almost everyday it seems we hear about diesel fuel contamination. so I cut and paste for s&g's i put together the following for those who have been lucky so far.
Quote:
Diesel bug is contamination of diesel fuel by microbes such as bacteria and fungi. Water can get into diesel fuel as a result of condensation, water penetration AND adsorption from the air
if you buy biodiesel this form of diesel is especially hygroscopic
sulphur in diesel helps prevent the bacteria. so if you are a low sulphur diesel user this natural preventor is no longer present which used to help prevent
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what is diesel bugs / fungus?
microbes that live at the transition between water and diesel fuel some call these microbes diesel fungus / diesel virus or diesel snot.
is a potential risk to your engine's fuel system, can cause serious damage and eventually lead to engine failure.
if fuel subjected to variations in weather and temperature or your fuel has been stored for more than aa few months then there is a considerable danger that your fuel may be contaminated.
contamination from water
water is the most common contaminant usually building up from condensation.
biodiesel is hygroscopic (it attracts water molecules from atmospheric moisture) so doing NOTHING is no longer a best practice.
Low sulphur diesel is more highly susceptible versus high sulphur diesel as the sulphur kills the bacteria
Fuel containing any amount of water could seriously damage your equipment’s fuel injection system and would make it more prone to breaking down.
Diesel has inherent bacteria in it. A little water from the atmosphere or contamination starts the growth of this bacteria and the mushrooms. It now breeds and multiply quickly and can easily and completely plug and block a fuel system.
The internet is full of these pictures and stories.
The bacteria will form a layer between the fuel and the water.
It breeds there producing waste which manifests itself as slime, sludge, black/green snot.
Once the bacteria colony grows to a certain load level it will settle out and fall to bottom of tank plugging hoses, filters, increases corrosion, damages pumps, etc.... sometimes very very quickly as the colony sinks from this layer between water and fuel to the bottom of your tank getting sucked into the internals.
Eventually engine will stop and may let you restart, maybe run for a short period of time then kaput!!
there are many things we can do.
- keep fuel clean, tank full, filtered and fresh and seasonally suitable.
- Since water sits at bottom of the system drain regularly if there are drain taps, replace filters more frequently than in the past
- avoid temp changes that minimizes condensation (frequent short trips from heated spaces to unheated work places if a big no-no if trying to avoid problems)
- am am now embracing tank cleaners, biocides, filters more than ever. Never used them in the past but the world has seemed to change
- I added a fuel polisher to my storage tank.
all stuff the larger fuel users have learned in recent years. Just sharing with the smaller tractor users who don't get a lot of hours on their machines so maybe not yet seen this sh@t first hand yet.
cheers
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