Narrowboat BREAKDOWN! We've got DIESEL BUG

[@stevensarson482]

Different episode and glad to see the fantastic support you had from fellow boaters. After that what you need is to mix some fuel and hot water, in the form of teabags . That’s a bug we can all enjoy . Thanks again for the video.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

I like the idea of the mixing hot water and fuel! ☕☕☕

[@DarrenMalin]

In a fishing boat I worked on we had a very old and rusty water tank , we cut the top off , cleaned it out and used it as a box to put the new plastic water tank in.

[@glennfryer1539]

As a ships Chief Engineer, it’s imperative that you need to clean your day diesel tank out properly, check the flow and return pipework, an in-line water trap then to your filter trap.. and if you want to go crazy a switchable twin filter bank…when one blocks up, turn the lever and carry on .. clean fuel is essential for running any engine..

[@michaeljohnson5370]

I love the way you always find solutions to your problems and nothing gets you down.well done

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

No point being miserable... There's always a solution to every problem. 😁

[@barbarastevens3053]

Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Love your vlogs and your sense of humour. Best wishes always.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yes, there's always a few hiccups along the way! Glad you like the vlogs (and us!). 😁

[@NarrowboatWill]

Jobs never end. Fair play for sorting it out. People are so helpful on the cut.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yep, not even got half way down our job list for the refit and got this job added on... And yes the majority on the cut are a great bunch.

[@clovettajackson4654]

Glad you were able to fix your problem. It is nice to have a wonderful community supporting you. Look forward to seeing you make more progress in future. All the best from Missouri.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yes fortunately there's lots of helpful people ok the waterways and this wasn't (as it turned out ) too bad a problem... 😁

[@doggrock111]

I absolutely love your ingenuity, Great Video Well done folks. 🙂

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Thank you kindly!

[@stephenpegum9776]

As an avid gongoozler I'd heard of diesel bug before but never knew exactly what it was - well I do now ! 😎 And great to see such splendid cooperation from other parts of the boating community. Cheers Peter ! 👍

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Glad we've been able to teach you something. 😁

[@philhonour450]

Hi Pete That’s what I like about your vlogs it’s all about what you do on the boat and you don’t just film repetition unlike James that didn’t build the boat but just refurbished it filming driving up the motor way and shopping in London and every episode opening presents that was sent by Carol and sat in big Camper-van going to fill it up with fuel and also going for jollies on the cut in motor boat or some ones narrow boat and drinking Carol booze she keeps sending also ducks and swans just to make the vlogs last longer. I live on my boat and see them all day long and I don’t want to see them on vlogs as well You and Dawn do a great job Keep It Up

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Everyone has their own style of filming and editing etc. I guess every vlog has its viewers for its own unique reasons. We just do what we think is right... Along the lines of what we like to watch or would like to watch. And whilst ever we are getting viewers - and positive feedback - we will keep at it. Take care, keep an eye out for Thursday at 3pm next week for the next installment.

[@thomascoyne157]

Good too see you When I was going on holiday ,in the car (Diesel) I always took a spare diesel filter and a 13 mm or in old money 1/2 inch spanner did come in handy and saved time not having to wait for the RAC to come .You could always open up the front wall of the old diesel tank so as you can put tools and rope inside it and make it , The best thing about breaking down in a narrowboat is you can always put the kettle on and have a cuppa🫖☕️☕️

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We now have a spare fuel on board - just in case! And yes in the fullness of time I will try to utilise what is now the old fuel tank. Few other jobs on the list first though. A cuppa is always needed in all circumstances! ☕

[@trevormegson7583]

Like a Heart bypass ! Great engineering. Great community.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Not thought of it that way! But yes I suppose the principal was the same! 😁

[@robstirling3173]

That is the older design of waterstop filter, the later version has an alarm sensor built in so it can trigger an alarm/warning lamp to let you know it is time to drain it.

[@brianinbrisbane6632]

I've seen some fuel tanks with an extra filter before the fuel pump, just to stop anything clogging it too.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We have two filters the one Ross emptied when we first broke down and this one i did. Think the amount of rust and water was just too much for the system to cope with!

[@martingoldby7707]

Good to see you have a way forward with this. One thing, the three large holes in the box next to the fuel filter are there to let hot engine air out of the engine bay, the holes should be connected via trunking to the engine which is likely to have a similar set of three holes above the engine fitted fuel pump, the one not working.. as it is its possible your suffering with engine overheating.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yeah, that's what we found on the hot day when we thought we were overheating. I didn't know there should be ducting previously. It's now on the 'to do' list to fabricate some suitable ducting etc... 😁

[@angelaabbott6450]

Hi Peter an Dawn, the boating Community seem a good lot always ready to help someone I like that about boaters 😊

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yes in general boaters are a good bunch - it's kind of the 'unwritten' code that you never leave a boater in a bad situation...

[@billharris6886]

Hi Pete and Dawn, sorry to hear of your breakdown, that always spoils your day. I was reminded yesterday how new you are to Narrowboating while watching your episode where you took the Nuts and Volts boat out for the first time to check out the electric propulsion. Condensation in the fuel tank is a common problem newbies stumble upon sooner or later. It's wonderful how helpful the Narrowboat Community is, it made a bad situation much more tolerable. Fortunately, it looks like no real harm was done but, was a good wake-up call to be mindful of the mechanical care of the drive system. Thanks for sharing your experience and, I am glad for you two that everything ended on a relatively good note. Cheers and enjoy that Brew!

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yes, definitely a wake up call... To be honest we'd kind of done the 'it isn't broken so don't fix it' method with the engine etc upto this point. As in there didn't seem any problems so nothing needed sorting. But maybe mindful to be a bit more proactive in future.

[@billharris6886]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget Yes, you can safely take the "If it isn't broke, don't fix" approach on some things but, anything as mechanically complex as a diesel engine and the drive system attached... Well, you know... The super high reliability diesel setups have 3 fuel filters between the fuel tank and injector to protect the injector pump for this reason. It looks like you received a lot of good constructive comments which can help to avoid trouble down the road, or canal in this case. Thanks for always responding so quickly to comments on your videos. I wish you and Dawn all the Best!

[@kellyk5946]

Keep the fuel tank full during cold weather, to avoid condensation. Never leave it empty.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We think this issue has developed before we bought the boat as it was only half full of diesel when we bought it and seemingly it had been a while since it's last fill up. We will be keeping it full in future. 😁

[@andyrobo2554]

Glad you made it back home. Walked past you at Kirk Sandall when you were doing your initial repairs. 👍

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Ah! Sorry we didn't have time for a proper chat! We were a bit occupied with repairs! 😁

[@peterszczesiak6025]

Hi Peter, my advice keep the tank drain it and clean it, then you need to think about HVO in the future it's a better bet against diesel bug as its more stable and not hydroscopic allegedly

[@penneynoss9552]

Hi Pete and Dawn, great seeing you both. I can't remember which vlog, but someone cleaned the diesel pumping it out through a filter and then putting it back in. It looked like some kind of blood pump for heart surgery. I'm not really sure 🤦 Hope you have a great week. Thank you

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

There's a few videos out there of the 'fuel polishing' most recently done on narrowboat chef vlog. As for the 'blood pump' rest assured I wouldn't have been looking if it was blood - I'm a bit squeamish! Dawn isn't though! 😁

[@ehoekstra4931]

As a cheap Midwestern farmer’s descendant, I would have used the spare electric pump to cycle the fuel through the filter to clean it up . You don’t want to waste that fuel..

[@10sinbad]

You can't call yourself a boater until you've had diesel bug. Welcome to the club :-)

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We are firmly in the club now then! 😁

[@carllockpick6179]

Great job mate, pity you you couldn't cut the front off the old tank, and slide a replacement in.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We may look to 'repurpose' the old tank at a later date. Drain the fuel off, swill it out and then cut the front open to use as storage... A project for the future maybe... 🤔

[@narrowboatmeredith8824]

So glad you got it sorted once you AV a boat it will cost you all the time small price to pay for much enjoyment

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yep! Fortunately this didn't end up costing too much money wise!

[@baybeeslancashire]

Great video, looking forward to the next one guys !!

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Glad you enjoyed it! Next one out next Thursday. 😁

[@baybeeslancashire]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget need some stove action !!

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

@@baybeeslancashire well Dawn's new oven may need testing (not really the weather for having the log burner stove on though!).

[@baybeeslancashire]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget Pigs in blankets in baps !!

[@stevekagan6573]

Some beautiful scenery

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

It's a lovely part of the country and the sights from the canals are amazing. 😁

[@Dirt-Diggler]

I've had to deal with diesel bug in cars and vans before ☹️ it's a pain in the stern 😏 depending on access to the tank and ease of priming, on my own vehicles i tend to add in a bulb hand pump to help priming if possible 🤔. As usuall i enjoyed the vid and well done for sorting it 😎👍

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

I have a priming bulb kicking about aswell... Just in case it was ever to be needed.

[@3wheeler115]

You need to be able to drain the bottom of tank regular to keep the bug from developing and any water . I'm able to use the dregs in an old tractor , which runs on anything

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

If need be we will be able to empty this new tank and tank it out and clean it in future. An added bonus to changing tank as opposed to cleaning the old one out... 😁

[@brianinbrisbane6632]

Good to see you again.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Thankyou! Hope you enjoyed it...

[@jonathanstuart2727]

Good to see you moving again. For info, Diesel Bug is in fact a mush of micro-organisms that grow in the diesel tank and block the fuel system. It's become more common due to bio-diesel fuel, which adds vegetable oils to the traditional mineral oil, and those are food for the bugs. You can reduce the risk by using an additive at each refuelling, which kills the bugs. Many marinas offer a "diesel polishing" service, where they pump out the fuel tank contents, pass it through a filter, and back to the tank. This filters out water, dirt and bugs, and can be useful after a winter layup. Read more in this article: www.crownoil.co.uk/guides/diesel-bug-contamination-guide/

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yeah, we looked into fuel polishing. Due to the amount of rust in the filters though we decided to replace the tank as we thought only a matter of time til the rust became an issue again.

[@letsbefrank6269]

Good to see you managed to solve the fuel issue. Would you consider cutting a big hole in your old diesel tank and fitting the new tank inside if it could be done, to save space?

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We won't use it for fuel tank tank - but I think in the future we will cut it open as storage space. 😁

[@letsbefrank6269]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget another good idea!

[@stevekagan6573]

Entertaining. Video clips are ok Dawn

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

She didn't do a bad job... Quite talented is Dawn! 😁

[@tonypetchey6024]

Did you slide copper pipe straight into the rubber fuel hoses and then jubilee, if so if check the BSS requirements as there was an update and I'm pretty sure it's now a failure, needs to be a proper hose tail. Worth checking 👍🤔👍

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Will have a read up and check on that... Cheers for the heads up.

[@tonypetchey6024]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget www.boatsafetyscheme.org/requirements-examinations-certification/non-private-boat-standards/part-2-inboard-engines/fuel-pipe-hose-connections/

[@josephhaley7576]

Old tank remains onboard? That seems a shame if so, due to economy of space on narrowboats. Also thinking any old diesel inside might be a hazard, but fairly certain you've taken these things under consideration already and, as always, have a good plan afloat. Cheers!

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We plan on re purposing the old tank as a storage space (once properly and safely cut open) after the old fuel is removed.

[@andrewseddon7989]

Glad you got it sorted but how did it happen in the first place that amount of water - so basically ' the bug ' is a type of emulsion of diesel and water ? Anyway peter I love your Timothy Taylor t-shirt What lovely beer it is ! Keep up the good vlogs

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Water tends up in steel tanks from condensation forming - and then the point where the diesel meets the water it grows this bacteria, that is known as diesel bug. Our main issue wasn't so much the bug itself more the amount of water (and rust!) in the system. Timothy Taylors, Landlord is one of my favourite beers... If we.get to the point of regular 'cruising videos' there's a fair chance a few GOOD pubs / breweries may be visited! 🍻🍻🍻

[@DarrenMalin]

a top bloke, you were luck to meet him. But as you say boaters and a great group of nutters :)

[@vadmal5210]

You don´t ever use additive in your diesel? There are additives that "mix" your tank condensation so you never have condensation problems. We have to use these additives in winter...

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We had put some adidotve in when we bought the boat - but didn't really know how much fuel was in - but they may have stopped the big forming too much... 🤔🤷

[@bendoone7557]

Hi I seem to remember there were safety rules regarding Diesel tank fillers needing anti spill devices to stop any spillage when filling the tank. How do you dispose of the old diesel? Best of luck with your project.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Once we are happy it's all working I will check on any exact rules / regs to make sure we comply. The old filler cap didn't have any anti spill devices etc though. As for the old diesel first off we will pump out the good stuff and use it, what's left will have to be taken to a suitable recycling depot...

[@posspet]

Ha. LOL Love a bit of crack!

[@garytaylor1436]

It's very annoying when this happens. I had to remove the glass from my filter for the boat safety some 14 years ago in Scotland do you not have to in England

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

I assume not... Although we only bought the boat last year it had not long passed it's boat safety inspection... 🤔

[@catherineatkins7908]

Narrowboat Chef had the same problem recently and had to get their fuel “polished”. The amount of crap and bug that came out of their tank was unbelievable! Apparently boats that are close to 15 years old are prone to this happening. You might want to check out their channel or get in touch with them. Sometimes you have to spend money to save money later on.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yes our other option was fuel polishing but the new tank was cheaper than the job of fuel polishing. Plus the old tank would have been prone to rust issues in future... Our boat is over 40 years old so was probably overdue a dose of bug! 🤔😁

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Oh and yes we do already watch narrowboat chef vlogs 😁😁😁

[@catherineatkins7908]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget I didn’t know it was that old so a new tank was the best solution. Well done.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

@@catherineatkins7908 yeah it was built in 1977. So well over due a bit of TLC!

[@jolietjake4705]

Do you have to leave the old tank in there or is it possible to cut it out and regain the space?

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We think we will at some stage cut it open to use as storage... 😁

[@IN_THIS_DAY_AND_AGE]

At least you aren't going to have this problem with Nuts N Volts.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

True! Bits that a bigger headache with its own issues! 🤣🤣😁

[@davecolston582]

Hi Shipmates, Check out the CRT safety requirements about the installation of fuel tanks, this is for your own safety. Would hate it if anything untoward happened to you. Enjoy your videos so much👏👏👏👏👏👏😉🫂🫂🫂🫂

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Cheers - will give them a look over to make sure all ok... 😁

[@bigKDL]

Well done fixed without paying them fuel polishing con men any money shows how it should be done

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

We did look into fuel polishing but the main reason we didn't go down that route was that we had LOTS of rust in the filters so we felt that the tank was probably past it's best anyway. If we had had the fuel polished it was probably only.a matter of time til the rust became an issue again...

[@tomf4547]

😅 2nd time this week a vlogger has admitted using red diesel for propulsion. It's only for heating as its tax free 👍

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

No it's not... Red diesel can be used for propulsion on boats... There was a change of rule that should have come in this year (or maybe next year?) to say it couldn't anymore. But that change has been abolished. When filling up with red diesel at Marina's you have to declare how much of it (percentage wise) will be used for heating and how much for propulsion. The tax rates are diferent for both and therefore charged accordingly. But it's perfectly legal to use red in a boat for propulsion (I think the new ruling is being enforced in the EU but to be honest I'm not sure on that).

[@tomf4547]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget ah good news all round..used to buy mine from a farmer ;-)

[@agfbuilding]

Couldn't you empty the tank & clean the fuel ?

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Yes, we the problem we thought about was the tank is obviously starting to rust quite badly inside, so it wouldn't be long to that problem re occured. New aluminum tank eliminates that issue.

[@agfbuilding]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget 👍keep up the good work, I’m getting on well with ours should be on for winter

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

@@agfbuilding excellent - will be worth the hard work when it's done and ready.

[@workingboat]

Is your engine a Lister SR3

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

ST3

[@kathleenlench4087]

You ought to tie his hands up Dawn

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Haha! Yes it's a bit of.a bad habbit! Rest assured those hands are steady when they are holding a pint of beer! 🍻🍻🍻

[@michaeljohnson5370]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget the Joe Cocker of the canal lol

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

@@michaeljohnson5370 by arrange twist, I'm 'almost' related to Joe Cocker! Well he was my daughter's, mum's uncle... 🤷

[@michaeljohnson5370]

@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget wow ha ha brilliant that's great to know thanks for sharing that

[@lukeframpton3671]

Stick with the diesel engine 👌this battery bollox won't last and mining for Lytham iron dose more harm to the planet

[@flashbangelectrics7705]

Not a pretty sight.

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Do you mean me, in shorts??? 🤔🤷🤣🤣🤣

[@chrisallen1965]

First...

[@WingingItBoatingonaBudget]

Must have been waiting for it to come on!