Cleaned my tanks when I first brought my boat and from then on, every drop of diesel that went into them, went through a "Mr Funnel" and then I added in some Diesel Fuel Treatment to (try and) prevent the black death. Also always kept my tanks full. After 10 years I never had one fuel issue and the 2 seperate pre-filter glass bowls were always clear.
I also made my fuel draw point (tube) about 3 mm from the bottom of the keel tank to make sure I wasn't creating my own version of amargeton, that was going to come rocketing through my filters the moment I ran my engine in rough weather. If there was any chance of crap finding its way into my keel tank, it was going to be coming straight back out rather than saving it up for "Murphy' (or Sod) to use at his discretion.
Diesel Engine Basic Rules:
1. Clean Air
2. Clean Fuel
3. Cooling System maintained
4. Oil Changes
5. Never, Never, Never run Unloaded. (An alternator is not enough load. Throw the mooring lines off and go for a run if you want to charge the batteries)
www.mrfunnelaustralia.com.au/buy-online.html