Old diesel in a seldom used tractor

[Diamondpilot]

I would top the tank and treat with bio-cide.

Chris

 

[ovrszd]

A friend of mine, who also runs a road grader, discovered yesterday that he has algae in his storage tank. And now has pumped it into his CAT grader. It'll run about 20 minutes and plug the filter. Looks like very dark brown pond moss, slimy mess. Hard to believe a living organism can survive in diesel fuel. Rumor has it the problem is worse with bio diesel.

Definitely treat for algae.

 

[Raspy]

The only thing you can do when it gets bad like that is to get all standing water out of the tank, put in a big dose of biocide and keep changing filters until it clears up. It's a common problem on diesel powered boats too. Some guys "polish" the fuel by pumping it out and through a filtering system and then back to the tank. Round and round until it seems clear.

Whenever you change filters, during normal maintenance and before you notice any problem, if the filter looks black, it's probably algae.

 

[ovrszd]

The only thing you can do when it gets bad like that is to get all standing water out of the tank, put in a big dose of biocide and keep changing filters until it clears up.

I bumped my friend about that with his storage tank. It's a horizontal 500 gallon tank, sitting with the rear end of the tank at least 8" low. I asked him how long it had been that way and he said at least 10 years. I warned him about collecting water in the tank and creating an environment that might induce algae growth. Personally, I would buy a new tank and put that old one to rest, fuel and all, at least until Summer when it's more convenient to mess with it.

 

[3930dave]

OP - Another vote for biocide+stabilizer+keeping tank Full.

If your sig is correct (Bay Area), then you are probably dealing with more humidity than you realize.

With the possible exception of the middle of the Mohave, I'm a big fan of Full fuel tanks.

Rgds, D.