For some years now the Algae-X diesel fuel cleaner has troubled me. These units are extremely popular among the diesel engine crowd and are widely used on a lot of diesel engines. I even recall that Yanmar offered them as an accessory item at one point, and may still, not sure. Well this week, as I mentioned the other day, I've been here in Portland, Oregon conducting an engine certification class for the ABYC and the topic of the Algae-X came up during our session yet again. The question was, what did I think about the effectiveness of this popular device? The photo below shows the unit I'm referring to in case you are not familiar with these nifty little units and where it integrates into a typical diesel fuel system:

I've taken more than a few of these units apart over the years and basically the fuel runs through the unit and gets exposed to some reasonably powerful permanent magnets, that's it. There is really nothing exotic about their design beyond that. I've been told by Algae-X sales people that the magnets essentailly neuter the microbes and stops them from proliferating.

I've questioned the name of the product. Algae requires sunlight to proliferate. If you are getting sunlight into your diesel fuel tank, you have bigger problems than the Algae-X can deal with. OK, so the stuff is not actually algae, but it is in fact microbial growth. These microbes are indeed living organisms, albeit microscopic.

So, my next question is, how much magnetism does it take to have an impact on microbes? I went to the science on this and discovered an interesting white paper discussing this in a medical context. Excerpts from the white paper relevant to this topic follow:

“Electro-therapies utilize low voltage electric micro-currents in the blood and body tissues to disable a wide variety of microbes, including fungi, bacteria and parasites. With this, they have been shown to be remarkably effective with all kinds of diseases and conditions. In addition, very short bursts of a strong magnetic field are used to treat infected lymph glands, tumors and other parts of the body that may contain pockets of pathogenic microbes or cancer cells.”

“ An oscillating magnetic field between 1 and 100 Tesla in strength has been used with similar good results to kill microbes in food samples or living tissue. When treating humans and animals the field strength commonly ranged from 2 to 5 Tesla. One Tesla is equivalent to 10,000 Gauss or 10 K Gauss. In an experiment with mammary cancer tumors in rats after 6 days of treatment 15 out of 18 showed tumor shrinkage while the remaining 3 had a growth interruption.”

So, could the Algae-X folks please respond to this post with some information on how many Tesla of magnetic field strength their relatively small magnets actually deliver? I'm not buying their premise and suggest that the product is one of the most successful marketing gimmicks I've ever seen. I'm not a micro-biologist, but I need somebody to explain the true science behind the Algae-X to me, and provide me with specific data to support the long standing premise that these devices actually have an impact on the microbes that can grow in diesel fuel. My position is based on the above two paragraphs, and the fact that I'm certain the magnets inside an Algae-X device will not generate anywhere near even 1 Tesla of magnetic field strength. Get back to me people, I need help on this.

I'm on the road this week and conducting a seminar in Portland, Oregon for the ABYC addressing gasoline engines. During the class sessions we do sometimes compare and contrast gas vs. diesel and so on.

Well I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love it when I find out about something new (to me) from someone attending one of my classes, and today Ruth turned me on to a home run resource that I hadn't heard of before but is apparently common knowledge here in the Pacific Northwest. So, I've got to share because this is really useful stuff. It's a website: www.boatdiesel.com and it really has use to many different boater types. The site has a forum for Q + A, a series of calculator functions to help determine correct propeller size and pitch based on your boat's actual specifications, horsepower requirement calculator to name several. the site also provides access to manuals, and articles specific to a variety of diesel engines.

The site provides a service, and access to specific areas of interest is  limited by a series of "membership" categories, from the recreational boater level right on up through super professional levels. But that said, even at the consumer level, which costs $25 per year, the amount of knowledge that can be gained is well worth the price. Check it out!

Most folks know that barnacles can cause a bit of havoc when they attach themselves to the bottom of their boat, especially in the wrong places. I did another tour through the boatyard last week and discovered one cruising boat that needs to read this installment. The photos below show some of the wrong places where barnacles can really cause some serious damage if left in place after launch. Let me explain the potential problems, and my own easy solution.

In the photo above, we see the raw water intake strainer for the boat's engine. More than 50% of the strainer is covered by attached barnacles. This is guaranteed to affect water volume getting to the engine and through its cooling system. Symptomatically, this will manifest itself as an engine that runs too hot at high rpm.

Let's see what the next photo shows.

 The above photo is a water discharge, not sure what for but it really doesn't matter, its almost totally plugged. A clogged drain if you will. Its going to cause something to overflow into the boat.

Let's look at one more:

The above photo shows a cutlass bearing case just forward of the propeller. In this case the prop shaft exits at the trailing edge of the keel and the bronze fitting that holds the cutlass in place has cast in scoops port and starboard that draw water into the cutlass to cool and lubricate it. Both scoops on the fitting on this same boat are totally clogged with barnacles. On this boat, replacement of the cutlass bearing is a MAJOR job. Also, if the cutlass bearing actually burns out, it's probably going to cause damage to the propellor shaft. Another major job which on this craft would involve removal of the rudder before the shaft could be pulled out for replacement. Were talking thousands of dollars here to get this fixed for the sake of a few barnacles restricting water flow.

OK, so how to prevent all of this? For the boat in the photos, assuming damage hasn't already occured, a thorough scraping and cleaning of all the barnacle infestation is step one, and that's going to mean getting up inside the through hull fittings and I would recommend removal of the sea strainer to check for growth behind it. Once cleaned out, I use a medium sized artist paint brush to get up inside the through hull fittings with anti-foulant paint. Apply liberally, but in the case of the strainer, not to the extent that the paint actually clogs the holes in the strainer. Same thing for the cutlass scoops, totally coat inside the scoops with anti-foulant, but don't restrict the water flow with globs of paint.

Ignoring these steps is going to be really expensive to fix. Check your boat out before this years launch.

If you've been reading my posts here for a while you know that my primary employer is the ABYC, the primary standards writing organization in the US that deals with engineering aspects of boat construction and repair. Very often within our standards we make reference to third party testing requirements for equipment used on boats. This is important to ensure that the specific engineering aspects we have deemed as important have been met by vendors supplying our industry. Well one of our members, XANTREX has recently begun a short series of publications simply entitled "Tech Doctor".

 I thought I'd share one of their most recent releases with you today because it coincidentally goes right along with some of the information I used in a recent two part series covering Inverter / Chargers for Practical Sailor magazine. In the Practical Sailor piece I discussed product labeling and issues of third party testing. Why? Because I feel that with inverter chargers, this sort of testing is especially important because failure and or problems with these devices can be extremely dangerous.  The following article was written by Don Wilson, a sales application engineer for Xantrex Technologies, one of the primary suppliers of inverter / chargers to our industry. I share this because I want to reiterate my own feelings, and Don has covered that point quite well in my view. So, from Don Wilson, the Xantrex "Tech Doctor":

Why is Regulatory Compliance Such a Big Deal?

… What’s the Risk if Your Onboard Electronics Lacks It?

By Don Wilson

Ever been in the market for one of those hot new onboard marine electronics? As you reviewed your top choices, you likely compared plenty of features and benefits … but, did you happen to check for that seemingly inconspicuous “regulatory compliance mark?” If you didn’t, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment down the road, and potential serious risk. In my opinion, regulatory compliance is mandatory and is arguably the best indicator of a product’s ability to perform as well as to prevent harmful consequences or even death. Let’s talk about this subject in more detail to understand why this is so important.

Q: Why should I make sure that my products have regulatory approval?

TECH DOCTOR: Well, consider this: Anyone who has been to a basic electronics class can make a simple power supply for charging batteries. Those products could be sold for use in any state or province. However, if there’s a circuit that is too small for the maximum rated power, it will fail. What happens when it fails? It shuts off? Smoke? Fire? What if it charges batteries fine, but fails to charge the rate down? Damaged batteries?

In addition, a regulatory mark also informs a consumer that the product was built by the manufacturer, and then sent to an independent testing laboratory to uncover and isolate any unsafe issues. This test is usually very rigorous, time consuming, and expensive.

QUESTION: What specific approvals or marks should I look for?

TECH DOCTOR: I’ll focus my answer or remarks for electronics here. UL or Underwriter’s Laboratories is the main regulatory body in the US. Canada has a similar standard written by CSA. This means that they write the specifications and the test procedures. They also have testing labs that give exclusive approval to mark the product. However, there are many testing labs that can mark a product for US use, but they are the only ones who are authorized to mark the products that pass the UL, or CSA written test procedures.  In the North American marine markets, the regulatory standard for power electronics is UL 458 with marine supplement.

QUESTION: What are the consequences of using a non-regulated product?

TECH DOCTOR: The consequences can vary widely. It’s like asking, ”What are the consequences of not wearing shoes on a beach?” Likely, you’ll be okay, but there could be something in the sand that is unseen that can cause you pain or suffering. In an electrical device, anything from a puff of smoke, to real fire, to a shock hazard or something worse could be the result of a poorly designed or ill performing product.

QUESTION: Are non-regulated products legal? Would you recommend these for use in any limited applications?

TECH DOCTOR: Legal? Yes…sort of. Obviously, there are products that can be sold without the mark or listing and there are plenty of them out there which is why you should always check.  However, there are certain approvals that require listing. For instance, an inspector will not approve a house build if non-UL parts are used. On the other hand, a non-UL breaker could be put in a panel that is UL listed for use with the non-UL breaker (since UL tests the entire panel, breaker and all). This is an example of a legal non-listed product being used legally, but it required the panel manufacturer to do the listing.  You may be able to buy a non-regulated product for a cheaper price but doyou really want to take that risk?  I wouldn’t.

QUESTION: Can you provide an example where a non-regulated product caused extensive damage or put life of people onboard in danger?

TECH DOCTOR: I do remember hearing a story about a 55-gallon aquarium which had a non-UL listed pump. The pump overheated, igniting a fire and causing major damage, killing numerous fish and a kitten, the latter of which died of smoke inhalation.  There were numerous causes for the fire, including a non-GFCI outlet and other factors, but if the motor had gone through UL testing the design could have been changed to shut down on overheat before temperatures climbed to the ignition point.

I'd like to point out that Don only references UL and CSA (Canadian) testing entities. ABYC will sometimes refer specifically to UL, and CSA marking is also referenced within our standards as well as SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and others. Its important to remember that the ABYC is increasingly referencing other "recognized third party testing labs" and so in some cases you may see a product that simply has labeling that states: "Complies with ABYC Standard XX"( depending upon the specific standard, the number for the standard will vary). ABYC is NOT a testing Laboratory, we are a standards writing group, so keep in mind that the ABYC does not certify products.

The Dynaplate is nothing new, they've been around for years. In the days of LORAN C the Dynaplate was a staple as part of any complete installation to ensure a good solid ground for the system and keep RFI noise at a minimum. Today many people still have a Dynaplate installed for grounding purposes, but the truth is not that many people really understand the design premise surrounding this seemingly simple little plate. I think its safe to say that the majority of boat owners just see the plate, think nothing of it and surely don't consider it as an item that requires periodic maintenance. In the photo below you see a new Dynaplate:

The Dynaplate is made of what is known as sintered bronze, think of the plate as a metallic 'sponge". Looked at under a microscope it will look like thousands of bronze colored BB's all contected together. When new the sintered bronze is extremely porous and will absorb water, which is the exact premise for its function. You see grounding requires a specified surface area of conducting metal to the ground, whether it be on land under your lawn, or in the water attached to your boat specified values are given for effective ground surface area. To that end, the manufacturer, Guest, recommends three different sized Dynaplates for three different uses. The basic model is 6"X2"X1/2" and is suggested for basic electrical bonding purposes, whereby all of your underwater metals are tied together via a bonding system on your boat. Bonding is a topic for another entry here and i'll certainly get to it at a later date.

The second size Guest offers is 12"X3"X1/2" and is recommended for LORAN C use and to serve as a radio frequency ground. The largest plate is 18"X6"X1/2" and is recommended as a suffieient ground plane for SSB or Ham radio use.

The simple idea here is that since the plate is absorbing water it is actually exposing a much larger surface area to the ground than the plate's actual physical dimensions imply. For example, with the largest plate mentioned above, the manufacturer claims it provides the equivalent of 12 square feet of ground surface area.

In theory this is logical, sound thinking, but marine life realities kick in here and that's where the maintenance side of the Dynaplate comes into play. You can clearly see the DO NOT PAINT labeling on the above plate, yet we see many that end up with a nice liberal coat of anti-fouling bottom paint smeared all over them. Once that's been done, the plate is effectively useless. The sintered bronze will do just what it's supposed to in that event, absorb the paint, blocking all of the pores in the metal and reducing the exposed surface area. I've seen some where the boat owner realized the error in their ways and tried to get all the bottom paint off the plate with acetone or similar solvent. Trust me, its too late, all you do when you try to clean the plate at this point is drive the paint a little further below the surface. The pores in the metal are forever blocked. You need a new plate. In the photo below, you see a plate that has had more usual treatment over the years, as in no maintenance.

The plate above can be saved. Its going to need some scraping to get the barnacles off and then a good scrubbing with a wire brush and some bleach. Scrub until you get it back to its original bronze color. This should be done annually if you are going to rely on a Dynaplate to provide adequate grounding surface area under your boat.