Fuel Whats in it

A place to exchanges questions and ideas of a technical / procedural nature. Go ahead, try to stomp us !
Post Reply
Aavenger
Mechanic
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:13 pm
Contact:

Fuel Whats in it

Post by Aavenger »

See picture of sludge from day tank..sample positive for water and this residue no idea....this was run through purifyer from storage tank...tested both tanks with water finding paste negative....cant keep fuel filter on engines ....




photo.jpg



photo2.jpg
User avatar
mrc82
Tanktop Cleaner
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2013 6:45 am
Currently located: From here to there

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by mrc82 »

Looks like mud from rivers, at first view. You were not curious to take it out from the sample bottle?
Big Pete
Engineering Mentor
Posts: 902
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:18 pm
Currently located: Solihull, England
Contact:

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by Big Pete »

That looks very nasty.

If there is water in the fuel there is a good chance that it is Biological Material, dead Bugs, yeasts, moulds etc. If your sample smells of rotten eggs , Hydrogen Sulphide, it is.
If so the water will be strongly acid, because of the Biological action and will destroy your fuel injectors and fuel injection pumps, and even your purifier !

Check your purifier from end to end and make sure everything is by the Book. Especially Gravity disc size and de sludge interval. Most modern purifiers have a much smaller bowl size than the old ones. The ones built 30 years ago had a discharge interval of 4 hours. Laval, Westfalia, ect now all recommend a de sludge interval of 2 hours.
If you have 2 purifiers put them in series if possible, if not run them in parrallel. Either way reduce the flow rate through them, if you can adjust it, to the minimum required to keep the service tank full, the longer the "dwell time" in the purifier bowl, the better the seperation.

Once you can get the water out of the fuel the Bacteria etc will die, but meanwhile order up some Chemical Biocide Fuel Treatment from your Chemical supplier and dose your entire fuel system with it.

Next you have to figure out where the water is coming from and stop it getting in the fuel. Check for holes in the Tank Air vents, faulty float valves in the air vents, cracks in the tanks etc etc.

Have you got samples taken during Bunkering?? were these contaminated?? If you dont have Bunker samples make sure you get them next time.

Order up lots of fuel filters and keep changing them, you may be able to prolong their slightly life by wrapping them in Mutton cloth, if there is space in the housings for this.

Good luck, I think this could give you a few headaches.

BP
It is always better to ask a stupid question than to do a stupid thing.
User avatar
JK
Enduring Contributor
Posts: 3066
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:29 am
Currently located: East Coast, Canada
Contact:

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by JK »

More info here on steps to take:

http://www.dieselduck.net/forum/viewtop ... 48&start=0

I'd also send a sample for testing.
User avatar
JK
Enduring Contributor
Posts: 3066
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:29 am
Currently located: East Coast, Canada
Contact:

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by JK »

mrc82 wrote:Looks like mud from rivers, at first view. You were not curious to take it out from the sample bottle?
I was once presented a fuel sample that met that description, the sediment half filled the bottle.
User avatar
JollyJack
Fleet Engineer
Posts: 1184
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:57 am
Currently located: Eastern Canada
Contact:

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by JollyJack »

Samples are fine, if the shipowner will pay to have them tested. I bunkered HFO 440 Cts in Newcastle, NSW, from road tanker trucks and the project engineer (the company had just bought the ship, which had been laid up) told me he had a great deal on the fuel, I was not to take samples, testing was too expensive.

(I found out a few years later that they don't stock HFO 440 Cts in Oz, so god knows what kind of deal was involved and what king of garbage we got. Did notice a lot of metal fines in the purifier sludge though, so it probably had a high content of used motor oil)

I only work here as boat people and, as we all know, the lowliest office cleaner is more senior to the most experienced seafarer, in the eyes of office people. You don't argue with Project Engineers based in the Office if you want to hang on to your job.

So I didn't take samples and we headed off to Tahiti for our next bunkers.........via the Tasman Sea......in June. Buddy had insisted that the drums of paint he had got a great deal on should be stowed on the boat deck and we should be ballasted down. The Mate and Captain tried to explain what a stiff ship was, but he insisted. so we sailed, GM of 6 metres, 6 second roll. By the time we passed NZ's north island, it was force 8 on the beam, rolling 25 a side and we were cleaning the HO purifier every watch. (only had one) By the time we were 1000 miles from any land, between NZ and Tahiti, it was blowing force 9, still a 6 second roll, 30+ a side, purifiers were being cleaned twice a watch, pulling out biological spaghetti, and we had 2 hours of useable, purified fuel left in the day tank.

I was a little concerned that we'd have to change over to MDO to make Tahiti, but then we started to purify more fuel than we burned. We continued cleaning purifiers twice a watch until we reached Tahiti, doing that 6 second roll all the way. (Thank God for Roger and Brent!) I ordered and dumped 2 drums of biocide in the HO storage tank (there was only one, settling and day tanks were empty) before I bunkered, and we had no more problems. We carried that purifier sludge in a fwd ballast tank until we reached Halifax, where we could get it pumped out to sucker trucks at pier 21, 40 tonnes of it! The charge for accepting the sludge was $1 a litre, $40,000 total! So is testing expensive?

It should be pointed out that the engine, a Sulzer 5RND58, had only ever burned MDO, never seen IFO 120, let alone HFO 440, so she wasn't equipped for heavy oil. The company which bought the ship had only ever operated workboats, small stuff, nothing bigger than AHST, all medium speed trunk engines burning MDO. Seemed I was the only guy around who had ever worked a large slow speed with heavy oil. :)

Moral of the story? TAKE SAMPLES AND HAVE THEM ANALYZED BEFORE YOU SAIL!
Discourage incest, ban country "music".
User avatar
mrc82
Tanktop Cleaner
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2013 6:45 am
Currently located: From here to there

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by mrc82 »

Aavenger, some news about the sample, everything is OK on board ?
User avatar
JK
Enduring Contributor
Posts: 3066
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:29 am
Currently located: East Coast, Canada
Contact:

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by JK »

Very rarely do we find out the "rest of the story".
It is pretty typical that if things are good, you get no feedback, it is when it goes to hell that people post.
User avatar
mrc82
Tanktop Cleaner
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2013 6:45 am
Currently located: From here to there

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by mrc82 »

I realize that but it would be interesting to know what was inside and what he did to fix the problem.
Aavenger
Mechanic
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:13 pm
Contact:

Re: Fuel Whats in it

Post by Aavenger »

Sorry for the delay in update....was off on vacation......sent pics to marine superintendant request humbug test kits..........seems no worries from the office side,we are still going through reams of filters ......I have spoken to management about getting sample analized but no response...my arse is covered ship still running :)
Post Reply