Diesel Fuel "Algae" Causes & Effects

[spyle791]

Wow, thanks for the heads-up. I have a 50 gal aux tank and my truck has been sitting most of the winter with 75 gallons in it. Does anyone suggest whether I should run the tanks low before fueling, or blend in fresh stuff? I have an auto-transfer so I can't isolate the main from the aux, but I guess I can run the aux dry for the off-season.

[Hooker]

quote:Originally posted by hazmic

Algae is a diesel thing and mostly marine but a fuel station that dose not maintain their system,you have high chances of problems. This is not only a Iowa problem as we think we got ours in PA on I 80.

Agree, that it's considered "mostly a marine" problem, however, that's because many boats sit for six or eight months without being run. If ANY diesel vehicle sits that long, the fuel needs a biocide, because algae will grow.

[cucalene]

Algae grows because of moisture in the tank. Moisture occurs from condensation when filling a cold fuel tank, diesel tanks should be filled after use when the fuel in the tank is still warm after a days use. Most algae comes from poorly maintained storage tanks so be carefull where you purchase fuel. BioBore is a product used to kill Algae and should be used by fueling stations.
TJG

[Jdrobone]

Maybe the fuel in Virginia is more stable, I dunno. I own, for the last 12 years,a 32 hp diesel John Deere tractor that I use for cutting the pastures and misc work around the mini-farm.
Every fall, say late Oct or latest early Nov I fill the tractor tank up to the top, to avoid any condensation, put the thing away in the shed till late Mar or early April. I put the battery back in at that time, turn the key and it starts up!
. . . run off-road diesel, never had any sludge, clogged filters, any of that stuff. In the Spring I run all that fuel out (till it's low anyway) and then put in fresh diesel, well, mostly fresh. I top off the 6 gallon transport tank that I use to fuel up the tractor and I'm not about to throw away however much was left when I topped the tank off in the fall.
. . . got water in my hydraulic sump once and clogged everything up, but that's another issue.
Jerry