Water & Slime in Fuel Filter

[Newf]

Replaced the fuel filters for my little Diesel last week and found about a tablespoon of water and a teaspoon of slime in the bottom of the filter bowl. On the previous scheduled filter changeout (every 400hrs) there was about 1 tablespoon of water in the bowl but no slime. No indications of water in any of the previous filter changes, just the last two. Engine now has 2800hrs. The filter has an aluminum bowl so cannot see the accumulation of water until I do the changeout.

Someone recommended using a biocide to kill the slime/growth and an additive to deal with the water. Should I drain the tank (18 gal) for a thorough internal inspection/cleaning or will the filters easily deal with the amount of contamination seen so far if I use the fuel additives. A good cleaning would require removing the tank I think and don't want to do that unless I absolutely need to.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Note: Engine runs great with no loss of performance.

Thanks.

 

[mgreen5228]

Replaced the fuel filters for my little Diesel last week and found about a tablespoon of water and a teaspoon of slime in the bottom of the filter bowl. On the previous scheduled filter changeout (every 400hrs) there was about 1 tablespoon of water in the bowl but no slime. No indications of water in any of the previous filter changes, just the last two. Engine now has 2800hrs. The filter has an aluminum bowl so cannot see the accumulation of water until I do the changeout.

Someone recommended using a biocide to kill the slime/growth and an additive to deal with the water. Should I drain the tank (18 gal) for a thorough internal inspection/cleaning or will the filters easily deal with the amount of contamination seen so far if I use the fuel additives. A good cleaning would require removing the tank I think and don't want to do that unless I absolutely need to.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Note: Engine runs great with no loss of performance.

Thanks.

I have added Racor filters with the clear bowl so I can monitor it better. I have also used a diesel transfer pump with some clear hose and some soft copper pipe that was 1/4 or probably smaller to feed into my fuel tank to suck fuel from the lower corner. I ran the fuel into a glass bowl to let it settle out so I knew I got the water. The soft copper lets you direct where you are drawing from way better than hose.

 

[Cookie's Cutter]

Use a biocide product called Biobor JF and give the tank a shock treatment per the instructions on the bottle. you should be changing your fuel filters every 100 hours or once a year.

 

[Newf]

Thanks for the replies.

I had the tank down to about 4 Gal so yesterday with the boat on the trailer, I lower the front and jacked up one side so any water would hopefully go one corner. Rigged up a hose taped to a rod that I bent to get to the corner. Siphoned out about a gallon into a white pail for easy inspection and the rest into a Jerry can. There was no slime/growth in it and the tank looked clean from what I could see of it. Wish I had a boroscope. Sounds like a good birthday gift. Less than a tablespoon of water settled out in the pail. I filled the tank with clean fuel and added Power Service "Tank and Fuel Cleaner" that was recommended by a friend. I will add this on the next fill-up or two and will check the filters at another 50-100hrs.

@Cookie's Cutter ,,, My fuel filter changeout is normally at 12-14 months. That puts me close to the 350 to 400hr service schedule most years. The exception was this year where is was only around 200hrs. Also the boat sat for almost 3months over the winter which is not normally the case as I typically use it through the winter. Also it only had about 1/2 tank of fuel whereas I normally have it 3/4 to full all the time.

I cut open the old filters out of curiosity and removed the filter element. No visible signs of growth and just discolouration on the one near the tank. The one on the engine looks really good in comparison. With what I've seen I think this was caught early and hopefully the Additive will help in filtering out any remaining crap. Will check out the BioFor JF. Someone else recommended a product called Killem but I couldn't find it in the local stores I went to so I will see how this Power Service cleaner works out. Will also check out the filter system with the clear bowl for easy monitoring.

Thanks for the feedback.