TREAT your diesel for algae... or pay the price.

[Diggin It]

OK, so what does this stuff look like?

When I fueled up recently, I opened the cap on the tractor and the strainer had some black gunk all over it. I pulled the strainer and cleaned it, but didn't see anything around the tank opening below the strainer.

I get about 40 gallons at a time from a neighbor that has it delivered. He has a 500 gallon outdoor steel tank/pump and gets deliveries a couple of times a year, minimum 300 gallons. I have a white/milk colored 55 gallon plastic barrel so I can easily see the level inside and tell if it's pink or something else. I keep it inside my shed, out of the Sun, rain and other weather, so no water can get in directly and hopefully potential for condensation is minimized.

I use Power Service White and just picked up some of their 'Clear' product (white bottle, green label).

 

[redman135]

There was a water absorbent product for machine fuel tanks and fual storage tanks. It works by grabbing and locking the water so tightly the "alge" can't live. The alge live on the fuel/water interface. I can not remember the name, just that it was sold in the transport industry.

 

[Tx Jim]

I agree with James K0UA 100%. My neighbor just spent $7000 getting his '15 common rail fuel system repaired because of this foreign material in his M8560 fuel system

 

[Ken]

Most all of the trash, algae or water in the storage fuel tanks come from who delivers the fuel to your supplier.
Have purchased fuel from Truck stops and have water in fuel light come on. with in 10 miles from filling. replacing the filters and again water with in 10-15 miles.
the algae most likely was delivered to your storage unit from some dealer who purchased at a tank storage units. trash in your filters has to be from outside source .

I fill the tractors with 5 gal yellow plastic containers .lately there is a deposit of looks like dissolved chewing gum in the containers so purchased from local fuel truck stop. Of course they fall back on (We filter all fuel) and say not there problem .
Neighbor just had his truck fuel pump stop up and had to be replaced . 800 bucks expensive because of the new fuel being sold to us is filled with junk trash and water particles. that passes through the normal filters on equipment.

Not just Diesel but what is being sold as gas questionable as to content percentage of alcohol is in the fluid sold.

When filters cost 60 bucks and takes 3 changes just to get rid of 30 gallons of purchased fuel . fresh from truck stop. were buying a pig in the Polk type of fuel with each fill-up.

ken

 

[Jstpssng]

OK, so what does this stuff look like?

When I fueled up recently, I opened the cap on the tractor and the strainer had some black gunk all over it. I pulled the strainer and cleaned it, but didn't see anything around the tank opening below the strainer.

I get about 40 gallons at a time from a neighbor that has it delivered. He has a 500 gallon outdoor steel tank/pump and gets deliveries a couple of times a year, minimum 300 gallons. I have a white/milk colored 55 gallon plastic barrel so I can easily see the level inside and tell if it's pink or something else. I keep it inside my shed, out of the Sun, rain and other weather, so no water can get in directly and hopefully potential for condensation is minimized.

I use Power Service White and just picked up some of their 'Clear' product (white bottle, green label).

It looks like black gunk. When I was having problems it never showed up in the sediment bowl, and I didn't know what was wrong; the tractor would get starved for fuel and die. In hindsight the problem was obvious, as the sediment bowl wasn't filling up. I took the line off coming out of the tank and no fuel came out, so I blew back through into the tank to clear the filter, drained the tank, flushed it with new diesel, put Power Service Bio Clean in and it's been running fine ever since.

As mentioned previously I'd had water problems starting almost as soon as my tractor was delivered; at one point I was out in the field in subzero weather thawing the sediment bowl which was a solid mass of ice. Whether it was delivered with summer grade fuel in November or had water in the tank when traded. I never could find out how much prepping the dealer does on trades before turning them over.

 

[LouNY]

You can go for decades with no fuel problems,
then have issues for several years in a row.
Usually the alge are brought in by your fuel supplier,
if your tanks are clean and water free and you go thru your fuel rapidly it may not cause any issues.
Let your equipment set over an idle season and if the conditions are right it will grow and cause problems.
Once it gets in a fuel tank it can be difficult to to eliminate it or kill it off,
many fuel tanks are to large and to complex of a shape to be removed and cleaned,
it may take several bio-cide treatments to completely eliminate the issue.
I have seen it be an issue with just one tractor out of several being filled from the same bulk tank and supplier.
There is also more then one type, I have seen some that looks like a black slime, it seems easier to treat.
Then some grows in tendrils and clings to the sides and tops of the tanks, this type has seemed to the worst.
This will frequently plug fuel pickups and screens before during and after treatment.

 

[the old grind]

I use "MR FUNNEL" 3.5 GPM filters to minimize water getting into tanks. They are a bit messy to use by leaving a few oz of fuel in the 'trash collection' area below the filtering element. Prevention is my plan, as much as I can do my part post-dealer. https://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-F3NC...=B00N4UN1W2&psc=1&refRID=WWWHMXFDX6KA5Y45TEPG

One for gasoline, and one for diesel, here. While I might operate three tractors in an hour, some get fueled once/yr for low annual hours. Few are parked with half a tank of fuel. I've been lucky for >40 yrs with boats, >50 w/m'cycles, and nearly 15yrs with diesels. No over-wintering steps taken in all thesse years. Since '06, only the Terramite ever loses fuel flow, from rust flakes in the tank. I have to muck with it for five min or so every few years for that. Did I say I've been lucky?

I buy pump diesel at the corner (10 gal/visit), where local VWs, Benzes, and lawn/snow-plow service crews fuel up daily. Most of my filler necks are between waist and shoulder level, so hoisting a 5 gal can isn't the fun part of fueling up. PS 'white bottle' Howe's, and Stanadyne go into every 5 gal can when it arrives home, Sta-Bil into 2.5 G gasoline cans once onsite, too.

 

[JW IN VA]

My go to guy for heavy mechanical and welding recommended Bio Bor which can be bought online if no one stocks it near you.I haven't had any more problems.

 

[fried1765]

And you are right!

SR

Maybe so for land use diesels, but marine diesel boat tanks NEED treatment.

 

[canoworms]

Hi guys, we use a product called F-10 (F-1 Fuel Treatment | ICT Industrial Chemical Technologies)
It goes in all our trucks rigs and utes as well as our 6000lts tank.
I have been using it for about 7 years when we coped a load of fuel that had the algae in it.

The F10 has solved our problems.

Cheers Ian