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water in fuel E-35-3 diesel

jsnaulty

Member II
For the past two seasons (chesapeake) I have been troubled by water in fuel. after several misadventures with fuel polishers (including them 'polishing' my neighbors boat and charging me!), I took the boat to a yard at the end of the season and had the fuel tank pumped out and cleaned, and an inspection port installed. at the beginning of this season, I looked in the fuel tank and it was nearly dry- I think they had not filled the tank at the end of the job. but it was really clean!. no water seen. put a few gallons in the following week and tried to go over to the fuel dock, and on the way, engine died and could not be restarted. sailed back to my dock, yard found one inch of water in the little fuel I had, and completely water filled racor. drained h2O again, replaced filters and all is good to go, for now. all gaskets (filler o rings) have been replaced last year, and I cannot imagine how so much water is repeatedly getting into the fuel. no tank leaks. any ideas? (an inch of water in two weeks seems like an awful lot of condensation….)

by the way, I saw Tim Reilly's former ericson, cordelia in the west river yesterday- love that red

steve naulty
E-35-3 steve naultyericson 35-3 'anodyne'
shadyside MD
shadyside, MD
 

jsnaulty

Member II
Have you checked the o-ring on the deck fill cap?

very odd, and agree, too much to be condensate.
as I stated, o ring on the filler has been replaced and seals fine.
that was my first thought 2 years ago, when this started.

by the way, anyone know the real fuel capacity of an ericson 35-3? various sources say 22 35 or 40 gallons
 
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Emerald

Moderator
This seems just too crazy, but did someone work on the engine and swap the fuel return line with the siphon break line so your pumping the extra diesel into your exhaust and the extra water into your diesel? Just seems too nuts, but so much water so quickly just seems hard without something crazy.

:confused:
 

Emerald

Moderator
I was going to ask about the vent. Typically, they are located high on the side of the hull - look a few inches below the toe rail on the side the tank is on near the fill. Did the vent hose come loose and fall down someplace it's sucking water up? Another crazy thought.
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
Steve,

I think the science proves it's not condensation. From this article:

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/myth_of_condensation_in_fuel_tanks.htm

I'd also check for water getting in the vent, vent line or the vent line attachment to the tank. Also check the tank top for water puddles that could leak into the tank via the fittings on top: fuel sensor, pickup tube or access plates.

Pascoe also states that if it's coming in with the fuel it should be a lot of water. If the tank integrity is solid, no rain water able to run in, and the vent line is not letting it in, I would suspect the fuel source. It's a lot of water to get in that fast.

Mark
 

Carefree Sailor

Member II
Fuel capacity and vent

Steve, the fuel vent for my 35-3 is high on the transom on the port side. Here is a sketch from the 35-3 manual showing the vent going to the transom. The tank capacity, if original, should be 40 gallons.Screen Shot 2014-07-21 at 1.21.13 PM.png
 

jsnaulty

Member II
No water puddles on top of tank. bone dry below quarter berth. I'm really suspicious of the vent line. check it next week. keep the ideas coming!
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
You said the o- rings on the filter are fine. What about the o- ring on the cap at the fuel fill. A weak seal will allow rain water in.
Frank
 

Mort Fligelman

Member III
Water in Fuel

Steve: You did not say where the fuel came from that you put into the tank to get to the fuel dock......

I have a friend that got five gallons in a jerry jug from a filling station rather than the marine gas dock, as you did, just to get him there......

Evidently that fuel had a large amount of water in it......he had a pile of problems from that episode....

Dont know if this applies, but my.02 worth....

After he had that episode I always run my fuel through a Racor Water Separator funnel......a real PIA but I do feel safer....

Good Luck
 

jsnaulty

Member II
I guess it's possible that the original 6 gallons were contaminated- gotten from local shell station. I would think, however, that service station diesel would have a higher turnover and less h2o than the yacht club pump-but maybe not. thanks for the ideas.
 
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