My fuel tank has magically filled up...

[Zanshin]

I've kept Zanshin stored in St. Lucia during the hurricane season and have just returned. I wanted to fire up the engine and generator yesterday and checked the fuel level in my 2 tanks (420L and 310L respectively). I know my smaller tank is full but am fairly certain that I had 3/4 or so in my main tank. But the tank now reads "FULL".

This is rather disconcerting, as I doubt that anyone would have topped my tank off with diesel during my absence. And I've already experienced a water issue that caused me no end of time and money (I had to replace the high-pressure fuel pump/system).

I thought about putting a tube into the tank and sucking out some liquid from the bottom of the tank to see if it was diesel or water but have just found out about Kolor Kut and found some at the local chandlery. Access to the fuel port is limited, so I'll do that later on today and report here.

Worst case is that I have about 50L or so of water in the tank! I know that there's nobody here with a fuel polishing system so I might have to build one for myself

I don't know if I can get rid of the diesel easily. Perhaps I can drain from the bottom of the tank until it runs clear and then trust my dual RACOR separator system to get rid of the rest of the water.

[Charlie-Bravo]

Could it just be a gauge problem?

CB

[Zanshin]

I got a dip-stick prepared and removed the mattress and springs in preparation for checking my tank when I followed Charlie-Bravo's advice and re-checked the gauges. After disconnecting the charger and turning the dials a couple of times on the Scheiber panel the gauges read 3/4 full

No water in the fuel, no messy tank check, no worries!

[Don Reaves]

That's great news! I had a friend who had water in his tank. Removing the fuel/water, cleaning the tank, polishing the fuel, and putting it back in was way more expensive than I would ever have guessed. This was in the US. Elsewhere, it might be a lot less, provided you can get the work done.

[Charlie-Bravo]

A result indeed
CB

[Trevor]

Well suggested CB! Wow, dodged a bullet Zanshin......

[Zanshin]

Dodged one bullet indeed. Now I have to get the generator running again... Before I left it would only run while the starter was engaged, now it won't start at all. But I think I'll do that at anchor or later; I really don't need the generator.