Ideas for dealing with dirty fuel for bush camp in Africa? (1 Viewer)

[landcruiser420]

Hi all-
I manage a carnivore conservation organization here in Tanzania. This forum has been extremely helpful as I am not a mechanic and have been forced to learn the basics due to my situation managing 10 old rickety cars in the bush. We have a small fleet of vehicles, mostly Land Cruisers, and we use about 1,000-1,500 liters of diesel each month. We transport this fuel from the nearest city three hours away with a large tank and smaller drums (see picture below) and store it in a tank fitted with a basic pump powered by a car battery. I've realized that the fuel may not only be dirty at the source but obviously has a huge risk for contamination on the way. We've had incidents in the last few months whereby multiple vehicles fuel filters and injector pumps are damaged.

I am thus seeking solutions and ideas on how to better manage our fuel. My first line of thinking is to put some type of fuel filter directly from our large tank/pump so that when filling the vehicles it passes through a filter first. I imagine this would be very slow but that is not an issue here.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Yes, install a filter. I would look for a large duplex filter so that you can switch back and forth between the two cartridges. In other words, in a duplex only one side needs to be working to pump fuel. Many of these are set up with filters that you can clean.

Other option is to go simplex (one filter) with disposable cartridges. Cheapest initial spend but you have to buy cartridges like these: Fuel Tank Filters - Fuel Storage Tank Filters - Cim-Tek Filters

Not sure how many of these you would go through in a year. That would depend on your fuel quality.

One other thing to keep in mind. Water is basically insoluble in diesel fuel without some kind of special additive so any water in the fuel will sit in the bottom of the tank. Usually you would want the pickup tube to be above the bottom and you would want a low point in the tank with a bottom drain (with valve). That way you can periodically drain the water off the bottom of the fuel.

 

[1911]

I use a Mr. Funnel filtering funnel to fill all of my diesel tractors. It filters out water and other undesirables.

Mr. Funnel

They are an American company, but they sell on Amazon so maybe you could get them shipped to Tanzania?

 

[Bob Morazes]

Thanks for what your doing!
I spent most of my working life in the marine industry and lousy fuel kept me busy for most of the time.
Their solutions are complex and expensive, but there are some basics that might help you.
The ships fuel system has bulk and service fuel storage.
Service or day tanks, contain enough fuel to run the power plants for 8 hours. in your case this would be a normal days quantity of fuel.
Lets say its 100 gallons. Set a side a 120 gallon tank and slowly pump from your bulk storage after you have filled all your vehicles for the day. The fuel will then have a chance to settle out most of the crap in it from storage. Be sure to leave a stand off at the bottom of the tank so you dont suck up the settled crap.

Before you fuel your vehicles you want a Racor filter, Duplex is best.

Racor Filtration, Fuel Filtration

Racor provides world leading guidance and solutions for engine fuel, air, oil and CCV filtration.

www.parker.com

Probably a smaller one based on your use.
Actually any duplex will work I just like Racor since they have done this or many years.

You want to drain the service tank about once a week to remove the crap and you can probably run it through a fine strainer and put it back into the storage tank.

Frequent vehicle filter cleanings will help and DO NOT USE A FILTER WITH A BYPASS. Racor also has filters for your trucks and duplex would be the way to go there also.

Good luck
Bobmo

 

[landcruiser420]

Yes, install a filter. I would look for a large duplex filter so that you can switch back and forth between the two cartridges. In other words, in a duplex only one side needs to be working to pump fuel. Many of these are set up with filters that you can clean.

Other option is to go simplex (one filter) with disposable cartridges. Cheapest initial spend but you have to buy cartridges like these: Fuel Tank Filters - Fuel Storage Tank Filters - Cim-Tek Filters

Not sure how many of these you would go through in a year. That would depend on your fuel quality.

One other thing to keep in mind. Water is basically insoluble in diesel fuel without some kind of special additive so any water in the fuel will sit in the bottom of the tank. Usually you would want the pickup tube to be above the bottom and you would want a low point in the tank with a bottom drain (with valve). That way you can periodically drain the water off the bottom of the fuel.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but where would you advise the filter to be placed? Between the storage tank and the pump so that when pumping it's pulled through the filter? I have no clue how our pump works and I'm curious if it would be affected by having to strain the fuel through a filter, if that makes sense.

 

[landcruiser420]

I use a Mr. Funnel filtering funnel to fill all of my diesel tractors. It filters out water and other undesirables.

Mr. Funnel

They are an American company, but they sell on Amazon so maybe you could get them shipped to Tanzania?

Thank you. This seems like the easiest solution though maybe not the best long term. These look very hand though especially for when we do field work that require jerry cans. I will absolutely look into these.

 

[landcruiser420]

Service or day tanks, contain enough fuel to run the power plants for 8 hours. in your case this would be a normal days quantity of fuel.
Lets say its 100 gallons. Set a side a 120 gallon tank and slowly pump from your bulk storage after you have filled all your vehicles for the day. The fuel will then have a chance to settle out most of the crap in it from storage. Be sure to leave a stand off at the bottom of the tank so you dont suck up the settled crap.

Before you fuel your vehicles you want a Racor filter, Duplex is best.

Probably a smaller one based on your use.
Actually any duplex will work I just like Racor since they have done this or many years.

You want to drain the service tank about once a week to remove the crap and you can probably run it through a fine strainer and put it back into the storage tank.

Frequent vehicle filter cleanings will help and DO NOT USE A FILTER WITH A BYPASS. Racor also has filters for your trucks and duplex would be the way to go there also.

Good luck
Bobmo

This is very interesting, thank you. I saw that Racor also has fuel filter funnels, similar to what a user also recommended (Mr. Funnel). Hooking up a Duplex Racor Fuel filter between our tank and pump (or after the pump?) seems to make sense though I am wary of the availability of replacement filters. However, this has been extremely helpful in understanding what type of filter would be appropriate and how the system would look.

Why do you recommend to NOT use a filter with a bypass?

 

[landcruiser420]

I have spoken with someone in Dar es Salaam and he recommends this. It is also a pump, so we could replace our old rickety pump as well and then attach this straight to our tank, right?

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but where would you advise the filter to be placed? Between the storage tank and the pump so that when pumping it's pulled through the filter? I have no clue how our pump works and I'm curious if it would be affected by having to strain the fuel through a filter, if that makes sense.

There are no dumb questions. After the pump. Putting in in front of the pump could cause cavitation and damage the pump.

 

[e9999]

^pic above: prettier and handier but functionally similar to your system plus a filter. Although in the prepackaged case above, at least you would hope that the pump and filter are well matched. (But the new one does not have a counter, do you need that?)
You probably will need to make a decision as to what kind of filter to use based on the type of contamination you expect. I would hope they come in various filtration grades. And, yes, with a filter added, your pump may or may not work as well for you, especially when the filter gets dirty.

 

[landcruiser420]

There are no dumb questions. After the pump. Putting in in front of the pump could cause cavitation and damage the pump.

Thank you, that makes sense!

^pic above: prettier and handier but functionally similar to your system plus a filter. Although in the prepackaged case above, at least you would hope that the pump and filter are well matched. (But the new one does not have a counter, do you need that?)
You probably will need to make a decision as to what kind of filter to use based on the type of contamination you expect. I would hope they come in various filtration grades. And, yes, with a filter added, your pump may or may not work as well for you, especially when the filter gets dirty.

We definitely do need a counter. I will probably go to that shop in Dar es Salaam in a few weeks to speak with them. It seems that the filter can be sold separately which would be ideal though as you mentioned I would need to do a bit of research to sort compatibility issues.

I think we can expect contamination from water and then from dirt and grime from our storage/transfer tanks and general exposure when transferring fuel and the like. We are also quite far from the main lines of import here so I can only imagine the type of contamination that occurs along the way. Are you referring to the micron measurement of filters or what do you mean by "kind of filter" ? thanks

 

[landcruiser420]

I've found that these simple filters are available with 50 micron rating. Will these suffice? Any pros and cons of installing a more heavy duty system as discussed earlier in this thread or using these simple filters?

 

[Bob Morazes]

This is very interesting, thank you. I saw that Racor also has fuel filter funnels, similar to what a user also recommended (Mr. Funnel). Hooking up a Duplex Racor Fuel filter between our tank and pump (or after the pump?) seems to make sense though I am wary of the availability of replacement filters. However, this has been extremely helpful in understanding what type of filter would be appropriate and how the system would look.

Why do you recommend to NOT use a filter with a bypass?

Glad to help, and it looks like you have many good solutions to your problem.
The reason you dont want bypass filter is that when your filter becomes clogged, you dont want the crappy fuel to come down the line. you want the flow to slow down and eventually stop until the filter is changed or cleaned.

You can also do two steps, and this might be good for you location.
Add a strainer-separator before the filter. This will take out most of the crud and water, leaving the filter to only have to deal wit the fine particles.
The strainer separators are easily cleaned so there is minimal expense.
FYI

https://www.grainger.com/product/35ML54?gclid=Cj0KCQiAzsz-BRCCARIsANotFgMKmDemyD3MMM763PqkRlJJiHrfFXydbLVEAaroWbYBTtOwvysfuHIaAsoxEALw_wcB&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=Cj0KCQiAzsz-BRCCARIsANotFgMKmDemyD3MMM763PqkRlJJiHrfFXydbLVEAaroWbYBTtOwvysfuHIaAsoxEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!281698275837!!!g!470860333120!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231

Bobmo

 

[e9999]

those handheld filters may be good in a pinch out there but with over a thousand liters per month you need something much bigger/faster I would think.
If you have a clean "final storage" tank you can certainly fill it slowly during the whole day and then dispense from that faster to fill the vehicles.
I do think that having a movable pump/filter system is very handy, though, so there is a plus for that.
I'm no expert but what I meant by filter grades is that you likely have to decide between amounts of crud left over vs flow rate / speed. And filter replacement costs. You can remove all the crud with a very fine filter but that will slow things down and clog up fast. Or be OK with minor amounts left to be handled by the vehicle filters. Although it seems like having vehicle fuel systems be damaged would dwarf any good stationary filter costs. So the latter seems better to me.
I'm also thinking that you may want to treat water differently than solid crud. Seems like that would best be accomplished with 2 separate systems.

added: but never mind the damn fuel, let's see some pics of you chasing lions in a Cruiser ! I'm envious!

 

[haryv]

Hi all-
I manage a carnivore conservation organization here in Tanzania. This forum has been extremely helpful as I am not a mechanic and have been forced to learn the basics due to my situation managing 10 old rickety cars in the bush. We have a small fleet of vehicles, mostly Land Cruisers, and we use about 1,000-1,500 liters of diesel each month. We transport this fuel from the nearest city three hours away with a large tank and smaller drums (see picture below) and store it in a tank fitted with a basic pump powered by a car battery. I've realized that the fuel may not only be dirty at the source but obviously has a huge risk for contamination on the way. We've had incidents in the last few months whereby multiple vehicles fuel filters and injector pumps are damaged.

I am thus seeking solutions and ideas on how to better manage our fuel. My first line of thinking is to put some type of fuel filter directly from our large tank/pump so that when filling the vehicles it passes through a filter first. I imagine this would be very slow but that is not an issue here.

Anyone have any ideas?

View attachment 2518008

You need to buy a centrifuge

 

[jedtd8]

I use a Mr. Funnel filtering funnel to fill all of my diesel tractors. It filters out water and other undesirables.

Mr. Funnel

They are an American company, but they sell on Amazon so maybe you could get them shipped to Tanzania?

I’ve used Mr Funnel with great results in SW ASIA.

 

[calico kid]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://tannersselect.com/using-a-chamois-for-fuel-fitration.html&ved=2ahUKEwipgJXT_orvAhVTpZ4KHW9IChsQFjAAegQIARAC&usg=AOvVaw0rO0XsQv3xd-JLsYJyMQwi

A cheap simple solution. An old Baja racer told me about this.
Easy, reusable, simple and cheap.

 

[RockDoc]

A cheap simple solution. An old Baja racer told me about this.
Easy, reusable, simple and cheap.

When I worked in the bush a few summers, we would use a felt insert in the fuel funnel to do the same thing (removing water from drums of outboard gas).

Good to see ya around Calico.

 

[calico kid]

When I worked in the bush a few summers, we would use a felt insert in the fuel funnel to do the same thing (removing water from drums of outboard gas).

Good to see ya around Calico.

Rock Doc!

 

[ntsqd]

I was told about using a chamois to fiter fuel by a vet Baja surfer almost 30 years ago, who in turn learned to do it while working in Alaska.

Be careful witht he Racor type filters. When they get water contaminated fuel pushed thru them the pleated filter absorbs the water and that reduces the available filter area until you can't get the diesel VW Caddy that you're driving over 45 mph with only ~175 miles left to get home. Ask me how I know this......