The Continuing Biodiesel Adventures in
"Putting the 'Bean' in Caribbean"
"Putting the 'Bean' in Caribbean"
"The following report is provided here in Capt. Jim MacNeil's own words. MacNeil and Rebecca Payne are burning a 20 percent blend of biodiesel fuel aboard their ketch "Beyond" as they cruise the Carribean. Their reports are sponsored by the Ohio Soybean Council in conjunction with the Maryland Soybean Board, and by the biodiesel manufacturer NOPEC Corp. of Lakeland, Fla."
April 1998
SALINAS, PUERTO RICO--Beyond had a splendid 40-hour sail across the Mona Passage (which has a nasty reputation), sailing most of the way. Several boats left 12 hours after we did and some of them arrived before us. They motored flat out, however, and we mostly sailed. Luckily we allowed ample time for this because one fuel tank became plugged up, stopping the engine the first night. Thinking it was plugged filters, I changed these; but when I was unable to bleed the fuel system, I knew there was blockage somewhere between the tank and the electric pump which I use for bleeding the system. By changing to the other fuel tank, I was able to bleed the system. By morning the vacuum gauge was once again indicating that the fuel pump was working hard - usually this indicates spent fuel filters.
I began to think that my fuel had become overgrown with algae and fungus from sitting in the tropics for several months or that the fuel purchased in the D.R. was not treated or refined as well as stateside fuel. Once again, I changed the fuel filters, which would not, in itself, have been particularly noteworthy except that since I began treating my fuel with BioBooster, my fuel filter change intervals have been very spread apart (except for the initial change which I attributed to the cleaning properties of the SoyDiesel cleaning out the scum lining the tank and fuel hoses). There was some improvement; however, it was not the dramatic improvement noticed when replenishing dirty filters. At this point I knew there was blockage in the fuel line. By this time the winds were cooperating and we no longer needed the engine. If I needed the engine, however, I could continue running it by leaving the electric pump on. This helped the engine's lift pump to pull fuel past the blockage.
In Puerto Rico, I spoke to a friend who stayed in Luperon as long as we had. He had such bad blockage in his fuel lines that he was forced to jury rig a temporary fuel tank (jerri-can) to run his engine from the D.R.. When he cleaned his tank and fuel lines out, he found algae blooming. He removed several weeds from his tank which looked like blades of grass about a half-inch wide and a couple of feet long. One of these had found its way into his fuel lines and plugged it up. It took him one whole week to clean his fuel tank (a single 40-gallon tank) and fuel lines. He said it was the nastiest thing he ever had to do on his fairly new, three year old boat. Aboard Beyond, I have two 70-gallon tanks which, to my knowledge, have never been cleaned in their 22 years of use - needless to say, I was not looking forward to this job.
Thinking about the job was certainly worse than the actual clean up. It only took us one day. I pumped one tank dry and removed the inspection plate. There was a pile of something (rust, scale, or gravel) under the fuel fill hose, where fuel enters the tank. The rest of the tank was clean! This crud eventually clogged up the screen to the fuel delivery hose to the engine. Almost a half liter of crud had either been there for years or it was pumped into the tank through the fuel fill at a stateside fuel dock where I previously was not in the habit of pre-filtering my fuel. It obviously had nothing to do with the SoyDiesel whatsoever. The other tank had a similar, but much less significant problem. Cleaning the fuel lines was not necessary. Cleaning the fuel pick-up was all that was necessary. I was pleasantly surprised to find nothing obviously growing in the bottom of the tank and zero water.
Beyond's fuel tanks are located underneath the couches on either side of the salon. I was very afraid my boat would reek of fuel after this exercise. Despite pumping fuel most of the day, inside the cabin, there was very little odor during the operation and absolutely no lingering odors once completed. My hands were covered in the fuel, which did impart a light scent to my skin, but nothing like that which one would expect with straight diesel fuel.
Fuel tank cleaning on boats is important and many marinas and marine service companies offer this service, they might be the same marinas who sell you the dirty fuel, then charge you again for tank cleaning. There are also companies which specialize in fuel tank cleaning. Some of these services merely rent you a pump and filter. Once plumbed to your fuel tank, the pump recirculates the fuel, filters it, and returns it to the tank. This will remove suspended particles from the fuel but will do little for build-up which has settled out of the fuel to the bottom of the tank. Other services will open the tank and spray the inside with the filtered fuel to wash any sediment toward the pick up hose and filter.
I think the best way is to pump the tank dry, then thoroughly clean it, filtering the fuel before it goes back into the tank. The only way to remedy serious problems is to open the inspection ports on the fuel tank and stick your head in there to see whatís inside. Steel tanks without inspection ports should be replaced or taken to a welder to have inspection plates installed. Fiberglass tanks can be cut open and re-glassed. Properly fabricated tanks will have a sump into which all of the sediment and condensation will collect. They will also be fitted with inspection ports for each baffled section. Unfortunately, these types of tanks are rare. The sump should have some facility with which to pump it out periodically. The U.S.C.G. disapproves of sump drain cocks or drain plugs such as those on airplanes, trucks, and some cars making it necessary to remove what has settled with a small pump.
If I were in the fuel tank cleaning business, I would spray the insides of an empty tank with BioDiesel to clean and remove the varnish which builds up over time. Flushing BioDiesel through the tank during cleaning will make them good as new. Once boaters realize how much more complete fuel tank cleaning can be, tank cleaners advertising that they clean tanks with BioDiesel would find business shining. I would add a minimum of 20% SoyDiesel (more for older tanks or tanks with considerable build-up) to the fuel during the filtering process and recommend a 10-20% blend of SoyDiesel, thereafter to keep the tank, fuel lines, and injectors clean. Of course the only way to prevent taking on rust, sand, scale, or water with your fuel is to pre-filter it.
On a much cleaner note, we found crystal clear waters and great diving on several reefs along the south coast of Puerto Rico. During a period of very settled weather, which many sailors took advantage of to make easting against the eased-up trade winds, we made several trips to the reefs in the calm water. We often had visibility well over 100í as we explored, speared fish and collected some of the largest conch Iíve seen for fresh and tasty meals.
El Pinaculo (The Pinnacle) will be remembered as one of my most spectacular dives to date. Very unusual coral formations rise out of 10 fathoms of water here to less than 15í beneath the surface. Mushroom shaped coral the size of shade-trees grows here. We swam beneath the umbrella-like tops of the toadstools which could reach 20í or more in diameter. Often, several of these would grow together, their tops growing together forming caves and passageways to swim through and visit the sea creatures hiding inside. Swimming between and among these towering mushrooms was like being transformed into a Super Mario Brothers Nintendo world. We liked this one so much we went back to it a second day.
Other reefs, which had fewer awe-inspiring features, harbored enough tasty snappers to hold my attention as I tried not to attract theirs until it was too late. I am still looking for the 20 pound lobsters purported to he hiding here. Rebecca has found a few small bugs which we had to leave to molt a few more times until they are legal size.
The inflatable Avon sportboat was indispensable for visiting the reefs. A nice, stable dive platform, we think nothing of going out several miles in it. Once on the reefs, we were able to quickly zip around the reefs and find the best spots. I cut out the bottom of a bucket and glued in a piece of plexi-glass to make a bottom viewer. One day was so flat and the water so clear, however, we could view the reefs unaided as we buzzed over top of them in the inflatable.
We are anxiously awaiting our shipment of SoyDiesel so we can top off the tanks and head to the Spanish, U.S., and British Virgin Islands. Until then, we will be more than busy exploring the south coast of Puerto Rico and making a few repairs to the boat.