ValvTect Diesel

[David H]

As sort of a default, we tend to lean towards marinas that carry ValvTect diesel, thinking it’s healthier for the engine. I’m intertested in feedback as to how important this is? I guess an alternative is to get generic diesel as long as you’re dealing with a US marina that has relatively clean fuel, then you can also use an additive.(?)

Topic

[Steve Lewis]

Fuel Polishers are an interesting subject. Some of the big trawlers and long range cruisers have separate polishers. Conceptually those are just filters that “pre-filter” the fuel in the tank, some even try to kill microbes with UV light…… I guess the idea is to clean the fuel before it gets to the Primary and Last Chance filters. Get rid of the junk before it has a chance to possibly cause an issue while out at sea.

For us “recreational use” boaters, the polishing happens through normal use of the boat. The fuel system draws more fuel than is needed by the engine and then returns the excess back to the tank. So as an example my 6CTA’s are burning 29gph at cruise(real number) but the fuel system might be drawing 50gph(total guess) from the tank, drawing it through the Double Double and then through the on engine, burn the 29 and return 21gph of filtered fuel back to the tank. That was just an illustration as opposed to real numbers. If I cruise far enough, I polish the entire tank as I am using it. I might even polish it a few times depending on how the numbers work out. If I am drawing 50gph and run 4 hours then I can filter 200 gallons. If I start with 200 gallons(which is a half fuel load for me) and I am burning 29gphx4hrs=116gal so I will end up with 84gal left of filtered fuel. The next day I might cruise at hull speed burning 5gph of the previously filtered fuel which is now getting filtered again. So on and so forth…….

As long as the fuel that you are able to purchase is clean and you are experiencing zero issues then I could argue that you are just fine. I went the extra step of getting those Double Doubles to make life a little easier on filter change and priming as well as increasing the quality of the filtration. As Tony has written “There is no such thing a too clean of fuel”.

Preference and individual situation I guess is what it comes down to.

[David H]

Thanks Steve and Mike for the replies. That SBM filtration setup looks pretty intense, I still have the dual Racors my boat came with but they stay clean enough that Whenever I replace I’m doing it on an interval rather than because I’m seeing any debris or vacuum change. I’ve also never seen water in the Racors. I don’t have a separate fuel polisher but again I haven’t yet had an issue with bad fuel (fingers crossed). I also have a remote vacuum gauge up at the helm that we always keep an eye on while cruising.

[Mike Uliasz]

I’ve been using ValvTect for the past 2+ years. Still have the Racor fuel filter setup. 100 hours a year. Each time we’ve change the fuel filters my mechanic bubby says there really clean, no need to change if you don’t want, but I still do. He has to change his filters a lot more oven when his boat is in the Outerbanks. Motors are 6BTA which from what I’ve read filter like 5 – 8 gallons of fuel for each gallon used. Not sure on the QSC8.3 but it’s good to burn some fuel, since it will polish the unused fuel in the tanks as it cycles thru the fuel system and returns to the tank.

[Steve Lewis]

Good Filtration

I am in the Great Lakes and about half of the Fuel Docks have ValvTect. I switched from Racor’s to the Seaboard Double Double for peace of mind. I can choose fuel docks based on my cruising needs and I always check the drag gauge as part of the daily checks to make sure I am in good shape. I also carry spare filters so that I can spin one on and pump the bulb if I need to.

Always a good idea to find and note good fueling marinas in a log book. If you run into a bad one, make a note, send them a note and skip that one in the future.

Since you are running a QSC you might take a serious look at what filters you have in your engine compartment.

https://www.sbmar.com/articles/marine-fuel-filtration-the-seaboard-way/

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