Stainless fuel lines prohibited?

Discussion in 'Diesel Engines' started by Stumble, Dec 9, 2013.

  1. powerabout
    Joined: Nov 2007
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    powerabout Senior Member

    if you have ever looked in a commercial vessels diesel tanks and have seen the electrolysis between the steel pickup pipe and the tank bottom you know that comment is easy to say but very hard to prevent
    As this is a known phenomenon there are doublers welded into the tank under the pickup and usually get replaced at the 5 year.
     
  2. nkurb
    Joined: Dec 2013
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    nkurb Junior Member

    Corrosion within a diesel fuel tank usually only occurs because of water settling at the bottom.The turnover in the actual fuel lines is high enough that such occurance would be hard to find. One shouldn't have multiple metals within their fuel lines anyways. I would trust a fuel system composed of both stainless fittings and tube rather than some other metal tube any day. Without another metal, galvanic corrosion isn't even an issue.
     
  3. powerabout
    Joined: Nov 2007
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    powerabout Senior Member

    I would disagree with your comments. They are a simplistic view on a compex issue
    The problem is the actual material from from plate to tube to fittings are all different regardless so you get electrolysis across componets regardless whether its all steel or stainless
     
  4. nkurb
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    nkurb Junior Member

    I'm no chemist, but I don't believe that diesel is a natural electrolyte (could be wrong?!). Yes, water can be present within it, but you should only be getting galvanic corrosion between metels in the presence of an electrolyte. Hence, the bottom of a tank.
     

  5. powerabout
    Joined: Nov 2007
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    Location: Melbourne/Singapore/Italy

    powerabout Senior Member

    Like you I would have never believed it until I saw it myself and have seen it many times, leave it long enough and it will drill a hole through your double bottom tank to where the fish are.
     
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