

Good luck,
Tony
Peregrine Spirit
E 380

 

[NateHanson]

I like peregrine's idea. You can also use the boat's fuel pump since the dip tube is at/near the bottom of the tank. Pump the water into a clear container, and then keep an eye on your racor to see if any extra water accumulates in there when you first run the engine.

What are these "water absorbant additives" someone mentioned above? How do they work?

 

[Jason]

So then general consensus is to let the water settle to the bottom, remove the fuel line after the pump, pump fuel till the water is gone and then just keep an eye on the separator?

I am also interested in any products known to help trap or absorb water in diesel. Products like Pri-D don't mention anything about water.

Thanks for the info everyone.

 

[CaptnNero]

So then general consensus is to let the water settle to the bottom, remove the fuel line after the pump, pump fuel till the water is gone and then just keep an eye on the separator?

I am also interested in any products known to help trap or absorb water in diesel. Products like Pri-D don't mention anything about water.

Thanks for the info everyone.

Jason,

I had a smaller problem with water and dirt in the tank last spring. If you just pump until the fuel is clear that will leave 1/2" to 1" of contamination under the fuel pickup level. In rough conditions that will be disturbed and enter the filter system, possibly straining the filter capacity.

On our E34 I was able to remove the fuel sender and poke a small siphoin tube into the sump under the fuel pickup. To do that you need to judge the position of the fuel pickup in relation to the fuel sender port. Then using a hand powered vacuum pump I siphoned until that siphon ran clear. I was surprised by how much sludge was actually in the sump area. In my case I eventually emptied the rest of the tank (about 12 gallons) to visually inspect the sump.

I will be emptying the tank this winter and it will be interesting to see how much additional contamination has collected since the spring.

Good luck.