Thankyou for the advice Tony, I will think about what you have said. Two quick questions though, what is a "fuel bug" and its effects on the fuel/engine and where can I get the biocide to treat/cure it.
I would really like to stay with the biodiesel as it is so much better for the enviroment and this is ONE of the major reasons my family live afloat. Many thanks Lee, lucy and josh [EMAIL PROTECTED] Trust the boater but not his plank! visit Low Impact Life Onboard www.lilo.org.uk -----Original Message----- From: Tony Brooks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 03 November 2008 10:27 To: [email protected] Subject: [canals-list] Re: Fuel pipes and biodiesel --- In [email protected], Kennet Boater <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hello fellow floaters, > > We have just found a supplier of biodiesel near us and have started using a 50/50 mix of bio and dino diesel in our 2cldr lister. It runs very well and the chip smell is fine. Our 2ryold son thinks its funny to have a chip boat! > > The guys who make the biodiesel said the it can perish rubber fuel lines and these may need to be changed. The only info he can find just says pre 1995 cars. > > Can anyonye offer advice on wether the pipes on our engine should be changed? Especially as in the the warmer parts of the year I would like to run on pure bio diesel and our local boatyard are thinking about going to biodeisel aswell. > > The existing pipes are marked... > > 98 marine fuel iso 7840 ce 04/4 > > Many thanks > Lee wells AS long as you are talking about just the flexibles between the pipework on the hull and the engine my guess (and it is only a guess) is that will be OK. This is based on a statement by a major British mariniser that the only thing that needed doing on their engines was to fit an electric fuel pump. Personally, at the moment, I would be far more concerned over how often you will have to change the filters because bio-diesel tend to be very "cleaning" and carries all sorts of muck through the fuel system initially. Also take care because it absorbs water, rather than just floating on top of it so it might be an idea to start regular use of a biocide additive to prevent fuel bug problems further down the line. Also keep the tank full throughout the winter. To be honest I think I would try to end up with almost 100% ordinary diesel in the tank by November and start using bio again in March until it is in much greater use and we begin to see the problems or not). Tony Brooks www.tb-training.co.uk [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
