Water In Fuel Alarm

[bigdealsam]

2012 R-25 First time in the water after winter storage on the hard. I did not "top it off" prior to storage nor did I add an additive to the fuel tank. After approx 30 mins the "Water in Fuel" engine alarm is activated. I am assuming the water is simply condensation from the winter storage however I do not have a plan of attack to solve the problem. I have the Yanmar 150 Diesel Engine.

I am considering:
1. Filling the tank to the maximum level in hopes the water would become less concentrated and not activate the alarm.
2. Or draining the 1/2 tank or so and start over
3. Take her out a couple more times to see if the alarm repeats.

Any thoughts from you veteran TugNuts would be appreciated.

 

[iggy]

I have never owned a diesel before and they are new to me. But, I would replace the fuel filter first. Most of your water should be trapped there. I am thinking of installing a fuel polishing system on my boat. Cheap enough and I don't want to get out there and have a problem.

 

[Nmontagno]

Easiest thing to do first would be to change the water/fuel separator filter, then try topping off the tank with non-ethanol and add some Seafoam, Stabil or Heat (additive) to the fuel. One step at a time. Draining all your fuel may not completely resolve the issue anyway. Just my opinion.

 

[BB marine]

There are several topics about this subject posted on TugNuts. There are many approaches. I like to go for the guarantee approach the the water is gone. What many don't realize is there is about 4 to 5 gallons of fuel that is not usable in a fuel tank. This unusable fuel over time collects sediment and water. The use of additives and and clean fuel help to eliminate moisture in the tank. Given the environment that a boat is in it is inevitable there will be some moisture in the fuel. First step is to drain the primary fuel filter ( Racor) if there is evidence of water there then there may be evidence of water in the secondary filter.(engine filter) this is where the alarm comes from. If there is no evidence of water you may be getting a false alarm. I believe this is more common with the Volvo than the Yanmar.

If there is evidence of water the chances of getting rid of all the water and crud by just changing filters is slim. By filling the tank and adding an additive may help and reduce the water from being picked up but chances are there will still be some in there. What normally happens is when a tank gets lower than a half tank and the boat is in disturbed seas the fuel slushes around more and the crud in the bottom of the tank mixes and then you have an issue again. A full tank or 1/2 or more reduces this but the issue can still be there.

If I find water in my filters and an alarm goes off I want to know I have all the water removed from my tank. Water in a diesel tank can promote the growth of bacteria and fungi. I posted my procedure last week in a different thread.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15064#p99602

I like knowing I have all the water out. Physically removing it is the only guarantee it is gone.

I have installed a full fuel polishing system with a 20 gallon aux fuel tank. This system has the pick-up in the main tank sitting just off the bottom of the tank so it pulls fuel from a lower point than the engine pick-up. I drained the tank as described in the topic post to confirm there was no water in the tank. So far I have never had any water in my engine primary filter. I also have had only small trace amounts of water in my polishing Racor filter. I have been lucky, I have 450 hrs of run time on the engine 330 hrs since installing the polishing / aux tank and no water. I use an additive (Pri-D) and have been fortunate getting clean fuel. I do not top my tank off for winter storage but I keep it in heated storage so less chance of condensation. Good luck.

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[iggy]

Sorry, I keep thinking diesel. But the racor's have the drains on the bottom of the bowl/filter that you can drain off to see.

Good point on the 4 to 5 gals of junk at the bottom. This is why I am thinking of adding a fuel polishing system. Plus you never know you could pick up bad fuel some where.

To BB Marine, very good post on the subject.