Ugly Diesel

[Sussix]

My Boat is hauled for winter and this year I decided to store my fuel tanks near empty. While changing my primary filter I noticed the fuel in one tank was quite a bit darker than the other. Looked like someone dumped a cup of coffee in there. Needless to say, the filter was ugly as well. I figure I have about 20 gallons remaining in that tank.

Question - Should I pump out the remaining fuel and burn it in my home furnace or can I just ignore it and top it off with fresh fuel in spring. IF it sounds like bacterial contamination, I think It would be best to remove as much as possible. Is this a job for Algae-X?

[Passages]

If so, put it in jerry cans and take home to burn. Then buy some fresh diesel in spring.

[Soffer]

If you only have 20 gallons of funky fuel oil, dispose of it as waste oil and avoid gumming up your home heating oil tank.

[Bob Bradley]

Soffer's right on. Many automotive garages have special furnaces in which they can burn stuff as bad as waste engine oil. They'd love free fuel. I wouldn't try to save $40 and risk fouling my furnace at home.

[34Hatt]

The bottom of that tank is loaded with slug which is cause from the bacteria waste. Putting new fuel in will help but that will be black soon after. Polishing helps but it does not get everything in the corners and around the baffles. I know for a fact that the AJX perfect fuel products will clean the tank in about 1-2 weeks. If you want fasteter result use the AJX-TCS for 3-5 days then have the tanks polished. ww.ajx.us (http//www.ajx.us)
Dan

[George C]

that fuel. You did not say it was bad, just dark. When you put it away last fall, was the engine running OK? You say the filter was ugly, that likely led the fuel oil in the filter chamber to also be dirty.

Do not judge fuel quality by what you see swimming around a dirty filter. Pull a sample from the tank unfiltered before making a decision. Cleaning out a tank is a major PITA. Also, why risk an environmental mess with possible spillage and needless disposal.

I would recommend emptying the tank only if there is significant water/sediment or the engine was misbehaving.

If you don't have water in your fuel, I doubt you have a bacteria problem.

[jim rosenthal]

empty the tank. Betting the cost of twenty gallons of diesel agains the idea that fuel that turned dark is still somehow okay is not a gamble I would take. Having been through this, and replaced many injectors before we got the problem fixed (not to mention limping home on one engine three times) I would do damn near anything to avoid contaminated fuel. And I do my boating in the Bay where it's easier to get towed home. I can't imagine going offshore with those sorts of problems waiting to rear their ugly heads.

[Nonchalant1]

Have any of you others used AJX? Does it work like their "claims", which are very large.

Doug

[Sussix]

I'll go to the boat tomorrow and pull a fuel sample directly from the tank. If it does not look right, I'll pump it out and dispose as waste oil.

Thanks

ps: Any thoughts on the use of Algae-X as a preventative? I recall a thread a few months back where Genesis was running a long term trial.

[Genesis]

.. their competitor :)

I've got their competitor units online right now, but Ivan screwed us up badly enough last summer that I don't have good data yet on them.

The second generation of the "Snake Oil Chronicles" is at www.denninger.net/snake-oil-2.htm (http://www.denninger.net/snake-oil-2.htm)

[34Hatt]

The old thought of if you have Bacteria you have water is no longer True Bacteria is in fuel and Oil from the start.
Which is the wells in the ground the have problems in the wells with the acids from the bacteria eating the s.s piping and there are companys out there that this is their job to control it take a look at www.bakerhughes.com/baker.../biocides/ (http://www.bakerhughes.com/bakerpetrolite/oilgas/biocides/)
so if they have it we are all going to have problems.

[Norman Mayer]

What do you do for a living? I suspect you must be an engineer of some type, as your testing proceedures are first rate. Just curious!

[34Hatt]

I know that another forum member from Maryland used it also this past summer and posted that his fuel did clean up and was not sure of economy due to no flow scans. I looked for it in the archives but could not find it most be to old. Just cant remember who it was are you still out there??
Dan

[Trojan]

Just how much bacteria do you think will survive when they crack crude oil at 370-470 degrees Centigrade.Thats over 700 -900 degrees Fahrenheit.I would think the fuel would be bug free at those temps.I think I would go back to the thought that bacteria is introduced into the fuel by water entry or condensation after the fact.I would guess that well contamination is a deferent bacteria.What do you think? Just some food for thought. Bill

[34Hatt]

Well that might be true but they also have speeded up the process of cracking and take other short cuts to speed up production and have change the fuels. So in the older days bacteria needed the water to grow and survive in but with the new fuels of no lead and low sulfur it now can live in the fuel itself. I have seen many gas and diesel tanks loaded with bacteria with zero water in them. Until recently you never heard of bacteria in gas but last year 4 boats in my Marina where loaded with it. so if it can live in gas it definitely live in diesel.
Dan