Crap in fuel tank

Redmangeoff · 10 March 2014, 11:48

Guys. G'day from Sydney. Short story is I purchased a Rib and it has stuff that looks like rusted steel wool in the tank. Fine grains and little tuffs. 150 litre stainless steel with baffles which is well and truly built in. No pulling it out. Inside of tank that can be seen looks good just stuff floating around. It's new but from China. Caught me out.

When I am cruising there are no problems encountered so far but when I drop back in 8 knott zones for about 10-15 minutes it starts spluttering. The fuel primer bulb goes soft and motor stalls. Sometime in the next 5 to 20 minutes the primer goes hard and off we go again. Very well respected mechanic reckons it's almost certainly blocking the inlet suction pipe.. We have a new external cartridge filter with site glass but the fuel in these circumstances does not get there. To clean the tank with all those baffles I was thinking about putting a temporary pump in and circulating the fuel through the cartridge theatre and back into the tank as I go for a drive up the mountains and back. Any other ideas based on your experiences would be appreciated. Regards Geoff

Locozodiac · 11 March 2014, 01:17

Is it possible to have a look at tank's bottom when fuel cap is removed ? If so, you could remove tank's fuel pipe/hose, place into a proper container and blow compressed air through tank's entrance to remove old fuel.

Could make a cork seal with attached middle hose to connect to an air pump as to have a tight fit against tank neck/cap. Once all fuel is pumped out could vacuum all leftovers with a vacuum machine. That's the bummer of having inaccessible internal fuel tanks on ribs.

Happy Boating

Peter_C · 11 March 2014, 05:14

Obviously it is best to clean the tank out. I would also recommend a good quality canister fuel filter. They will remove all the debris, before it even gets to your primer bulb.

HughN · 11 March 2014, 08:03

When I saw the title of this thread I thought it was a suggestion.

beamishken · 11 March 2014, 08:50

I once had a problem with fuel delivery from an inboard tank & the problem turned out to be a non return valve in the pick up pipe
Any debris built up around the ball & eventually caused a blockage which once the flow of fuel stopped would sometimes settle back and allow fuel to flow
I have also seen little filters fitted to the dip tube cause the same problem
It may be worth removing the non return valve & removing the dip tube & removing the filter from that if there is one fitted
Any debris would then collect in your pre filter which can be easily checked & serviced
Worth a look anyway!

Chris · 11 March 2014, 15:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redmangeoff

Crap in fuel tank

Not recommended IMHO, best to hang your arse over the transom.

steco1958 · 11 March 2014, 19:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Not recommended IMHO, best to hang your arse over the transom.

Been there done that, used the T shirt to wipe my Ar$e

Mercury · 18 March 2014, 16:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Not recommended IMHO, best to hang your arse over the transom.

But not while you are tied up in the harbour.

Hightower · 18 March 2014, 16:42

you could try and clean the bottom of the tank by setting up a siphon system. You then use the head of fuel and drop to assist in vacuuming up the debris. You could add this to your pipework for extra suck.

After cleaning the tank of major debris clean out all lines and connectors.

Festinghouse · 18 March 2014, 20:26

i drained my tank and let it dry out completely. i then used a stick with duct tape reversed and stuck to then end to pick up all the bits from the bottom of the tank. what was in mine was the paint lining from 2 of my jerry cans. i make sure i use a gauze filter in my funnel now so as to avoid the problem in future