Cat 3508 water in fuel – the causeimage

Cat 3508 water in fuel – the cause

Engines

10/18/2017

Did you see the last post about the problems caused to an operator by water in the fuel of his Cat 3508 propulsion engine?

It sparked a lot of interest.

Some people shared similar experiences.

Others had questions on what the root cause was, so thought I’d share this with you.

If you’re not sure what I’m on about, you can see what happened to the vessel in the shipping channel here.

Whilst in port the superintendent arranged for the 12,000L of fuel to be cleaned, and as a result 1,000L of water was taken out!

And the root cause was this:

Deteriorated weld in the Cat 3508 propulsion engine fuel tank vent.

 

The weld at the fuel tank vent had deteriorated, so water was getting straight into the fuel supply.

What are your procedures for checking your fuel tanks?

If you have any concerns or problems with water in your fuel, or need advice please send us an email to info@bartechmarine.com or call us on 06 791552 and we’ll be happy to help.

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