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COVID 19 – We Are Here For You And Open For Business.

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Self Isolation – Doing it Right

I was thinking the other day that my boat is the best, most fun and interesting way to self-isolate while the world is in chaos over the spread of this virus. Now when I say ‘self-isolate’ I mean staying away from those that are spreading the virus. Too many people are not taking this situation seriously. Mixed in with that there are many who have the virus and are unknowingly spreading it because there is no general testing available. Rather than take that chance, if you are one of the fortunate few who can just take off – Do it.

Please be aware that anchoring out is the best isolation and there are many communities that are not welcoming visitors right now. I mean small communities that do not have any people infected and want it to stay that way. There are, however, lots of lovely coves that are empty and just waiting to call a well-stocked boat home.

Caution: If you have Fever, Dry Cough and/or a headache call 811 to connect to a nurse as these may be symptoms of the virus.  

Another really good tool to find out if you or someone you know has the virus is the Self Assessment Tool.

Fueltration Tank Cleaning & Services is part of the overall support system for an emergency generator, and emergency services in general – we will stay open. Luckily for boaters, we are available during this crisis. We can help those who need our help getting their boat’s fuel polished and tanks cleaned and ready to cruise.

For retirees with no strings attached, there is always Face Time or for you PC users Facebook to keep in touch with loved ones who have to stay in town.

Emergency Services

Fueltration Tank Cleaning & Services Inc. will be on regular hours until further notice if you are needing our services. Gas Stations, Equipment, Marine Vessels etc. are our major customers and we are available to you throughout this COVID – 19 Pandemic.

Our crews are schooled in the best ways to protect themselves and our customers while getting your equipment and fuel tanks ready to work and keep the economy going. If you have not regularly kept up the tank cleaning of your emergency generator fuel tanks then it is time to call us and get a quote. Fuel is the lifeblood of your engine and now is not the time to wonder if it will start.

 

For boaters, we offer a mobile service where we can come to you even if you are anchored out. With our fully equipped 22′ Campion we can come to you and polish your fuel wherever you are.

Essential Services

  • Gas stations, diesel, propane and heating fuel providers including providers of motor vehicle, aircraft and water/marine craft fuels
  • Businesses that provide materials and services for the operation, maintenance and safety of transportation systems (road, transit, rail, air and marine) including delivery of maintenance services such as clearing snow, response to collisions, and completing needed repairs to the transportation systems.
  • Construction projects and services required to ensure safe and reliable operations of critical provincial infrastructure, including transit, transportation, energy and justice sectors beyond the day-to-day maintenance
  • Organizations, including Administrative Authorities that regulate and inspect businesses

Above is a list of Essential Services which can stay open during the shutdown province-wide. We are responsible for helping keep fuel flowing and even though our service is not supplying fuel we do keep the fuel flowing when gas stations have problems.

We also do work for barges that bring food to the island and if they can’t run essential supplies cannot be available to our friends and neighbours.

As we continue to monitor and take necessary precautions and actions to slow the spread of COVID-19, the health and safety of our employees, business associates, families and communities remain our top priority.

Going Forward

We are confident that our business, which we have been in for 40+ years, will continue after this time of economic interruption. We wish the best to all of our neighbours, family, friends and customers.

Please give us a call if you need information on fuel tank cleaning or fuel polishing your fuel storage. We are always willing to help regardless of whether you prefer to clean your tanks yourself or want us to do the work for you. We can usually troubleshoot problems over the phone. If you are stuck out in a quiet cove or at the dock we can sometimes talk you out of the problem. The best practice is to maintain your tank and take 10-micron filters with you at all times and know how to switch them out to get you back home.

 

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Spring Is Just Around The Corner

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Hello everyone,

We do business in BC so we cannot come to you in WA or the USA or the REST OF CANADA – wherever you might be so there are some limitations that you need to be aware of.

It is a good deal though if you are cruising the BC Coast along the Inside Passage this summer and could save you lots of money. And it is always nice to feel safe.

We are equipped to meet you almost anywhere on the Coast if you are having fuel problems. We regularly service the mainland and anywhere on Vancouver Island including the Broughtons and Desolation Sound.

Losing power because your fuel tank is dirty is very scary. I know because we are boaters too and we have taken on bad fuel from time to time and got stuck out in the middle of the straight – we always keep extra filters onboard so that we can make it back to a dock!

Bad fuel in your tanks is not safe! Call or email now

 

Three Ways To Get Bad Fuel

Bad Fuel – how do I get it: Check the three ways you can get bad fuel:

  1. Water gets into your tank by a broken vent, a cap left off the fuel tank.
  2. You have bad fuel delivered – although this is rare it does happen – it gets compounded if you fill up at the end of the season and the fuel is in your tank all winter. By spring you have a real problem.
  3. You leave the boat with half-full tanks over the winter in a heated boathouse and one side of the tank is cold and the other side hot – this causes the tank to sweat again introducing water which breeds bacteria.

The common denominator in all bad fuel and bacterial-infected tanks is WATER! That is the main ingredient in a bacterial infestation. The bacteria will breathe the oxygen in the water and eat the paraffin wax in the fuel.

 

Call Us Now if you think you have bad fuel

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3 Tips To Finding A fuel polishing company!

Summer is coming and we want to take our families out boating – SAFELY.

Here are 3 tips for picking the right fuel polishing company.

So we are all busy filling up our boats, cleaning, checking our equipment, changing our fuel filters, and checking the quality of our fuel because when we are out there on the ocean or our favourite body of water we are on our own. We are responsible for the life and safety of all on board.

One of the areas we must concern ourselves with is the fuel.

Why The Concern With Fuel?

If we have dirty tanks or dirty fuel that can put everyone in danger. We all know the feeling – the RPMs slow down, the engine slows down and before you know it we are heading for the shore and frantically trying to figure out why the engine quit.

After we get back to dry land our mechanic tells us we need a fuel polishing company.

3 Tips

We need to check on these 3 things before choosing a company –

  1. Do they have knowledge? Can they explain their process so that it is understandable and are they adamant about cleaning the tank too?
  2. Can they give us a written quote? This is a tricky one. Most companies do not do this because they do not know how dirty the tanks are in your boat and how long it will take to clean them. An experienced fuel polishing company should be able to give you a ballpark number estimate though.
  3. Are they reliable? Do they call you back? Do they answer the phone? You can tell a lot about a company that keeps in touch.

I hope this helps you keep your family safe this boating season. Call or email if you need any help!

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5 Reasons to fuel polish and clean tanks

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Diesel algae bugs

Dyed Diesel with bacteria and water – you should be able to see through the fuel

I often hear fleet managers, building property managers, engineers, mechanics, and others who manage fuel tanks and have been involved with fuel storage over many years ask “why fuel polish”? We never did that 20 years ago!

5 reasons to fuel polish and clean your tanks

1. Contained Tanks – The fuel tanks today are double walled and protect the environment from accidental spills of oil,gasoline and diesel fuels. If the inner tanks  fails the outer tank catches the product before it goes into the environment. 20 years ago single walled tanks were common and a single walled
tank had a spigot or valve at the bottom of the tank to let the water, sludge, algae in diesel and bacteria collected on the bottom to run out of the tank. Environmentally that wasn’t safe because if you forgot to close the lever all the fuel in the tank would run into the ground creating a spill. It was also a weak point in the tank.

Today the only way to access the tank to fuel polish and remove the water, algae in diesel, bacteria and sludge is to access the tank bottom from the top of the tank. This requires specialized equipment to clean fuel and that’s where a fuel polishing company like Fueltration Inc. comes in. We can take the contamination out of the tank and clean the fuel removing the algae in diesel, water and bacteria before it gets into your equipment.

2. Sulphur – Today in the interest of lessening air pollution our diesel fuels are low sulphur making them susceptible to bacteria, algae in diesel and other organisms. Bacteria, algae in diesel and fungus thrive in the low sulphur environment. There is more contamination with the sulphur removed as the bacteria create a friendly environment by  darkening the fuel, causing more condensation and therefore more water to be removed.

3. Ethanol – Ethanol was introduced to lower emissions in gasoline. Billed as clean fuel one drawback to Ethanol is that it attracts water.  When you have water you have the chemicals ( that the refineries put in the gasoline) dropping out of the fuel and running around the bottom of the tank like a big black blob. This can foul filters. There is also a fungus in fuel today that wasn’t there 20 years ago.Fuel polishing is necessary to remove all of these new contaminants.

4. Bio Fuels – Biofuels are very attractive to living organisms like bacteria and algae in diesel. The biofuels are friendly to the environment and are a food source for bacteria. Add water and you have the makings of a healthy colony of algae in diesel and bacteria.

5. Fire Codes – In the Fire codes both National and Provincial it says that all Emergency Generator Tanks over 900L must be a) have new fuel put in the tank b) full filtered (fuel polish) to remove particulate and in either case the tank bottom must be cleaned to remove contamination. You may be one of those mandated by the Fire Code.

Remember “tank” companies look after tanks and “Generator” companies service generators. Fuel polishing and tank cleaning companies like ours are experts in cleaning fuel and tanks.

 

Please contact me at info@fueltration.ca if you have any questions or corrections.

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What Does Fuel Polishing a Boat cost?

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That is the first question that everyone will ask!

Let me get that out of the way. It is $225.00 to $240.00 per hour or $800 – $3000 depending on the ease of access to tanks, the number of tanks, and where the boat is located.

Now, what is the cost of NOT doing your boat? That is the question you really need to ask. $ 35,000 – $ 1,000,000.00. What is your boat worth?

A fuel problem always presents itself in rough water with souls on board headed to the rocks or the beach. In calm water, the bacteria in your tank grows on the walls of your tank and the sludge from the dead bacteria settles on the bottom of the tank as sludge. No problem as long as they stay there.

The trouble begins when the water gets rough, the fuel starts sloshing around and cleaning the bacteria off the walls of the tank plugging up the filters and shutting the engine down. Any loss of power or surging is an indication of trouble.

In a small sailboat, for example, a 30-gallon tank that is fouled can reduce a $30,000+ boat to rubble.

Getting a bad load of fuel is rare. The cause is usually water getting into the tank and bacteria growth over time. The good news is that you probably only have to clean your fuel tanks once in the lifetime of your vessel.

The following video shows fuel polishing in action in a fairly small tank where the tank is clean to begin with. The video is 12 minutes to clear diesel. What it doesn’t show is the decanting process where the sludge is taken off the bottom of a tank and where the tank is cleaned of the bacteria that clings to the tank walls in a real-life situation.

For more information contact us at 1 888 713 1090

#costoffuelpolishing

#fuelpolishing

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Cetane Testing of Stored Diesel

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Cetane number or ignition quality, cleanliness, and stability are things we think about when we have stored diesel fuel.

The Cetane number is a measure of the fuel’s ability to ignite and should be a minimum of 40. A higher number does not necessarily mean better fuel but a lower cetane number indicates fuel that will not meet the standards of most engine manufacturers.

Cost- Cetane testing can be expensive, as much as $1200 per sample, but mostly because of the shipping requirements involved with sending fuel to a lab. Cetane testing by your fuel polishing company on site or when the sample is transported back to the company office to be graded is more convenient and less expensive – $ 150.00 to $ 200.00.

Definitions: A gasoline’s octane number is a measure of its ability to resist knocking as it burns in the combustion chamber of an engine. The cetane number is one of the most commonly cited indicators of diesel fuel quality. It measures the readiness of the fuel to auto-ignite when injected into the engine. It is generally dependent on the composition of the fuel and can impact the engine’s start ability, noise level, and exhaust emissions.

Building Engineers usually like to know what the cetane levels are and want a cetane test for stored generator diesel tanks because those fuels sit in the tank for over a year in most cases waiting to be used for emergencies. Having an annual cetane test of standby generator fuel is recommended along with annual full filtering or fuel polishing of your fuel and reduces liability for the building engineer.

Annual full filtering or fuel polishing does ensure the cleanliness and maintain cetane in stored fuels. What is cetane in Diesel fuel?

Contact us for more information or to have your fuel polished and cetane or octane tested.

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Fuel Must Be Clear & Bright – Fuel Sampling on Site

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Clear & Bright is a term that describes the visual quality of Diesel fuel.

Good quality diesel fuel will look like apple juice.

Over the years I have sampled many Generator fuel tanks. Probably over 200 samples were done and I have found contamination – particulate, water and bacteria – in all of those tanks. I am referring to fuel contamination that builds up over a period of a year.

Engineers ask me why those tanks develop sludge and particulate over a year even though they are running the Generators every month. I have an answer but I found an article that explains it better than I could in a million years. http://www.wpowerproducts.com/news/white-papers-articles/fuel-polishing-and-cleaning-secrets-to-diesel-generator-longevity-and-performance

Our company will sample your tank free of charge just to introduce ourselves. So take advantage of our free service and find out if your tank is clean and your fuel is Clear & Bright.

Call or email for more information on annual fuel polishing for generators.

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Have a Safe Boating Experience with Spare Filters on board.

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Summer is coming! The boating season has started and the month of June, July, and August are typically when our American neighbours show up

The radio starts chirping as they travel in groups and plug up the airwaves on their way to the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound and the Broughton Archipelago.

Boaters are checking their safety gear and fishing equipment. Don’t forget your extra filters. 10 or 30-micron filters will get you back to the dock in case the sludge and bacteria growing on the walls of your tank decide to break loose and plug your filters.

A plugged filter will shut you down and that is the last thing you want if you are going through some of our famous rapids like Arran Rapids or the Yucultas. Even Johnstone Strait or going around Cape Mudge can be a challenge under the right conditions.

Be Prepared! If you find yourself in trouble and without filters give us a call. We have a 22′ Campion workboat with fuel-polishing equipment that can come to your rescue. Find a place to anchor, take the dinghy to the store and call if you are out of cell range.

Internet is usually available at all the resorts.

Call or email if you need some help.

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Tank cleaning with lots of action in the tank

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This is a picture of the interior of a typical dirty tank. The growth on the walls is bacteria and fungus.

It is important to get this sludge and contamination off the walls of the tank and it needs to be power washed using the fuel to avoid creating more waste.

If you only polish and filter the fuel you cannot clean the tanks. That is why our nozzles are important to provide the cleaning action required to do a thorough job.

Call or email to get a free quote.

When we talk about tank cleaning with our nozzles this is an example of what we mean.
We have developed several nozzles for different applications and this is what sets our company apart from the others in the business.

Fueltration Tank Cleaning & Services can clean a tank like the one below and remove the bacteria and growth on the sides of the walls with action like this in the tank.

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Welcome to Fueltration Tank Cleaning Services Inc. We pride ourselves on superior tank cleaning and fuel polishing services.

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CONTACT US

  • Fueltration Tank Cleaning & Services Inc.

    Nanaimo: 2520 Elk Trails Way,
    Nanaimo, BC V9X0A3

    Surrey: Unit 120 9635 121 St.
    Surrey, BC V3V 7L8