Preserving diesel fuel in transfer tank

[Monster5601]

Diesel by nature is Hygroscopic

All the more reason proper storage of your diesel is so important.

 

[Ken45101]

I have my off road diesel in a plastic cube, should have less condensation than a metal tank.

I have a spin on filter that is supposed to filter particulates and water. It supposedly will stop the flow when it's full. I keep meaning to change the filter but I never have. Same filter for 14(?) years, 2-500 gallons a year. No fuel problems on the equipment.

I have heard that bio-diesel is especially bad in growing bacteria if moisture is present. I would avoid biodiesel if it is available. BTW, I keep my tank inside the ban out of the sun and weather.

 

[SwingOak]

Condensation is caused by the difference and rate of change in temperature of air vs fluid. This is why a full tank will not form much if any condensation, because there is very little air. Likewise, a mostly empty tank has very little fluid, so the fluid will warm and cool at a fast rate. A plastic tank does not mean less condensation, just means the tank won’t rust. Keeping a tank closed, indoors, or at least out of direct sunlight will also greatly minimize formation of condensation. Condensation is most likely to form in a partially filled transfer tank in the back of a truck that typically sees drastic temperature changes.

 

[mo1]

I’ve been driving my MF135 Deluxe for about five years… the first three years I lifted countless 5 gallon Jerry cans to fuel up… then I got a deal on a 33 gallon transfer tank…

the old Fill-Rite pump works great (the tank came off a 1984 Nissan pickup which was used at a local airport so I’m guessing the tank is about 30 years old…)… first thing I did was install a particulate filter between the pump and hose… filled up with red diesel and poured some two stroke oil in the tank then ran the nozzle in a loop to the tanks fill port… I let the pump run for about ten minutes to mix in the lubricating oil and also to clean any gunk out of the hose…

Been working great for a litt over a year now…

THEN I DID IT… went and bought a new tractor (Kioti 2610 HST)… the dealer suggested I purchase a dedicated, plastic fuel container so I can be sure to alway have fresh, clean fuel in my new toy… “New engines are expensive” he says… and the warranty doesn’t cover owner abuse (read: “bad fuel”)…

Which got me to looking into how modern ULSD “deteriorates” in storage… condensation inside the tank breeds “diesel bugs” which can wreak havoc on my new tractors fuel system… or so I’m lead to believe…

i don’t drive the Massey a lot.. didn’t go through an entire 33 gallon tank this last year… I’ll probably use more with the new tractor but i don’t want to screw it up… and I REALLY don’t want to go back to schlepping 5 gallon fuel cans…

At this point I’m seriously considering adding a second “water” filter in the circuit then recirculating fuel through the tank from time to time to keep the condensation out and the bugs trapped in a disposable filter…

Am I being overly paranoid?

The diesel engines in the Massey-Ferguson and Kioti are both mechanically-injected diesel engines and thus should be pretty similar in sensitivity fuel cleanliness. I wouldn't worry about the tank if you had no issues with the Massey-Ferguson. I probably would have recommended draining the tank and making sure there wasn't any rust or crud in the bottom of the tank if you had a common-rail engine on your new tractor, though, as you may plug up its fuel filter that filters out smaller particles. Draining a little from the tank anyway to get the water out would be a good idea as water will settle to the bottom and water in fuel isn't good for any diesel engine. It is likely you have some condensation if you took more than a year to go through a tank.

If you don't want to schlep a 5 gallon can, then you could get a smaller can as on average it took you at least 2 months to go through a 5 gallon can with your Massey-Ferguson. There are 1/2, 1, 2, and 2 1/2 gallon diesel cans from vendors like Grainger, although they are safety cans and thus much more expensive than a plastic jug.

I guess I don't see handling 5 gallon jugs to be that big of a deal, I only put about 60-80 jugs through my tractor in a typical year. If I ever decide it's too large of a hassle, I'd just drive the tractor to the gas station a few miles down the road and fill up from the truck diesel pump. The fuel distributor that sells off-road diesel used to charge 20 cents less/gallon than clear diesel at the pump, now they are about 10 cents more per gallon, so lots of others just stop by the gas station and fill up.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

We have a mack truck that has 15 year old fuel in it. Runs good.

 

[Williy]

Instead of purchasing new gas cans You
can use your oil containers like mine are
T6 2.5 gal think I will be using them when
I change oil in about 92 hours then it will
be time for the 200 oil change. When you
turn the oil containers on its side IHMO you
have better control for pouring??

willy