I just had to let you know how pleased your Algae-x product has made me. It accomplished more than I had expected. Below is a list of the many improvements that I found after the simple installation was completed.

•  My stern is free of a black film due to the incomplete combustion of diesel fuel
• Fuel consumption decreased by at least 15%.
• Racor "see-thru" bowl stays cleaner for a longer period of time.
•  It appears that the engine runs smoother.
•  My rpm's increased somewhat, giving increased power.

After having the above positive results, I decided not to have my fuel tank cleaned.

Again thanks for putting out a wonderful product.

Chuck Serra

I wish to thank you for your excellent fuel-cleaning product. I own a 55-foot catamaran and am in year 3 and 2/3 through a world circumnavigation. My catamaran "SOLMATES" is currently in Turkey, having sailed from Florida through the Panama Canal, South Seas, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and the eastern portion of the Mediterranean Ocean.

I have used Algae-X units on both of my 50 hp Yanmar engines with stunning results. Only out of habit do I replace my Racor fuel filters about every 12 months, but they are generally still reasonably clean in appearance and probably do not need replacement.

Importantly, however, the fuel line for my genset is "tee-d" off the port engine's diesel supply line immediately BEFORE the Algae-X cleaner. The Racor fuel filter and two other in-line fuel filters to the genset too frequently and irritatingly have been repeatedly clogged by what appears to be black algae from the fuel tank. Clearly the Algae-X is doing a fantastic job since the port engine has never had a clogged filter but the genset's filter bank supplied from the same fuel line yet unaided by the Algae-X is frequently affected by fuel contamination. I have recently purchased from you a third Algae-X unit for installation on the supply line for the genset; I am confident this will terminate the continual clogging of the genset fuel filters.

Thanks, again, for a great product! 

Sincerely,

Roy C. Foster
Oakland, California but currently at Setur Marina,
Antalya, Turkey

I have a Yanmar 315 in my 2003 Mainship Pilot 30 II with approximately 170 hr. From the beginning I have had a constant fuel problem that necessitated my replacing the Racor filter every 40 to 50 hours. In addition there was always noticeable suit on the transom. I was reluctant to install the Algae-X system on a brand new vessel but after talking with you I felt there would be improvement over the current condition.

Well the system has been installed just about a month now and the difference is astounding! The first thing I noticed immediately was a major reduction in transom soot (at least 75%). In fact on short sunset trips I find no soot what so ever. Since I have a Flowscan monitor I can track my fuel consumption very closely. I waited until my second tank of fuel to verify the following results. My fuel consumption has dropped almost 8%, which is amazing since this is a relatively new engine. This has resulted in a noticeable increase in my range. In addition my engine sounds much tighter than before and actually runs a few degrees cooler now. After 40 hr., I checked the Racor filter and it looked like the day it was put in.

With such amazing results I plan to write to Mainship and recommend they make your system standard equipment on all their diesel trawlers. On “CALMAR” your system will pay for itself in less than a year in filter changes alone (not to mention the much cleaner transom and swim platform).

Thank you for producing such a wonderful high quality product. I highly recommend it to anyone who owns a diesel-powered vessel.

Sincerely yours,

Capt. Calvin F. Kendig, Jr. P.E.

The product ALGAE-X has proven itself a winner on my vessel and at least one other that I am familiar with.

My woes began one and a half years ago when I took on fuel in Sanibel and emptied their filling tanks. Since then, I have gone through at least twenty sets of Racor filters. I had to disassemble the Racor and clean the centrifuge numerous times. I tried fuel treatments including Biobor and Sonron. The fuel had to be emptied from the tank, polished and the tank cleaned.

All of these actions and costs still did not overcome the fact that after running a conservative 1950 rpm on our 692 Detroits for an hour or two, the engines would begin to slow. Black smoke would appear and I would have to either pull back the throttles or change filters. Even our flow scans would plug. Needless to say, I looked foolish to some since I care for almost 30 vessels. The amount of time spent cleaning the transom was enough to kill some of our fun.

The good news is that since I installed ALGAE-X and used the chemical additive, I have just completed a 500-mile trip without once cleaning the transom or having any evidence of a fuel problem. Those who regularly travel with us noticed the difference. Now our vessel is a feal joy.

I installed the ALGAE-X units in less than an hour. They are mounted right on top of the fuel tank. Our 45 Viking Sport Fish makes this easy.

The other vessel that I know the history of is a 61 Hattaras Motor Yacht with 1271 Detroits. The story is almost the same. The owner tried all of the same things that I did, and finally he went to ALGAE-X. He was very pleased with the chemical treatment and it ended all of his woes.

I was very skeptical of using a magnetic device, but I must tell you, I am a believer now and so are many of my travel mates.

Looking forward to visiting with you in the near future.

Sincerely,

Brech Kauffman

Just thought you might like to know our experience with the AIgae-X system that we bought from you last Fall.

If you remember, we had fuel problems coming in from offshore, to the extent that it almost completely shut us down several times. At the time we were 30 miles from the pass. We alternately lost one engine and then the other, had all sorts of trouble maintaining RPMs and were extremely concerned whether or not we would make it. We finally came under the bridge, lost an engine, got it started and limped home.

After pursuing several very expensive options including pumping out the tanks, flushing them, cleaning them, and hoping for the best, we settled on the Algae-X solution which we purchased from you. This happened after I had a long conversation with Don Schramm, a technical guy from Algae-X. I think you probably know him. 

We installed the system, changed fuel filters and followed his instructions, using the Algae-X catalyst, filling with fresh fuel (we left the old fuel in the tank), and ran the boat on several short sea trials. We then bit the bullet and ran 60 miles offshore. The boat performed magnificently. You would never know we had any fuel problems at all. I found that it smoked less, ran well, maintained RPMs and it was as if there was never anything wrong. We have been offshore several times since with no problems.

Based on my experience, l would recommend the Algae-X system to anyone with diesels, especially those who, like myself, must put their boat in storage for long periods of time. If you have any questions about my experience, let me know the next time I'm in the store.

Bill Kenney

John Samford in Journal

Now this, truly, is a journal entry on an obscure topic, which could only be of interest to other people interested in the details of boats. If you don’t fit into that category, I urge you to read no further, unless you need help getting to sleep.

As I sit here tonight on the boat, I am busy “polishing” my diesel fuel. I have a brand new “fuel polishing” system manufactured by a company called “Algae-X” which is running full steam down in the engine room. I don’t know who came up with the term “polishing” because it is really simply cleaning the fuel, but that’s what they call it.

The situation this system addresses is this. This boat holds 3,356 gallons of diesel fuel. When we are traveling, it burns about four gallons per hour. Fuel can be dirty when purchased or, over time, it can get water in it from condensation or begin to grow algae in the tanks. With this enormous capacity and low fuel consumption, there can be times when fuel sits in the tanks for months or even years.

Every engine has a fuel filter which filters out fine particles that might hurt the engine or clog it’s injectors. Most boat engines also have a primary or pre-filter, which not only filters debris, but also separates out water, which can harm the engine. While these filters usually do their job, if they fill up with debris, the filter clogs and the engine stops running. This happened to me a few years ago as the Lovely Laura Lee and I were crossing the Gulf Stream from the Bahamas back to Florida. The filter can be changed, of course, but this is not a fun project in a rough sea, and the engine will then have to be primed in some way to get it back in operation. Luckily, in our case, the boat had two engines, and we simply kept going back to Florida where we could stop and deal with the problem.

The solution is to run a pump, which takes fuel from the tank, filters it and separates out any water, and then returns it to the tank. In my case, it can polish the fuel in the main center tank, which holds 651 gallons, and return it to that tank or polish it and transfer it to the day tank, which holds 85 gallons and actually runs the engine and generator.

There are a number of reputable companies, which manufacture these systems. I chose a system from Algae-X, sold and installed by Marshall Solomon of Marsh Marine in Charleston. The system gets rid of water, sludge, and inorganic debris and eliminates microbial contamination. It’s components include a Separ Fuel/Water Separator and Filter, a 6 hr manual timer, a fuel pressure gauge, and a continuous-duty gear pump. Marshall came down a few weeks ago, mapped out the system, ordered the parts, and was back today to do the complete installation. It’s neatly installed on the forward bulkhead of the engine room and it’s operation simply involves setting the timer, turning it on, and letting it rip.

The system filters about 210 gallons an hour. At this rate, it would take three hours to filter the tank. However, since you are returning it to the same tank, it is recommended that you run it at least six hours to insure that most of the fuel has gone through the system. I turned it on as Marshall was leaving, set it for six hours, and I’m busily polishing as I sit typing in the saloon.

With this system on board, it’s feasible to stock up on fuel whenever the price is right, and store it indefinitely on board. And we hope our single engine won’t quit on us when we’re out to sea.

I am happy to report that I just completed a 1400 mile voyage with our new ('98)) Riviera 34 - from Long Beach, CA to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. Everything worked fine on the boat, especially the Algae-X equipment (LGX 500's & FPS-500), and the 705 additive.

Just before departing Long Beach, I had the additional tee, valve, and hose bib installed in the FPS-500 suction line (as we discussed). This allowed me to transfer fuel very easily (and quickly) from the (2) 50 gal. forward bladders and (2) 55 gal. rear drums (I used on the trip) to the main tank, and polish it in the process! 

Whenever I purchased fuel along the Pacific side of Baja, I put it only in these containers, so I never had to worry about any possible contaminants passing directly into my main tank. Now that the boat is in San Carlos, I plan to re-circulate/polish the fuel in the main tank whenever I have been away for a time, thus removing any condensed water, recombined distillates, etc.

I am attaching some photos - of the boat, and the Algae-X units. Everything is mounted on the rear bulkhead of the engine compartment, with the FPS-500 to the right of center as you look at the pictures (Port side). You can see the extra valve, and 35' of 5/8" hose coiled to the right of the FPS-500.

Thanks for all your help in making my initial voyage to, and future voyages within Mexico more trouble-free. 

Jim Perrine

I now have about 5 hours on the Algae X unit and the AFC-705 catalyst. I can report the following:

No smoke on startup (except for an initial puff). Minor white smoke on starboard engine at idles after a long run at 3300rpm. (This minor white puff appears after about to minutes) No soot on the transom after 5 hours. Minor darkening of marlin board rim. No soot on transom under the marlin board. Before, the port engine practically shook itself to death on an initial cold start. Now there's none of that. Engines have a crisper noise at idle and seem to idle better. You can hear the diesel knock. Vibration through the boat at idle has almost vanished. Fuel color has gone from dark brown two months ago to light amber. There are no "globs" coming out the fuel drain.

Scott Fuller

We at Devall Towing-Devall Diesel purchased some of your models in the past. We were having trouble with the injector nozzles on the Volvo engines we were running. It seemed every month we were traveling to one of the boats to change out the injector nozzles. After we installed the Algae-X system on these boats, we prolonged the injector nozzles Life to every 3-4 months before changing.

Also, smoking of the engines cut back.

Thank You,

Mike Devall

Over the past several years many of our clients have experienced significant results by using the ALGAE-X In-Line Fuel Conditioners on their diesel engines. The most noted benefits reported by our customers have been extended filter & injector life, lower exhaust temperatures, and reduced emissions.

Cummins Mid-South LLC- Marine Division realizes that the quality of fuel used by our customers is not always optimal. We also realize standards set forth in the US for fuel quality is not necessarily followed World Wide. Our goal with Tier II is to try and optimize all environmental influences on the high-pressure injector systems required to meet stringent Tier II guidelines. In light of our experience with your products and to ensure that our Tier II engines have the best chance to meet or exceed our performance standards, I am pleased to inform you that all Tier-II engines delivered by our Marine Division will have ALGAE-X In-line units as well as improved filtration systems as part of the standard package.

Best Regards, 

Cummins Mid South LLC
Calvin Klotz
VP Marine Division