Diesel storage / shelf life.

[GeoHorn]

The storage life of diesel hadn’t occurred to me until recent.

Checking online the most common shelf life is said to be 6-12 months. (pretty wide latitude)

Gives me something new to worry about…. I have a 160 gal storage tank that sits out in the sun year round and gets pretty warm here in Tx. I only refill it about once a year and run the fuel in 3 different machines without any issues. (I do treat it with Biobor JF and with Diesel Stabil. Haven’t worried about for several years …until now.)

I hate it when I can’t find someone online to tell me what I want to believe.

 

[mikester]

Worrying is feeling the pain twice

 

[GreensvilleJay]

curious... how often do you drain the bottom gallon out of the tank ?

 

[Dave_eng]

The storage life of diesel hadn’t occurred to me until recent.

Checking online the most common shelf life is said to be 6-12 months. (pretty wide latitude)

Gives me something new to worry about…. I have a 160 gal storage tank that sits out in the sun year round and gets pretty warm here in Tx. I only refill it about once a year and run the fuel in 3 different machines without any issues. (I do treat it with Biobor JF and with Diesel Stabil. Haven’t worried about for several years …until now.)

I hate it when I can’t find someone online to tell me what I want to believe.

View attachment 140159

Does your filter I see on your tank eliminate water? I have a water filter on my bulk tank and both my tractor and excavator have never had water in their on board water separator. Before putting fuel into my machines, I run the fuel back into the tank to flush any crap out of the nozzle. Just takes a few seconds.
I use a "winter grade" diesel year round. It cost a bit more but I don't use a lot. My diesel can be in the bulk tank for years with never an issue.
Dave

 

[Nicksacco]

That's a real nice set up.

My two diesel-eaters don't use a lot, but I usually have about 15-20 gallons in a tank that's stored in my tractor barn.

I've not had an issue with storage maybe 6 mo to a year before being topped off after project work. I have a desiccant filter that I recharge when it turns pink and haven't seen any water show up.

Curious what others have experienced.

 

[Old Machinist]

You should be fine with what you are doing. You should pump it dry between fills to check for contamination on the bottom.

I have a 100 gallon aluminum tank I fill once or twice a year. At one point I was going through 3 tanks per year. I always pump it down to the bottom between fills. I just ran out the other day and I am going to go ahead and extend my pickup tube to the bottom. It has a screen on it and I run the water block filter element in a filter assembly like you have. I also treat each fill with Biobor but I don't use the Stabil.

I haven't tried but I have read of people using diesel that was several years old.

 

[D2Cat]

A few years back I bought a Cat crawler that had set for years. When the fuel cap was removed there was a strong smell of varnish. After going through the basics of checking fluids we pulled that machine with a tractor and it fired off. We let it idle for a long time before we shut it down. I think we just added fuel to it and never drained that old fuel.

Based on my experience, I try to keep fuel clean and ready for the season. I don't worry about age of diesel fuel.

Since it is the middle of Oct. and my tractors are half full of fuel I will wait a couple more weeks to add any and then all fuel will be treated for winter when purchased! I always ask the station owner about treatment time in the fall. I don't want a tank of summer fuel in machines in the fall.

 

[InTheWoods]

...I have a 160 gal storage tank...

That's a nice set-up. Is that basically a LP tank that you can pressurize to push the Diesel out?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

FWIW
I store my diesel offsite.....at the local gas station ! Only go through 20-30 litres a week,so I buy 3, 10 Litre red cans as needed. Easier for me to carry and ALWAYS fresh, clean fuel.

 

[Trimley]

Good topic. Seems to come up every season.

 

[Old Machinist]

That's a nice set-up. Is that basically a LP tank that you can pressurize to push the Diesel out?

That's a good observation. I didn't even pick up on the lack of a pump.

Mine has a 12V pump connected to a deep cycle battery kept on a solar maintainer.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

The storage life of diesel hadn’t occurred to me until recent.

Checking online the most common shelf life is said to be 6-12 months. (pretty wide latitude)

Gives me something new to worry about…. I have a 160 gal storage tank that sits out in the sun year round and gets pretty warm here in Tx. I only refill it about once a year and run the fuel in 3 different machines without any issues. (I do treat it with Biobor JF and with Diesel Stabil. Haven’t worried about for several years …until now.)

I hate it when I can’t find someone online to tell me what I want to believe.

View attachment 140159

nice tank.
I have an opinion but who really cares.

what I do have is an observation.

Around our farm county it appears many are suffering from the GREEN SNOT problem. Water filters / fuel filters are experiencing a build up of restrictive stuff we call thick / green snot. Our morning cafe coffee group are all old / experienced farmers. We use multiple suppliers of fuel. Some store equipment all indoors like me some a mix of indoors/outdoors. We are almost all experiencing more equipment issues with our diesel in recent years. We generally conclude the diesel mix is defintely not what it used to be with bio diesel letting stuff "grow" in our stuff that we never worried about 10-20-70 years ago.

I 100% always believed good storage practices, fast turn over, seasonally appropriate, from reputable suppliers was all that was needed. Now I am not so sure.

 

[old and tired]

Tractors are different today from a few years back with regard to how clean fuel needs to be. With high pressure rail and whatnot, I would be more concern what gets used in the tank. My 2005, L2800... I used every bit of left over home heating oil that my neighbor was trying to get rid of

I would not do that with one of these "newer" models... planning to run my tractor until I die.

 

[D2Cat]

FWIW
I store my diesel offsite.....at the local gas station ! Only go through 20-30 litres a week,so I buy 3, 10 Litre red cans as needed. Easier for me to carry and ALWAYS fresh, clean fuel.

Why red cans? Are you a non-conformist?

 

[GeoHorn]

That's a nice set-up. Is that basically a LP tank that you can pressurize to push the Diesel out?

That’s exactly what it is….a propane tank which i pressurize with shop air (Ten psi is all you want or the handle will “jump” out of your hands.) The dip-tube pulls fuel from about 2” above the bottom and the tank has a sump-drain I installed at it’s lowest point. Never found any water in it or in the filter.

i’ll try to find the original thread where I discussed how I built it.

Here it is: https://www.orangetractortalks.com/...your-refueling-setup.29684/page-7#post-247691

 

[InTheWoods]

That’s exactly what it is….a propane tank which i pressurize with shop air...

I've thought about that for years - seems like a good idea. I like that, since the tank is totally airtight, there will be no atmospheric 'breathing' that over time would draw in moisture.