Drain Fuel?

[Whiskey Mike]

Greetings. I have a 2018 b2601 that has sat for two years with a half-full fuel tank. Its at 58 hours with no 50 hour service done yet. I will be doing the service tomorrow, but was curious about the fuel. I have no idea if there was any stabilizer or biocide added at any point. It currently starts and runs fine.

My question is this... what would you do? Drain and refresh the fuel? just add stabilizer/biocide? Fill the rest of the tank with fresh fuel, leaving whats already there. Or wait until its -10F and discover there is a problem? I'm not looking for more work, but the last option really doesn't thrill me...

 

[GeoHorn]

Add fresh fuel fortified with Stabil-Diesel and Biobor-JF. If you’re concerned about cold wether geling the fuel also add Howes or some other anti-gel.

 

[Edke6bnl]

Picked up my tractor about 6 mo ago. Sat outside for 6 years. Fille fuel and hyd fluid, fured up ran fine for 3 min then died pulled hose off filter and drained a cup of water. Started up been working great for the last 6 months. I do add 1 oz of twc-3 boat oil mix per gallon fir extra injector lubrication. I do the same fir my older Dodge ran diesel.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Me being OCD, what I would do is-
Siphon out what you can, keeping the end of the hose as close to the bottom of the tank as possible. I'd strain it to see if there is any rust or debris.
Drain what I could from the fuel lines and filter.
Add 1/2 Oz Power Service Bio Clean (I believe the shock treatment is .5 Oz per 10 gal but read the label)
Fill the tank and purge the lines as needed.
Let the biocide work for a day or two.
Siphon out some of the fuel through a fine strainer. If there is no debis then there probably wasn't any critters in there.
Have fun working the land!
As a note- it is not tupically recommended to use multiple additives at once. Run the biocide tank through, keeping an eye on the filter. Then fill fresh with the maintenance additive of choice- Amsoil, Howes, PS Silver/ White, Standyne...

 

[JasonW]

Are you going to run it or let it sit again? What’s the reason it sat for 2 years?

I would disconnect the fuel like at the injection pump and drain the tank into a clean bucket. Specs show it’s only a 6.1 gal tank.
If it’s clean and no debris, algae it’s good to run. Or personal preference use new fuel with an additive.

 

[fried1765]

Add fresh fuel fortified with Stabil-Diesel and Biobor-JF. If you’re concerned about cold wether geling the fuel also add Howes or some other anti-gel.

Simple/straightforward/common sense advice!

 

[DrankTheOrangeKoolaid]

I'm going to go with the "that depends" answer. If the tractor has sat for two years without use, how likely is it that you will burn a full tank of fuel this fall and winter? If you are sure you will burn at least a tank of fuel, do as @GeoHorn suggests, otherwise drain it.

 

[Whiskey Mike]

As to whether it will sit or not... That's a good question, and I dont really 'have a good answer.

The shortest answer I can give is the tractor will be used this winter season. Its future beyond that depends.

The rest of the story is it belongs to a quite ill father in law who can no longer use it. I have the opportunity to use the tractor through the upcoming Maine winter at my property. There is only the BX5455 blower attachment. Nothing else. (Well there is a Curtis hard cab with heater!) I am considering buying the tractor from family and of course would like to see it properly taken care of.

The B2601 worked its first two winter seasons as a residential snowblower. It has been sitting since April of 2021. I estimate that the fuel tank was last filled in Oct of 2020. Not sure if I'll use more than a tank this season or not. I'm guessing I will put on about 10-15 hours over the winter? How many hours out of a tank approximately?

My expectation is to have this running perfectly for this winter, I'll make sure any future storage is done properly!

 

[fried1765]

As to whether it will sit or not... That's a good question, and I dont really 'have a good answer.

The shortest answer I can give is the tractor will be used this winter season. Its future beyond that depends.

The rest of the story is it belongs to a quite ill father in law who can no longer use it. I have the opportunity to use the tractor through the upcoming Maine winter at my property. There is only the BX5455 blower attachment. Nothing else. (Well there is a Curtis hard cab with heater!) I am considering buying the tractor from family and of course would like to see it properly taken care of.

The B2601 worked its first two winter seasons as a residential snowblower. It has been sitting since April of 2021. I estimate that the fuel tank was last filled in Oct of 2020.

Not a big deal.....though some seem to think it is!

 

[Mark_BX25D]

It's not difficult to drain a pint or so to take a look. Just disconnect before the lift pump and drain it into a clean container. If it's clear, go ahead and use the tractor. Add an additive if you like.

If it's nasty, drain and clean and go from there.

If there's water in there, you really don't want to run it through your injection pump.

 

[RalphVa]

Sample it with a siphon. Turn brown? Milky? If looks okay, probably is. Stored our Benz for 4 years, and the diesel turned brown causing the engine to ping. Put some Chevron Techron in that stopped that. That was before low sulfur diesel. Doubt the low sulfur stuff will degrade much.

If milky, it has some water in it. Need to siphon out/drain and put fresh stuff in. May get the water to drop out after it goes through the filter, but you'd have to keep a careful look at the fuel bowl.

 

[pigdoc]

I Liked the Evil Twin's response.

But, given it's *just* a 6 gallon tank, it would make the most sense to remove the tank (with its residual fuel), dump that sh_t out, rinse it with some new fuel, and reinstall. Probably what, an hour's work?

Use the old fuel to light bonfires. Your knowledge of the source of that firestarter will make the fire THAT much warmer!

While you're at it, install new fuel filters (shouldn't have to remind you of that).

I just ordered a WIX 33482, which is a fuel injector filter, rated to 10 microns and tested to 13 microns. That's going to be the downstream fuel filter on my G1800.

-Paul

 

[The Evil Twin]

As to whether it will sit or not... That's a good question, and I dont really 'have a good answer.

The shortest answer I can give is the tractor will be used this winter season. Its future beyond that depends.
. Not sure if I'll use more than a tank this season or not. I'm guessing I will put on about 10-15 hours over the winter? How many hours out of a tank approximately?

My expectation is to have this running perfectly for this winter, I'll make sure any future storage is done properly!

You'll likely go through a tank in that much time. Even if you don't, I would rather start with what I know is good, treated fuel for the winter. Then top it up before you put it away for however long it will be. While it is not recommended to mix additives, you might need to add anti gel if you fill it up now and use that same fuel in January. I might even skip the biocide if the drained fuel looks clear.
You didn't mention where it had been sitting since 2020 (or so). If it was inside or at least in a carport or barn the fuel is probably still good. If it was outside undera tarp then I'd start over.
There are 2 ways to do things- the right way or twice.

 

[JerryMT]

Greetings. I have a 2018 b2601 that has sat for two years with a half-full fuel tank. Its at 58 hours with no 50 hour service done yet. I will be doing the service tomorrow, but was curious about the fuel. I have no idea if there was any stabilizer or biocide added at any point. It currently starts and runs fine.

My question is this... what would you do? Drain and refresh the fuel? just add stabilizer/biocide? Fill the rest of the tank with fresh fuel, leaving whats already there. Or wait until its -10F and discover there is a problem? I'm not looking for more work, but the last option really doesn't thrill me...

If you don't have winter fuel in it or you just don't know whether the fuel is winter grade or summer grade, I would fill it with winter grade fuel and add some winterizing fuel additive like Power Service White for example. If your filters have drains, drain them into a clear container and look for water and/or crud in the bottom. If you find water and crud. Drain out all you can and drain it before each start up until you find no water or crud.
Keep your fuel tank as full as possible to minimize condensation and start your machine up every 10 days, and drive it around for 20 minutes or so. You'll keep the battery charged and circulate the lube oil.