
On a car you always have a fuel filter, in fact you may have a couple even if you only really know about one of them. On a River Rover Hovercraft any fuel reaching the engine goes through at least five strainers, filters and separators before it reaches the all important injectors in the engine. We operate in areas where the fuel we get may be rather less well cared-for before it gets to us, so we make sure we remove all the unwelcome extras before it can do any damage! We even have a system for switching filters whilst the engine is running if one gets too badly clogged up. The fuel tanks themselves are used not only to hold fuel but to balance the hovercraft so we can use less of that fuel as we go – and we can go for 8-10 hours depending on the conditions. Did you know diesel fuel actually gets quite hot as it goes to and from the engine many times with only some of it getting used each time, so these tanks have a lot to deal with.