A warning, don’t put water in your fuel tanks…

Sometimes, whilst in the relaxed holiday mode, we are not all as switched on as we should be from time to time…

We had a few instances over the last season of clients accidentally filling up the diesel fuel tank with nice fresh water.  How is this possible!?  Well the filler caps are usually in similar locations on the boat, and look similar at a glance (apart from the WATER and DIESEL printed on them).  

It is a call we dread receiving from clients when this does happen.  We have to drain the fuel tank, replace the filters, refill the fuel tank to the brim and thoroughly check and run the engine to ensure no issues.

Water and diesel is not a happy mix – it can quickly encourage growth of an algae in the diesel, which then blocks the filters, causing all sorts of starting and running issues.

Then when possible, we need to remove the fuel tank and give it a very thorough clean out to ensure all traces of water are removed.

Below are some pictures of the removal of one of the fuel tanks on one of the boats this winter, showing the huge amount of work this involves.

So…..when refilling your water tanks, please, take a few minutes to think and double check!