Albin 35TE-2001 sludge in old 360 gal fuel tanks

[GeorgeS]

Twice in the past week our Albin 3 TE with Yanmar 6-LPA 315 hp. dual diesels and equipped with dual Racor fuel filters has been incapacitated due to algae-sludge blocking up the primary and secondary fuel filters. Granted we have not had many problems all season, but last week was spent mostly on plane at 3200 RPM shaking up the old girl in Buzzards Bay , followed by a bouncy traverse across Cape Cod Bay, shaking up all the grime in the tanks. The dual-switchable Racors have hopefully saved greater problems from occurring at the injectors but I am now wondering what to do about the old fuel tanks seemingly full of old algae & sludge.
The boat is currently in a very competent marine repair shop and I am sure they will have some solutions to propose, but on the off-chance that another Albin Owner has encountered and solved a similar issue with sludge in old fuel tanks, please get in touch through AOG. website. has anyone tried using replacement fuel bladders for diesel fuel , and if so, which ones please ?

GeorgeS.

[loganmj]

In my area there is a company that comes to your boat, pumps the old fuel out into barrels, installs tank inspection ports if they don't already exist, clean out and inspect the tanks, then polish the fuel and put it back and possibly treat with biocide if needed. They are local to me (Bellingham, WA) and it sounds like you are East Coast, but maybe there is a similar company? https://www.petro-clean.com/.

We have a 2000 35 TE and I am impressed with how easily accessible the tanks are and if needed that big middle hatch can be removed and the tanks pulled out WITHOUT surgery which is great in a boat that size with that fuel capacity. And the tanks are on a platform that keeps them off the inside of the hull where moisture can build up and create an environment for corrosion.

[GeorgeS]

Hey AOG members Loganmj and Mike and Shannon , many thanks for both your responses which help me deal with this problem. The New Bedford Ma yard which will be servicing the boat is very experienced on both pleasure and commercial vessels and I should have their response next week. I will let you know how it goes. Once again the great AOG website & members comes through for us, many thanks !

[Ed422]

Late to the party as I haven’t logged on for a while. I had an issue with my Albin 30 single Perkins. From the sound, I thought I had been a complete bonehead and run out of fuel. It revved up, sputtered, and quit. It turns out I had algae/junk in my tank that had clogged the uptake tube from the tank. I got the tube clear and then found a fuel polishing company here on the Chesapeake Bay. He came and pumped out some junk from the bottom of the tank and then circulated the existing fuel through his 10 micron filter for about 45 min. It probably cycled 25 or 30 times, agitating what was left in the tank as it was pumped back in. The hardest part (well, other than writing that check) was the 2 weeks I was out of commission waiting for him to come. Hopefully yours is quick and easy.

Ed

[GeorgeS]

Hi Ed, Thanks for this input. How many hours ago since you had this problem fixed ? Is the boat running well without fuel filter problems now ? This sounds much like what is going on with my tanks, all of them were built back then by the same aluminum welding shop in Bristol, only the size and number of tanks changed depending on the boat model. The fuel polishing people are awaited next week.

Thanks, George