Measuring fuel additives
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Soundguy
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Uh... I don't want algea, and I want a few more cetane points? ( and if i lived in a cold area I could say that i didn't want gelled fuel... )
Soundguy
Soundguy
patrick_g
Elite Member
Soundguy said:
Thanks, in my haste I overlooked biocides (algicides) which of course are very important in stored fuel and also a good insurance policy in day to day use as you never know hen you might buy fuel contaminated with some growth.
I have seen really terrible difficulties with "the black death" in other peoples tanks and had a bout of it in my Dodge-Cumins. I use and recommend biocides. Fuel from a contaminated tank may look perfectly fine but the smallest little amount of the growth can bloom into big problems that will mess up filters, injectors and injector pumps. You can filter out the lumps but the littlest piece of living agent can get through a filter and grow on the other side.
Biocides are not snake oil but a very good thing for preventing huge problems. Not everyone will get "infected" but if you wait till you do the cure can be a nightmare of extreme proportions that will make you regret not being protected in advance.
When available I use Biobor brand but there are others that are essentially the same thing.
The organism eats diesel fuel but needs moisture to live and reproduce. Most tanks are vented to atmosphere and "breathe" in and out on a daily basis as temperatures rise and fall. This introduces moisture which condenses on the tank wall and runs into the fuel. Now you have the food and water for the beasties and all you need now is a temperature within their reproductive need (quite broad) and a microscopic sample (or more) of the organism which can be in fuel you buy or airborn in some circumstances.
Thanks again SOUNDGUY for mentioning BIOCIDES.
Pat
Soundguy
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I knew you weren't excluding it.. just figured I'd kick it in.
I started using biocides when we got the stuff in our bulk tank at work.
Since i have done mowing for work, they occasionally gave me fuel.. thus.. I learned the good practice of using ann addative with it.. etc.
Luckilly I've never had a tractor problem with it though.
Soundguy
I started using biocides when we got the stuff in our bulk tank at work.
Since i have done mowing for work, they occasionally gave me fuel.. thus.. I learned the good practice of using ann addative with it.. etc.
Luckilly I've never had a tractor problem with it though.
Soundguy
patrick_g
Elite Member
joerocker said:
Joe, I think a lot of the $ spent on additives (some additives) is wasted. SOUNDGUY hit the nail on the head when he mentioned biocides, antigel, and cetane improvement.
Antigel is EXTREMELY important in cold weather. IF you fill your tank with warm weather diesel and drive into a cold snap you can compensate with antigel additives until you can get winter diesel (about 1/2 kerosene.) Biocides are in fact insurance against the algae problem which you might or might not get (like polio or the flu or whatever... it is smart to get the vaccination.) Now these first two are pretty hard to drum up a case against. Cetane improvers is another issue.
In the case of cetane improvers... it depends. Do you really need a higher cetane rating in your situation? If you do it makes sense but if you don't it is a waste of time and $. Like most gasoline car engines designed for 87 octane don't perform better with higher octane it isn't a sure thing that your diesel is going to do better with higher cetane fuel. If your engine was designed or set up for higher cetane rating fuel and your supply is significantly lower then boosting the cetane rating with an additive makes sense. Just dumping in a cetane improver is no guarantee that your engine with your usage will show any improvement.
That is where faith based additive usage kicks in. Surely if I spend enough money dumping in additives with terrific advertising copy on the container or the stuff that Ole Joe swears by I will derive benefits. Surely no one would market a placebo whose demand is faith based with no independently confirmed test results.
Not so, lots of things are sold purely on the basis of outlandish claims with no independent confirmation by a recognized independent lab.. Diet pills, wrinkle creams, anti-aging potions, fuel additives...
Pat
Soundguy
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'male enhancers', 'make your member grow' pills.. etc.. (wink)
soundguy
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patrick_g
Elite Member
SOUNDGUY, Thanks for sharing your personal experience.
(Wink and double wink!)
Even it that arena there are legitimate products prescribed that work but I'd bet they weren't imported from other countries or advertised with a lot of bogus hoopla and had honest clinical trials on which to base side effect info and efficacy.
(or so I am led to believe by the preponderance of available information in the popular press in view of the FACT that I have no PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE WITH THESE THINGS or the CONDITIONS SUGGESTING THERE USE.)
Pat
(Wink and double wink!)
Even it that arena there are legitimate products prescribed that work but I'd bet they weren't imported from other countries or advertised with a lot of bogus hoopla and had honest clinical trials on which to base side effect info and efficacy.
(or so I am led to believe by the preponderance of available information in the popular press in view of the FACT that I have no PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE WITH THESE THINGS or the CONDITIONS SUGGESTING THERE USE.)
Pat
Soundguy
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(wink)
patrick_g said:SOUNDGUY, Thanks for sharing your personal experience.
(Wink and double wink!)
...(or so I am led to believe by the preponderance of available information in the popular press in view of the FACT that I have no PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE WITH THESE THINGS or the CONDITIONS SUGGESTING THERE USE.)
Pat
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Hey,
lol ... The winks and double winks regarding the last subject matter are beginning to give me the creeps guys.
lol ... The winks and double winks regarding the last subject matter are beginning to give me the creeps guys.
Talking about additives and gelled fuel...
I had asked my dealer about Bio Diesel last spring, and he recommended staying away from it. He told a story of last Feb or March when we had a very cold period. They received a delivery of very large tractors out of the Wisconsin plant, which uses bio diesel. They were surely using the winter mix that late into the winter, but the whole load of tractors had gelled fuel and the dealer couldn't get them started to unload them. Listening to that horror story, I will definitely be double dosing my fuel this winter.
I had asked my dealer about Bio Diesel last spring, and he recommended staying away from it. He told a story of last Feb or March when we had a very cold period. They received a delivery of very large tractors out of the Wisconsin plant, which uses bio diesel. They were surely using the winter mix that late into the winter, but the whole load of tractors had gelled fuel and the dealer couldn't get them started to unload them. Listening to that horror story, I will definitely be double dosing my fuel this winter.