How to Treat Diesel Fuel?

[John Stone]

OK. So now I have a diesel. Until now I never had to think about preserving the fuel or prevent growth of unwanted algae or micro whatevers.

What do y’all use? Why do you use it? How do you use it? How has it performed? What to watch out for? Give me the whole spiel as it were. I’m all ears. I’ll hit PS too but I’m interested in your collective experience.

[ghockaday]

OK. So now I have a diesel. Until now I never had to think about preserving the fuel or prevent growth of unwanted algae or micro whatevers.

What do y’all use? Why do you use it? How do you use it? How has it performed? What to watch out for? Give me the whole spiel as it were. I’m all ears. I’ll hit PS too but I’m interested in your collective experience.

I use nothing in my diesel vw or tractors, I use enough fuel not to worry about having Summer fuel in it in the winter or condensate. Diesel blends are changed over the seasons, I have never had a freeze up in VA even in the single digits.

You Don't want to get caught in single digits with summer diesel in your tank and no additive.

When we had a diesel on the boat, we kept the tank full to reduce condensation, keeping a low level encourages growth.

Like gas don't let it get to old, I had no issues with several year old fuel mix though. We used Power Service Diesel Kleen. I don't think you have to worry about an overdose. There are some high dollar additives out there by, Lucas and Stanadyne were popular with the VW crowd. At the TDI site this question would be like asking which anchor is best over at SailNet. LOL

Don't listen to anyone that recommends kerosene as a additive or Jet A, there is not enough lubrication.

I'm just a farm boy that uses diesels not a diesel mechanic. Dee

[Jim Walsh]

I use Star Tron fuel treatment (stabilizer) and Biobor JF (biocide). The fact that I use these products and the fact that I’ve never experienced any diesel fuel issues may be mutually exclusive events.

[John Stone]

I use Star Tron fuel treatment (stabilizer) and Biobor JF (biocide). The fact that I use these products and the fact that I’ve never experienced any diesel fuel issues may be mutually exclusive events.

Jim that is pretty much the exact treatment recommended by PS. The article I read recommended for one of the treatments to be added before the fuel is poured into the diesel tank. Is that what you do? I have a flow tool funnel that capture water but they state don’t add the treatments before you pour
through the funnel so I am curious what you are doing. How do you manage the amounts with a fairly small tank?

[fmueller]

John,

Have you actually captured water ever with that funnel ?

All I know about diesel is that you are very unlikely to have growth without water in your tank. So I just keep an eye on the Racor water separator/filter I have but I have not so far used anything in the tank and in 7 years never seen a trace of water in the Racor ...

But this thread is making me nervous

Also diesel has variable amounts of additive by season - mostly to prevent gelling in cold weather. So I don’t see why I need to add anything. I nearly filled my little 12 gallon tank last October and ran through the winter with zero starting issues. I’m at half tank now. I’ll just try to be at half tank or lower next fall.

[John Stone]

John,

Have you actually captured water ever with that funnel ?

All I know about diesel is that you are very unlikely to have growth without water in your tank. So I just keep an eye on the Racor water separator/filter I have but I have not so far used anything in the tank and in 7 years never seen a trace of water in the Racor ...

But this thread is making me nervous

Also diesel has variable amounts of additive by season - mostly to prevent gelling in cold weather. So I don’t see why I need to add anything. I nearly filled my little 12 gallon tank last October and ran through the winter with zero starting issues. I’m at half tank now. I’ll just try to be at half tank or lower next fall.

Fred, never used it so no. I have read about it as well as the clone Mr. Funnel. Could be a gimmick, IDK. All my experience is with gas engines except when I was a teenager and we had a diesel on the family sailboat. I have rebuilt gas engines and transmissions and I am comfortable working on and trouble shooting them. Most of my sailing is not local though. The fuel in the Caribbean is not as reliable in some places as in the states so part of approach is to plan ahead and avoid fuel contamination. I have some other potential destinations I am considering so just learning about handling and storing diesel is on my radar. Add to all this is my expectation of low engine use which is the opposite of what I am told keeps everything in best working order. So don’t let my questions cause you a bit of concern as it sounds like you know exactly what works for you....

[Jim Walsh]

I use Star Tron fuel treatment (stabilizer) and Biobor JF (biocide). The fact that I use these products and the fact that I’ve never experienced any diesel fuel issues may be mutually exclusive events.

Jim that is pretty much the exact treatment recommended by PS. The article I read recommended for one of the treatments to be added before the fuel is poured into the diesel tank. Is that what you do? I have a flow tool funnel that capture water but they state don’t add the treatments before you pour
through the funnel so I am curious what you are doing. How do you manage the amounts with a fairly small tank?

I pour a cap full, or whatever comes close to what is recommended, into the deck fill before I fuel up. With a small tank the amount of product added is relatively minuscule so I revert to what is more easily decanted and a cap full is as far as I’m willing to go to be accurate. I don’t want my soupspoons or teaspoons to taste like diesel additives
The Biobor bottle has a built-in measuring section so it’s relatively easy to dispense what is recommended but it’s still geared for large capacity tanks.

[Kailua Kid]

I second the use of Diesel Kleen. I add the recommended dosage at fill up, then avoid any prolonged period of having the tank not full. More air in the tank invites more possibility of condensation and resulting bio growth (algae). Check fuel filter bowl, as recommended above, for water and other contaminates. Change the fuel filters (primary and secondary) at manufacturer’s recommended intervals. Not very difficult or very complicated once you go through the process once.

[Tom Keevil]

We don’t do anything to our diesel. We always run it through a filter when filling the tank. Finding water or crud in the filter is rare, but it does happen on occasion. When leaving the boat for a long spell, we always top off the tank to avoid condensation. Every Spring we suck the dregs out of the bottom of the tank. Finding any water or crud in the removed fuel is rare (except for the first time we did this after buying the boat, when a remarkable amount was removed). Over the 19 years we have owned Rover we have had a number of issues with the engine, but never one related to bad fuel.

Of course, we are now facing a real test, as our boat is in Canada, and has not been used in more than a year. I’m not optimistic about this summer either, so if anything is going to grow, it has had ample opportunity. I’ll let you know.

[John Stone]

We don’t do anything to our diesel. We always run it through a filter when filling the tank. Finding water or crud in the filter is rare, but it does happen on occasion. When leaving the boat for a long spell, we always top off the tank to avoid condensation. Every Spring we suck the dregs out of the bottom of the tank. Finding any water or crud in the removed fuel is rare (except for the first time we did this after buying the boat, when a remarkable amount was removed). Over the 19 years we have owned Rover we have had a number of issues with the engine, but never one related to bad fuel.

Of course, we are now facing a real test, as our boat is in Canada, and has not been used in more than a year. I’m not optimistic about this summer either, so if anything is going to grow, it has had ample opportunity. I’ll let you know.

So Tom, what kind of filter do you run the fuel through? And...how do you suck the crud and water out of the bottom of the tank. Can you explain your set up? Thanks.

It’s all interesting to me. I’m on a steep learning curve.

[ghockaday]

We used a 12 volt pump rated for fuel transfer with a set of filters, one water separator, one filter, pump out of the tank and back into the tank round and round. Never filtered on fuel up but we did not get fuel at docks. Dee

[Paul D.]

As a northern sailor, I always fill the tank before winter layup and drop in either sta-bil or Seafoam at the same time. After 15 years I thought I should clean the tank and when I did found pretty much nothing. This method has worked well for me but I would add that the diesel in our area of western Lake Superior is probably pretty good. If I were really traveling outside the area where I didn't know the quality of the fuel, or it was significantly warmer, I would use a baja filter or similar when filling.

I second the above advice on keeping an eye on fuel water separator and changing filters regularly.

https://www.amazon.com/Sta-Bil-22254-St ... B0030553CC

https://seafoamworks.com/knowledge-base ... zing-fuel/

[Tom Keevil]

John, sorry for the slow response, but we were gone camping. We met our daughter and her wife with their new puppy. Thank goodness for vaccinations.

We bought the funnel from West Marine. It is, of course, up on the inaccessible boat, but it looks like this one:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/flo-tool ... ecordNum=2

You have to have patience, as it takes a while to flow through it. The best way to use it is to pour from a jerry can, as you can do that at your own pace, and there is no pressure associated with boats waiting for you to clear the fuel dock. At the fuel dock, the biggest issue is that the fuel is delivered at a flow that the funnel cannot accept, so you have to be careful not to overflow. If the dock is primarily selling to 80-foot purse seiners, that can be a challenge, but they can generally dial back the flow for you so it is manageable, if not easy.

The funnel would not be adequate if the fuel was really wet, as it would exceed its capacity, but we have never come close to that. When you are finished there is residual fuel, plus any water still in the funnel. I pour that into a glass jar, which allows me to see if any water or large crud is present. Since the answer is usually no, I just pour that into the funnel next time. It is also handy to have that jar with a small quantity of diesel on occasion. I stuff a paper towel into the wet funnel to reduce dripping. This is all stored in ziplock bags, which we did initially as a quick fix, but have never gotten around to creating a more elegant system.

Our fuel tank has a bottom that slopes forward, and does not have any baffles, nor an inspection port. We have a piece of Pex plumbing tubing that has enough flexibility that it can be inserted down the fill pipe, and it will curve so that it reaches the low point. We connect this to a hand pump, and pump put a liter or so into a glass container. If any water or visible crud appears, we repeat until it is running clear.

It is all pretty low tech, you will generally get some fuel on your fingers, but it is simple, and seemingly effective. We’re pretty low tech sailors, and we’re comfortable with a system that might seem a bit klunky.

I should note that our cruising region (Washington, British Columbia and Alaska), has a very mild climate, so bacterial growth may be less problematic than farther south, but if there is no water, they should not grow.

[John Stone]

John, sorry for the slow response, but we were gone camping. We met our daughter and her wife with their new puppy. Thank goodness for vaccinations.

We bought the funnel from West Marine. It is, of course, up on the inaccessible boat, but it looks like this one:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/flo-tool ... ecordNum=2

You have to have patience, as it takes a while to flow through it. The best way to use it is to pour from a jerry can, as you can do that at your own pace, and there is no pressure associated with boats waiting for you to clear the fuel dock. At the fuel dock, the biggest issue is that the fuel is delivered at a flow that the funnel cannot accept, so you have to be careful not to overflow. If the dock is primarily selling to 80-foot purse seiners, that can be a challenge, but they can generally dial back the flow for you so it is manageable, if not easy.

The funnel would not be adequate if the fuel was really wet, as it would exceed its capacity, but we have never come close to that. When you are finished there is residual fuel, plus any water still in the funnel. I pour that into a glass jar, which allows me to see if any water or large crud is present. Since the answer is usually no, I just pour that into the funnel next time. It is also handy to have that jar with a small quantity of diesel on occasion. I stuff a paper towel into the wet funnel to reduce dripping. This is all stored in ziplock bags, which we did initially as a quick fix, but have never gotten around to creating a more elegant system.

Our fuel tank has a bottom that slopes forward, and does not have any baffles, nor an inspection port. We have a piece of Pex plumbing tubing that has enough flexibility that it can be inserted down the fill pipe, and it will curve so that it reaches the low point. We connect this to a hand pump, and pump put a liter or so into a glass container. If any water or visible crud appears, we repeat until it is running clear.

It is all pretty low tech, you will generally get some fuel on your fingers, but it is simple, and seemingly effective. We’re pretty low tech sailors, and we’re comfortable with a system that might seem a bit klunky.

I should note that our cruising region (Washington, British Columbia and Alaska), has a very mild climate, so bacterial growth may be less problematic than farther south, but if there is no water, they should not grow.

Tom, Excellent. Very useful information. Makes good sense. Trailing edge technology is just my speed.