Oil & Fuel Fuel Addative

[Doxy]

I was told by a friend of mine I should be adding a fuel addative to my diesel fuel. I own a BX2350 with a 24 horse power diesel engine. My friend is a mechanic on large diesel tractors, bulldozers, etc. He adds fuel addative to every tank of gas. This seems like over kill to me. Any suggestions on fuel addatives for smaller diesel engies and how often they should be added to the fuel? He suggested Sea Foam and said it would help clean the engine.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I was told by a friend of mine I should be adding a fuel addative to my diesel fuel. I own a BX2350 with a 24 horse power diesel engine. My friend is a mechanic on large diesel tractors, bulldozers, etc. He adds fuel addative to every tank of gas. This seems like over kill to me. Any suggestions on fuel addatives for smaller diesel engies and how often they should be added to the fuel? He suggested Sea Foam and said it would help clean the engine.

Sea Foam is incredibile, but I've only ever used it as a treatment for gummed up carbs, etc. I do add Power Service diesel additive to every tank. I don't use my tractor as much as some, and I may fill up the tractor in August and still have the same fuel in the tank in October when it freezes. I add the Power Service as an extra measure in case I end up with summer blend stuff in the late fall or winter.

Every oil company I know of is advertising big how they have detergents and injector cleaners in their fuel already. I don't think it's necessary to add anything to the fuel that you get out of the pumps nowadays. It's not going to hurt anything, though.

 

[RWolf]

It all depends on how the fuel is stored. Your friend works on large diesels. They may have several hundred gallons of diesel on hand that sits in tanks for a long period. In that event I agree but if you're filling up from the local station then that fuel will probably be fresh most of the time. The other thing to remember is to keep your diesel tank 3/4 to full if you're going to leave your tractor unused for a long period of time. Less fuel in the tank means more of a chance for condensation build up.

 

[thavil]

I agree with everyone that has responded. After reading many posts here on TBN, I always put some Power Service in every tank I fill year around. It doesn't cost much and gives me added security just in case.

 

[newbury]

I was told by a friend of mine I should be adding a fuel addative to my diesel fuel. I own a BX2350 with a 24 horse power diesel engine. My friend is a mechanic on large diesel tractors, bulldozers, etc. He adds fuel addative to every tank of gas. This seems like over kill to me. Any suggestions on fuel addatives for smaller diesel engies and how often they should be added to the fuel? He suggested Sea Foam and said it would help clean the engine.

First of all - you need to get out of the habit of saying "every tank of gas", or your going to be talking to someone and they'll surprise you with the favor of filling your tank up with gas.

Power Service and other additives are often used. Most of the older engines were designed for "high" sulfur fuel, which provided lubricity. PS does that now. It also boosts the cetane rating. The treatment rate is not great. $15 of PS will probably treat 250 gallons, which should you last you for about 500 hours of operation. There are also a couple of other additives, check the PS web site. Diesel 9-1-1 is handy to keep around if it gets real cold.

 

[smfcpacfp]

Why not due what the manufacturer recommends in the owner's manual?

 

[BJN644]

There are many articles out on the web about the lost lubricating properties of the new ultra low sulfur diesel. The injection pump and injectors are lubricated by the fuel. My tractor gets a dose of power service in every tank of fuel, as recommend by my dealer. I look at it as cheap insurance, you can even by the stuff at wal-mart.

 

[silverdollar6]

How much power service would you put into a 5 gallon fuel tank?

 

[newbury]

How much power service would you put into a 5 gallon fuel tank?

RTFC
Read the fine container

 

[radioman]

RTFC
Read the fine container

newbury has a point. power service has 2 versions of application of doses, old and new. IF you get a bottle that been sitting on the shelf for 2 years, you might run into the older version of dosage rate. So just read the bottle and follow, even if you can't be precise adding a bit extra by accident shouldn't hurt it but down take my word for it. This has been discussed many times here on TBN.

 

[LBrown59]

How I mix it :

How much power service would you put into a 5 gallon fuel tank?

5 Gallons 3 ounces.
30 Gallons 16 ounces
55 Gallons 32 ounces

 

[newbury]

newbury has a point. power service has 2 versions of application of doses, old and new. IF you get a bottle that been sitting on the shelf for 2 years, you might run into the older version of dosage rate. So just read the bottle and follow, even if you can't be precise adding a bit extra by accident shouldn't hurt it but down take my word for it. This has been discussed many times here on TBN.

Also there are other equally as good additives which do the same thing, I've just been using PS because that's what Walmart has and I've been using it on my '88 Ford. '09 VW, and as soon as I put fuel in, my '07 Kubota.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

How much power service would you put into a 5 gallon fuel tank?

One glug for a 5 gallon tank. A glug and a half in cold weather.

I sure hope that it doesn't have to be precise.

 

[shakin]

i use 911 in the winter not worth the aggrivation of the fuel gelling, and it does happen especially in the fall when you might buy fuel at the pump which is not treated. also as fuel sits algae is formed a product called biobor is good for this. also do a search for algae x this is an in line unit that gets rid of algae in you're fuel, alot of our customers ask for these in their boats.

 

[DieselPower]

You use 911 all winter? Sure hope not, it is intended to be used as a emergence additive only in systems that have already gelled. There are preventative additives that should be used in place of 911 which is a last resort additive.

 

[Mace Canute]

From wikipedia: "Sulfur is not a lubricant in of itself, but it can combine with the nickel content in many metal alloys to form a low melting point eutectic alloy that can increase lubricity. The process used to reduce the sulfur also reduces the fuel's lubricating properties. Lubricity is a measure of the fuel's ability to lubricate and protect the various parts of the engine's fuel injection system from wear. The processing required to reduce sulfur to 15 ppm also removes naturally-occurring lubricity agents in diesel fuel."
Fuel additive is a MUST now that the sulphur content of on-road diesel had been dropped so drastically from approximately 500ppm to < 15ppm. Depending on country, off road fuel has a couple of years left at 500ppm, but by 2014 Canada and USA will both see all fuel < 15ppm.
I guess the only question is what brand of fuel conditioner should you use. I definitely am not an expert on the subject but I have found a product called DZL-LENE XL/10 made by the Texas Refinery Corporation (Texas Refinery Corp. Quality Lubricants, Specialty Roof Coatings and Property Maintenance) to be an excellent product...very good bang for the buck. It can be used in both diesel and gas engines and it works.

 

[DieselPower]

If your using DZL-LENE XL/10 from TRC you might consider their DZL-PEP. Unlike DZL-LENE which is designed to be used in not only diesel engines but also gasoline engines the DZL-PEP is for diesel engines only. It has much better treat ratio's ranging from 1:1000 to 1:3000, even better bang for the buck.

 

[jcmseven]

I have often wondered if the fuel additive is really worth the money. I cannot speak to my tractor, but I have fairly consistently run PS fuel additive in my diesel trucks, including my new GMC 2500 Duramax. I honestly cannot say it afforded me any better mileage, and have have run numbers over the years on three different diesel trucks. I buy my fuel, whenever possible at truckstops and high-sell places to assure myself that the fuel is fresh, and I drive a lot, so none of my equipment nor trucks sit idle much. I do not know the answer here, but it seems like these fuel additives may be some substance combined with some hype. Others??

John M

 

[shakin]

i guess i dont use the 911 all winter, i just did a search for 911 and see thats it's in a red bottle the stuff i use is in a silver or white bottle. i'll look for a bottle in the garage or the truck i use it in that also, because the truck tows my sleds and i don't like to be stranded. i think it's the same manufacturer though.

 

[spruce Deere]

Brother-in-law found a product called Syntek Global is exploding! The growth is phenomenal. Is the latest, greatest gas and diesel treatment. Used for years by embassies for fuel in storage, large mining outfits for maintenance reduction and just released to the market this year. Puts lubrication back in low-sulfur, low grade fuels, ups cetane numbers in diesel, makes gas storageable much longer, improves octane count, improves mileage bla, bla, bla. Pretty much everything but an anti-gel for diesel. Treatment ratio is quarter oz. to 20 gallons fuel. I have not tried any yet to see though.