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Belgoes Filtration Systems
is a highly regarded builder of polishing systems for yachts and commercial
vessels. It manufactures systems that can handle from 10,000 gph to as
little as 40 gph. The company’s Web site is full of information about
fuel, contaminants, polishing, enzymes that attack tank sludge–you
name it. Belgoes polishers rely on "depth-style" Gulf Coast
Filters to strip out water and solids less than one micron in diameter.
(A depth filter forces the fuel to follow a longer path through a denser
element than does the more common edge filter, which moves the fuel through
one or more relatively thin paper elements.) Charles Bell, Belgoes’
polishing expert, recommends choosing a filter system rated at two microns
or less; filters rated higher than that aren’t good at removing either
water or the bodies of deceased microbes, he says. Basic Belgoes fuel
polishers suitable for yachts in the 40-foot range cost between $1,300
and $1,500 for the complete kit, plus installation.
Kaydon Filtration Group’s
Marine Fuel Guardian System is designed for boats 50 feet and larger.
One of its units is being installed by Burger Boat Company aboard its
Advanced Construction Series yachts, and the U.S. military uses them to
clean the fuel for, among other vehicles, the M-1 Abrams tank. The Fuel
Guardian polisher employs a three-stage filter system (two coalescers
and a water separator), rated to less than two microns. The company claims
it can remove 99.9 percent of the water from fuel in a single pass and
reduce overall sediment and moisture to less than .02 percent. Once the
system is installed, it’s basically maintenance-free: The water collector
drains automatically into a waste tank, and a monitoring system with a
remote readout warns when the filter elements need changing. Marine Fuel
Guardian Systems start at about $4,000, plus installation.
Walker Engineering utilizes
fluid dynamics to spin foreign matter out of the fuel. Within the 40-gph-rated
AlgaeSep coalescer, water is separated from diesel as a result of a unique
flow pattern that causes the swirling fuel to act like a centrifuge. The
unit does not rely on a filter element, although fuel exiting the coalescer
is strained through a 25-micron spin-on filter to trap any large particles.
According to the folks at Walker, this technology has been proven in high-capacity
polishing systems on large ships, and they have reduced it to a size manageable
aboard boats as small as 38 feet. The AlgaeSep is compact and self-contained:
Mount it on a bulkhead, hook up the fuel lines and wiring, and you’re
ready to go. The water has to be drained manually from the coalescer,
and the spin-on filter should be changed at least every 250 hours of operation.
Cost is $1,750 plus installation.
Once the fuel in your
tanks is polished, run the system enough so that every gallon is cleaned
again at least once a week. Many skippers polish their fuel for a few
hours every day as part of normal yacht maintenance and always polish
their diesel during and after every fueling. Follow this polishing schedule
and before long your fuel will be as shiny as your stainless steel.
Belgoes Filtration
Systems Phone: (866) 235-4637. Fax: (801) 697-3294. www.fuelpolishing.com.
Kaydon Filtration
Group Phone: (706) 884-3041. Fax: (706) 883-6199. www.cleanfuelinc.com.
Walker Engineering
Phone: (818) 252-7788. Fax: (818) 252-7785. www.walkerairsep.com.
Mike Smith is a licensed
yacht- and commercial-boat captain living in Stamford, Connecticut.
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