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Diesel fuel can easily become contaminated with microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, yeast, mold, and to a lesser extent algae. Diesel fuel in the presence of water and nutrients makes conditions ripe for high bacterial growth. In classical microbiology, microbes will generally need water (H2O), Carbon (C) source, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), trace minerals, and some form of oxygen (free or bound to other atoms) to grow. Most of these conditions are met in fuel tanks and fuel lines. Water and microbes can be introduced from the outside air or other environments. Water can also form from changes in storage temperatures, which causes condensation to occur.
“I purchased my
Gulf Coast Filter System (for my Grand Banks 42 Classic) two Click here for photos of the Gulf Coast Filter installed on Mr. Preti’s Trawler
Fuel Polishing
The Need for Fuel PolishingThe most common reason for marine diesel engines in general, and recreational trawler diesel engines in particular, to fail to run is associated with "bad diesel fuel." The things that make the diesel fuel bad generally have nothing to do with the original quality of the fuel. The problems come about because of the condition of the fuel we buy and what happens to the fuel when it gets stored, sometimes at the suppliers' facilities, but most often in our own vessels. Pleasure boats sit idle for long periods of time allowing algae time to grow in the tank. Most of this contamination adheres to the wall of the tanks and you might not notice a problem while running the engines at the dock. Once the boat is underway and the fuel begins moving around the contamination tends to start breaking away from the wall of the tank and entering the fuel. This contamination can clog your filters and shut down your engines. Having your engines shut down from clogged fuel filters can really ruin an otherwise enjoyable outing, but it could really get bad if you have them shut down while trying to navigate in high seas or critical situations. Fuel Polishing can help eliminate your Fuel Problems Gulf Coast Filters offer a Fuel Polishing Kit that once installed will be able to polish your fuel while the boat is not in use. You can also hook this system up to polish the fuel while the engine is running. This system uses its own independent fuel pump and continuously pulls fuel from the tank, through the filter, and back to the tank. The GCF Fuel Filter will remove particles below 1 micron and by using this system for hours at a time can polish your fuel to a much cleaner level than standard factory filtration. The GCF Fuel Filter has one of the largest water traps on the market at 64 oz. Components
We offer Fuel Polishing Kits to fit your needs
depending on your application. Our most popular kits are the GCF-FPS-DELUXE-MAGNUM
– RATED AT 120 GPH (Recommended for vessels with over 500 Gallon
Capacity) and the GCF-FPS-DELUXE-MAGNUM-2XF-1M – RATED AT 240 GPH
(Recommended for vessels with over 1000 Gallon Capacity) THE GCF MODEL FPS 040B CUSTOM BOARD MOUNTED SYSTEM - CALL FOR PRICING
The GCF MODEL FPS 040B CUSTOM BOARD MOUNTED Includes:
THE GCF MODEL FPS 120B - CALL FOR PRICING
THE GCF MODEL FPS 120B includes:
The GCF MODEL FPS-240BCR (CHROME) –CALL FOR PRICING The GCF MODEL FPS-240BCR (CHROME) includes the following components:
The GCF-FPS-DELUXE-MAGNUM-360 PRICE: CALL FOR PRICING
The GCF-FPS-DELUXE-MAGNUM-360 includes the following components:
The GCF-FPS-720 PRICE: CALL FOR PRICING
The GCF-FPS-1440 PRICE: CALL FOR PRICING
THESE KITS ARE NOT BOARD MOUNTED
The GCF-FPS120 DELUXE KIT PRICE - CALL FOR PRICING Recommended for Vessels with 300 to 500 Gallons (Diesel Fuel Only) The GCF-FPS-DELUXE-KIT includes the following components: 1. GCF Model F-1 (with Fitting Package)
The GCF-FPS-KIT –PRICE - CALL FOR PRICING Recommended for Vessels with 100 to 300 Gallons (Diesel Fuel Only) The GCF-FPS-KITincludes the following components: 1. GCF Model
F-1 What does this 3 Million Dollar M-1 Abrams Tank and this 3 Million Dollar Yacht have in common? They are both running on clean fuel through a Gulf Coast Fuel Polishing System.
Fuel Piping BasicsA basic fundamental in designing a diesel fuel system for any boat is to design the system so that the boat will not have to stop if a fuel filter gets clogged or an instrument breaks. There are many situations where not having engine power is extremely dangerous. It is so dangerous that the Rules Of The Road have a special category and rules for it, "Vessel Not Under Command." It is necessary to design the piping so that just adjusting a few valves will allow fuel to flow so the vessel can remain under command. We recommend using Pipe Stick Compound or Loctite 242 on the pipe fittings, or any good quality plumbing sealant. System OperationThere are 8760 hours in a year and the average pleasure boat is only used 300 hours a year. During the 8460 hours the vessel is sitting idle, the oxygen and moisture in the fuel tank is feeding the algae growth. During this time is when you want to routinely polish your fuel to keep it clean and dry and prevent the algae from forming. We recommend polishing the fuel every 2 weeks year round if possible, but remember more is better than less.Check ValveMany times you will tee into a return line going back to a fuel tank for your return hook-up on the polishing system, when doing this make sure you install a check valve on the line going to the engine so you are not returning fuel back up to the engine. Three-Way ValveThe three-way valve is needed for those who do not want to run the Pump underway. In that situation, turn the three-way valve to the proper position and adjust the two-way valve in the line that has the check valve. Fuel CircuitThis is a GCF Law when using the polishing system: Return the fuel to the same tank it came from. Any other procedure may lead to a fuel spill. That means making sure the valves at the fuel tanks are always set properly. Other pumping arrangements may be more efficient at cleaning up the fuel, but the risk of a fuel spill removes them from consideration. Day TanksDay tanks have become a popular topic of late, and a few words are necessary about them in connection with a fuel polishing system. The object of a day tank is to provide a "day's" quantity of fuel that is guaranteed to be clean and dry for the engine. Sometimes it is used to overcome the problem of excessive suction heads on the engine lift pump. It is important to remember that the clean and dry fuel in the day tank will be exposed to the same conditions that cause the fuel in the main storage tank to become bad. Given enough time, the fuel in the day tank will get to the same condition as the fuel in the main tank. A filter and a water separator are still required on the outlet of the day tank. To provide the desired results, this tank must, in fact, be a "Day Tank." That is, the fuel in this tank must remain there for only a short time. All the problems of long-time fuel storage in the main tank will be present in the day tank if fuel remains in it for long periods of time. Once it ceases to be a "Day Tank" it must be treated just like any other tank. WiringAll of the usual safety wiring practices should be followed and the pump should be protected with a 10 amp fuse or circuit breaker for the Walbro pumps. The Oberdorfer AC pumps require a 10 amp, the Oberdorfer 12 Volt requires a 70 amp and the Oberdorfer 24 Volt requires a 30 amp fuse or circuit breaker. Remember if using an AC pump that the water sensor and strobe light are 12 Volt DC. It will be convenient to locate the switch or timer close to the helm. The following page will show diagrams of hooking up a basic independent polishing system. These are basic drawings, and as you know all boats have different engine room configurations. You might need to add or take away depending on your application. The following diagram is for using the fuel polishing system isolated so you can polish one tank of fuel at a time.
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