Who does, or does not polish their fuel for an Albin 25?

[NickScheuer]

Our 1976 Deluxe, the DuNORD, has her original V-P MD17C, and came to us with a rather extensive on-board fuel polishing system, I've never used it, and never had any fuel problems.

[NickScheuer]

I do add Stanodyne fuel treatment at each fill-up, just as I do in winter with my diesel truck.

[kerrye]

I add 2 cycle engine oil to each tank since low sulfur diesel lacks the lubricity of earlier diesel. I do the same thing for my 93 GMC 6.5 diesel. I also use diesel preservative with each tank. I don't polish it but doing that can't be a bad idea. I removed all the diesel that was in the tank when I got the boat and added it 3 gallons at a time to the tank of my daughter's 85 Mercedes SD which I figured was more tolerant of bad fuel. I do have a day tank on my boat so I can run the fuel from the main tank, thru the filters, to the engine and feed the return line from the engine over the day tank to fill it up before running it thru the filter from the day tank and back to the engine. That is a version of a fuel polishing system I suppose.

[WillieC]

I polished the inside of my tank that had never been opened. (There was a lot of crap in there. The baffle had broken off also, so I removed that as well. It collected more crap by providing yet more surface for the black goo to cling to.) I change my filters each season as well. Adding access hole to tank was the ticket for me. I may pull the cover before spring launch just to have a look-see. I used to use Bio-bor with each five gallon addition, a practice recommended by the PO (who also urged using the incorrect motor oil) but have neglected that with shiny new tank.

BTW, do you have any idea what the micron rating of the original VP canister filter is? I have switched to an off the shelf filter from Williams Oil Filter. I think it is a Baldor. My system also has inline a Racor 2000 TM orange filter, 10 micron.

I use mostly street diesel and pay the extra tax. I was amazed at the price differential between various marinas this last summer, but I do like the convenience.

The best thing, of course, is run it often and thereby cycle the tank. Hard to do at half a gallon/hour. This is my justification for winding it up to 2400 on most runs. The Starfleet Commander is, hmm...., "frugal". With this old engine, I am trying to find the right balance between running it hard and blowing it up. And I am cheap too.

Just re-read your original post. Having that set-up on board would be worth your while to understand how it all works. And make sure all the seals are still good. Still, a clean tank with access would be the place to start, especially since it is fairly easy to do on the A25. SeaBuilt makes a great kit. I highly recommend them.

[DesertAlbin736]

Not so far. PO documentation mentioned the tank being cleaned around the year 2000 to 2001. We have a Fram canister filter with drain cock, which I've drained, inspected, & replaced the element, and of course the filter elements on the engine itself. We have put 410 hours on the engine since taking ownership in 2014, so we've cycled over 160 gallons through the engine in the last four seasons. And of course when at home store the boat in a warm, ultra dry desert climate. I add biocide fuel treatment and Power Products "Diesel Kleen" additive & cetane booster. Anti gel is generally not needed here because it never gets that cold. I keep the tank filled as much as possible, generally never let it get down below 9 or 10 gallons to fill up. We run the engine generally at least every month or two year round. So haven't had any problems to date.

[DCatSea]

This issue came up in a recent discussion at our local head-boat/biker bar, and the overall opinion was that using Sta-bill Diesel at each top-off, and a biocide during layup, changing your filters when you remember, and keeping the Racors clean, should mean trouble-free boating - fuel wise. I am adding standalone biocide to the topped off tank this layup (starting 11/24), and replacing all fuel lines before going back in.

[Nepidae]

Some considerations;

If you are a diesel user you get fuel polishing when you run your engine since a diesel doesn't use all of the fuel sent to it.

Unless you have a specific problem that is probably all you need as long as you are checking and changing your filters regularly. That will tell you a lot.

On cleaning the inside of your tank(s), caution is advised. Steel tanks can corrode inside. A friend had his cleaned out. Fuel removed and polished, tanks cleaned. Shortly after, he sprung a leak in 1 of his tanks, necessitating the removal of both, thru the side of his boat. Very expensive cleaning.

There are a number of additives, for bugs, for water, for lubricity, for cleaning injectors. Not going to recommend 1 over another. Check with a mechanic, your engine manufacturer, someone in the know that you trust. Take a pole.

Good luck.

[DesertAlbin736]

Albin 25 boats came with stainless steel tanks, so I guess that should help with the rust issue, although stainless can have crevice corrosion issues.

[coolchange]

Like most things I think the answer is: It depends. I have a 27 which should have 2 50 gal tanks but the PO during a total rebuild had the tanks reduced to 40 gal by cutting off the bottoms and welding new...so I know there was no sludge/crap in the tanks. I run each tank to about 20% and refill with fresh fuel and various additives to keep fuel clean. I am comfortable that the fuel gets "polished" as it passes the filter and is either burned or returned to the tank...I also will go through 3-5 "turns" in a season.
BUT if you have an unknown age fuel supply, or don't boat much you might want to polish. Bigger boats with large tanks and light use are the ones you hear about needing help on their first rough outing...all the sediment gets shook up and oops no power.

[kerrye]

That's were a day tank comes into good use. A small tank into which polished fuel can be pumped with little chance of a lot of sediment build up.

[hetek]

My marina offers a polishing service but I never used it.

My 25 had a loose baffle so I had it welded by a local tank shop. He cleaned it squeaky clean, rewelded the baffle and pressure tested it. I don't believe I'll be using a polishing service anytime soon.