Let There Be Light and Soft Water and...

She said (actually she requested) “Let there be light … and soft water … and enough chairs at the kitchen table and ...” and there was. We may be off the boat, but David and his brother, Paul, have been up to their eyeballs in house projects. There always seems to be something to do and the guys have been busy. The kitchen lighting at the new house was the pits. Cathedral ceilings in the kitchen dispersed the light, which was already pretty anemic, making the lighting in the work areas shadowy and inadequate. Mary is a fan of the “industrial theme” and we chose lights (lots of them) that looked like inverted canning jars with brushed nickel trim and added vintage style LED bulbs. Since there were already light fixtures in place, the job of connecting them up was pretty straightforward other than the ceiling is about 12-14 feet high and required David's new super ladder to reach them. The result was bright, to say the least, and he's now thinking of adding a dimmer switch.

The water in the Las Vegas desert is hard, i.e. it contains lots of minerals, especially calcium and magnesium, which deposit and build up in pipes and eat away at sink fixtures. David did some research and was able to ascertain that on a scale where “1” is soft water, “2” is medium and “3” is hard water, Las Vegas' water is an 18. We needed a water softener to take care of the problem. We purchased one at Lowe's, the guys had it up and running in a day which included cutting into the incoming water main and then installing a drain for the regeneration outflow. There is a noticeable difference, especially in the shower. Soap actually lathers now.

The latest project was adding two pendant lights over the breakfast bar between the kitchen and family room which also provided more light over the sink. We kept with the industrial, brushed nickel theme and the result was awesome. This project was complicated by the fact that no lights existed in the area and thus new wiring for the lights and the switch had to be installed from the attic. Knowing me the way he does, David suggested that the girls find an outside diversion (go shopping) for the day while the guys tackled the light installation. Good thing because the mess was overwhelming. That said, the project was nearly done and the clean-up had begun when we returned home to find the lights in place and looking great.

Midst all the projects, we still find time to scour the local thrift shops and add to our home furnishings. We've added two dining room chairs, a sleeper-sofa and six new kitchen chairs plus a couple of lamps … all pre-owned and ridiculously priced. We also discovered a newly opened IKEA store on the west side of town and though we didn't purchase much, we got some great ideas.

It's time to start thinking about Nine of Cups again. Soon, we'll begin ordering boat parts and making our plans for heading back East at the beginning of September. Time flies when you're having fun.

Meteors in the Desert

Every August we vow we'll get up to watch annual Perseid meteor shower and we usually remember to do it some time in mid-late September. We've observed several astronomical events while aboard Nine of Cups. Its a rare night that we don't see a shooting star or two during night watch. Clear nights at sea, away from city lights, are particularly amenable to stargazing. The blood moon eclipse in September 2015 was one such event and we took advantage of it by lying on deck with our pillows to view it. Photos of a slow event on a rocking boat, however, are never easy.

This year we remembered the annual Perseid meteor shower. It was at its peak the other night and we ventured out into the desert to watch the show. We set our alarm for 0245 and the four of us were out the door by 0300. The night was cool, compared to the sweltering 110F+ (45C) temps during the day. The sky was clear, but the loom of the Las Vegas lights occluded our view. We drove north on Interstate 15 about 20 miles, turned off the highway and parked midst the hills. We leaned against the car and gazed up at the stars. The moon had set. Orion was rising and the Pleiades were bright and sparkling. A perfect night in the desert.

The meteor shower was at its peak and shooting stars streaked across the sky in every direction. It was estimated that as many as 200 meteors per hour could be expected to whiz past. We didn't see quite that many, but it was quite the spectacle nonetheless.

According to several sources, the shooting stars are “the result of debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet which passes close to the Earth every 133 years. The comet last passed through our solar system in 1992. As it did so, the Sun’s rays heated its frozen surface and released trillions of small particles.

The Earth passes through this debris once each year. The particles strike the Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of 125,000 mph (200,000 kph) and burn up, creating the dazzling bright streaks.

The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for at least 2,000 years.” How cool is that? Two thousand years ago, people stood and gazed up to watch the show just as we were doing now.

The Blue View - Keeping Bugs Out of the Fuel

Fifteen years ago, when Marcie and I first started cruising, we met Doug and his wife Fay, aboard his sailboat, Nip and Tuck. Doug is probably the most laid back guy I know, and possesses an immense amount of knowledge about fuels, engines and boats in general. We immediately became fast friends, and we've connected in half a dozen exotic places around the world.

He lives in Florida now, and spent some time with us aboard Nine of Cups while were in St. Augustine. We had an opportunity to get caught up and talk about a host of subjects. One of our topics was the new low sulfur diesel fuels and its effect on marine engines. I asked whether he would be interested in doing a guest blog for us on the subject, and he graciously agreed. Here it is:

Just over a decade ago, the soot produced by the combustion of diesel fuel was one of the largest contributors to air pollution in the U.S. In 2006, in an effort to improve air quality, the government mandated reduction of sulfur in diesel fuel and petroleum refiners geared up to produce ULSD (Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel). ULSD fuel has less than 15 ppm (parts per million) sulfur as compared to 500 ppm sulfur of the previous diesel. ULSD was introduced slowly and by 2014, it was the only diesel fuel available to us in the USA. ULSD, in a nutshell, is a cleaner diesel fuel. There is little argument that the fuel available today reduces exhaust emissions and dramatically improves air quality. (As a side note, marine and off-road diesel fuel, as well as heating oil are all ULSD, and is dyed red.)

The new fuel has a few negatives associated with it, however. To produce ULSD, a new process called hydrocracking was added to the refining of the fuel. During the hydrocracking process the demulsibility, i.e. the diesel fuel's ability to allow water to fall to the bottom of the tank, has been reduced, so there exists a situation where some water is encapsulated or entrained into the fuel. Also the natural lubricant quality of the sulfur has been greatly reduced which causes additional wear on injector pumps and injectors.

In addition, sulfur was also a natural biocide which helped reduce bacterial and fungal growth in diesel fuel. Many mariners do not realize that hydrocarbon-eating bacteria exist and flourish in a wet environment and can clog filters, shutting down your engine - usually at the most inopportune time. The bacteria thrive in tank bottom water, as well as condensate and feed on the fuel, leaving behind a very black, slippery effluent.

Marine diesel tanks are particularly susceptible to water and moisture contamination. Boats are often used seasonally, so diesel fuel sits in the tanks gathering moisture and condensation in what is already a very moist environment. Fuel tank vents, which are usually vented outside the hull, easily gather moisture as the diesel fuel expands and contracts with temperature changes. Air is forced out of the tank as the air gets warmer during the day and the fuel expands, then is drawn back in at night as the fuel cools and contracts. In addition, as the engine is running and fuel is being used, moist air is constantly being drawn into the tanks.

One other issue associated with ULSD is that hydrocracking refineries can now convert residual grades of crude, e.g. asphalt and #4 and #6 bunker fuels, into #2 diesel fuel used in boats, trucks and locomotives. This technology became necessary as the demand for #2 diesel fuel became higher than the available supply. The petroleum companies needed a way to produce more #2 diesel fuel and found it through hydrocracking. Unfortunately, there is asphalt fallout in the #2 diesel fuel that is called asphaltene. Asphaltene shows up in #2 diesel fuel at times and looks very similar to the black slippery effluent created by bio-contamination. The only way to differentiate between the two types of contamination is by testing.

Here are some suggestions for long term care and maintenance of diesel fuel and tanks.

1. Keep your diesel tanks full if possible. This reduces the air space in the tank where moisture can form.
2. Check deck fill pipes to insure the rubber “O” ring or gasket is in good condition. It does not hurt to apply Vasoline to the “O” ring or gasket to keep it pliable. Replace if cracked or hard.

3. Clean your tanks regularly to insure there is no water or sludge on the bottom for your pump to pick up and carry to filters. You can hire a service to do this or make your own fuel polishing system.
4. Check to see if you have a water separating system on your vessel. RACOR makes a great water separator/filter. Check the micron size of your filter. Finding a filter with a 5 to 10 micron absolute rating is best. Always keep extra filters on your vessel. Service your fuel system regularly. Some of the microscopic encapsulated or entrained water in ULSD will pass through a fuel filter, which is why tighter filtration is always better.
5. The primary issue today with ULSD is water. Using an additive to help reduce water in your fuel is very important. Power Service “Fuel Power” is a very good product that I have experience with and is readily available at most auto parts stores. There are a lot of products available that tout they are excellent. Read reviews and check them out before purchasing.
6. Test your diesel fuel annually to see if you have any microbial contamination. This is a simple process that anyone can do. I use “Liqui-Cult” test kits. They are inexpensive and will tell you if you have any “bugs” in your fuel. Liqui-Cult test kits are available from several sources on the internet.

7. If your fuel tests positive for microbial contamination, make sure any water in your tanks is removed. Treat your fuel with a biocide. Sta-Bil and BioBor are both good biocides. They are dual phase, meaning they work in water, as well as the fuel.

8. Some of the fuel purchased out of the USA is not filtered and can create an issue to a sailor in a foreign port. It is easy to pick up a small 12 volt pump and a filter housing so you can filter fuel carried in deck tanks or, with the right fittings, connect to the supplier's fuel hose and filter the fuel going into your tanks. It might slow down the fuel delivery process but I would rather do that than be sitting on the water somewhere with clogged fuel filters.

Prevention through active maintenance is always better than sitting with a dead engine waiting on a tow boat.

W. Douglas Grimm STLE CLS OMA-1 was formally an ASE mechanic and Hazmat Supervisor. He has spent more than four decades in the petroleum industry testing fuel and lubricants as well as managing a large tank cleaning crew – generally ensuring that the fuel tanks of his hundreds of corporate customers were tested and cleaned and any sediment was properly disposed of according to EPA regulations. He's also been a boat owner for 30 years doing all his own maintenance.

Doug can be contacted at Capt.grimsley@yahoo.com

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