Installing bung plugs in fuel tanks... any thoughts or insight?

[tvinny]

My neighbor and I pulled the fuel tanks on his L6060 about 14 months ago because his tractor was stalling. We found rust from the untreated metal pickup assembly. There was rust debris and other trash in the tanks. We replaced the pickup assembly and filter after cleaning and reinstalling the tanks.
Fast forward to today... Tractor started stalling again. After being asked for help, I discovered some debris and a little slime in his water separator. We blew the lines out, recharged the separator, purged the air. Tractor ran fine for 35 minutes sitting still. A few minutes after putting the tractor in motion, it stalled. Not surprised.
To my neighbors credit, he changed some habits by buying new containers, a screened funnel, and replaced the fuel filter.
I suspect that scum to be the biggest culprit as the tractor is not stored undercover. I talked to him about treating his fuel.
Now the question. Have anyone reading this ever installed bung plugs in your fuel tanks for easy drainage and cleaning so as not to remove them? If so, how has it worked out? Parts used?
We are also going to install a screen type filter on the new (14 month old) fuel pickup to aid in keeping crap out of the fuel lines. Anyone ever done this before... experiences and parts used?
What fuel treatment works best to kill the scum?
I've owned two Kubota's over the last ten years and have very little problems with them. He is part-time helper in maintaining his son's farm. We're not long time professional tractor folks, just seeking some wisdom... please be Kind in your comments!

 

[GeoHorn]

You cannot resolve the problem by “killing the scum”. (Once the biologicals are in the system their spores remain and can re-grow unless cleaned out. They live in any water condensate in the system and “eat” the fuel for food. Their body-wastes are what is called “scum” or “algae”….but that’s not actually what it is…. it’s a mass of wastes.) The entire fuel system must be cleaned.

Then “scum” (biologicals) can be Prevented ……by the use of a biocide. I recommend Biobor JF as it is approved for a wide array of fuel systems including aviation, so that should be fairly convincing as for effectiveness and safety.

 

[tvinny]

You cannot resolve the problem by “killing the scum”. (Once the biologicals are in the system their spores remain and can re-grow unless cleaned out. They live in any water condensate in the system and “eat” the fuel for food. Their body-wastes are what is called “scum” or “algae”….but that’s not actually what it is…. it’s a mass of wastes.) The entire fuel system must be cleaned.

Then “scum” (biologicals) can be Prevented ……by the use of a biocide. I recommend Biobor JF as it is approved for a wide array of fuel systems including aviation, so that should be fairly convincing as for effectiveness and safety.

Thank you very much for that information. After going thru the process the second time... he will be convinced the fuel treatments will be worth it.

 

[lugbolt]

I wish all fuel tanks had a drain of some sort. Most do not, unfortunately. Sucks!!

 

[Old Machinist]

A large drain would be beneficial if it could be installed without risking the integrity of the tank. My New Holland backhoe has one from the factory.

I will cast a second vote for Biobor JF. I have had to resolve fuel contamination on 2 of my tractors that was present when I purchased them. I buy off road diesel 100 gallons at the time and treat it with Biobor JF on delivery and pump it through a water block filter when I put it in my machines. Since cleaning out the original problem I haven't had any new contamination.

My backhoe suffered from rust damage and will probably continue to have a problem as long as it's original tank remains in place. In hindsight I should have put a sealer in the bottom when I had it cleaned out and dry but I did not. My John Deere has a plastic tank and was clogged with algae. I had to wash and suck it out with a shop vac until I got it all out of the tank. I have added a small engine fuel filter inline on both of those tractors to serve as an early warning of contamination.

 

[Spam Bot]

A friend built a "fuel polisher" for his diesel fuel on his boat. It consists of a couple of large filters, a pump, and a hose. He sets it up on deck and pumps the fuel out of the tank, through the filters, and back into the tank. Let it run for a few hours, and it eliminates all his fuel problems. I borrowed it one last time to pump out an in-ground fuel tank. We pumped out about 150 gallons, down to the very last drop. When the tank was pulled out, and they had to cut a hole in it to "drain" what was left, to the surprise of the people that pulled it out of the ground, there were barely 2 gallons of fuel left in the tank and a gallon of sediment. It was a 2000-gallon inground tank that was removed after 30+ years of use. We converted to using propane.
My two oil-burning appliances had the pumps modified to send excess fuel back to the tank, and that fuel went through 2 filters, one on the incoming side and one on the exit.

 

[Old Machinist]

When my fuel gets delivered and I add the Biobor JF I stick the nozzle into the filler and run it a while. That cycles the fuel through the water block filter and mixes in the fuel treatment.