Fuel Additive ...

[northshoreone]

I have read the old posts on this subject and don't see much of any mention of Stanadyne being used. Just wondering why as I have heard many positives about its use from people outside the marine industry. I am going to start using something next spring in my 16v92 Detroits and want to make sure to start and stay with the best product for the old 2 stroke diesels.
Thanks for any guidance provided.

 

[oscarvan]

You're gonna get 20 posts with 20 different opinions here (if not more)...... What the heck, I'll add my $0.03 AFAIK there are three things an additive will do for diesel:

1 Stabilize. (Keep the growth out) Good for storage. I plan on not storing long enough to need that.
2 Boost Cetane. Doubt these DD's care.
3 Anti gelling additives. Are you planning on boating in single digit temperatures?

These motors move a LOT of fuel around. Don't recall the exact number but believe I read that 500 gallons will pass through them in a matter of hours. With a proper filtration setup and regular exercise I think that should take care of any growth.

So, I don't normally add. And, if you read the (little) bottles you will see that to treat 500 or so gallons you're gonna need a LOT. OK, 1 post, 1 opinion

Ready to learn something new.

 

[DCMY #92]

All I have ever added is BioBor-JF to prevent algae growth.

 

[northshoreone]

What I'm really looking for is if one of the many products will work for cleaning the injectors. The boat is new to me but has about 4k hours on the mains. The DDEC's say about 40k gal. of fuel burned which is only about 10 gal. per hour average. I do have some white smoke from the port engine and a little white from the starboard. I had the port stumble about 30 or 40 rpms this last trip but then clear up...sticking injector??? There is some black on the back of the boat after a long run and you can see a bit of haze in the distance behind the boat when running hard. The goal is to see if running some Stanadyne or Diesel Kleen etc. would help these issue's vs new injectors.

 

[Boatsb]

I run optilube in My truck and many boats. The summer plus will treat 1000 gallons with a 1 gallon jug.

It's a cetane boost, de emulsifier and most importantly a lubricant that will clean some stuck stuff but nothing will clean everything.

 

[oscarvan]

If you're trying to clean things up I'd use Marvel Mystery oil...They recommend 4oz/10G.....

Boatsb is either gonna scold me or wholeheartedly agree..... I suspect he's an MMO guy. ;-)

 

[Boatsb]

Best detergent is bio diesel.

It will clean all the crud off the tanks and lines and bring it to your filters. Not always a good thing.

If theres a problem that requires attention get it fixed or replaced. Dont think adding something to the fuel is a fix. Its maintenance and should have been done long ago.

 

[Reefgeorge]

Due to unfortunate family circumstances my boat has had two separate loads of diesel fuel that sat for at least two years or more. In both cases when I went to finally used the boat, I hardly noticed any issues, maybe a little more smoke. In one case I had the fuel polished because I heard so many stories and the guy asked me why I called him out because the fuel was so clean. Now I am sure that other circumstances might create fuel that starts growing stuff or causes some sort of problems but in my case I was quite surprised that a couple of years on a partial tank of fuel did not cause any significant problems. When it happened the first time I ran the tank almost dry before adding fuel and still no crud or poor performance. Boat is now 16 years old with 1,000 hours in the first 4 years and never used an additive

George

 

[MadHatter53]

How about a good additive for us who winterize. I have about 400+gal that will be sitting over the winter. what does the forum recommend ?

 

[scottinsydney]

For fuel, oil and transmission additives have a look at

www.costeffective.com.au

They now have full distribution in the USA. See the contact page on the website.

 

[Boatsb]

I'd recommend using a cetane boost with lubrication all the time. The idea of fixing a problem by adding a bottle of something is foreign to me. I'd keep it clean and free of water no matter where you store the fuel. Algae only effects fuel with water contamination. Other issues from removal of sulphur cause lower lubricate and drops in cetane dont get worse over time in storage.

 

[kelpy]

You will always get a small amount of white smoke from a mechanical Detroit when starting cold. The fuel racks are at full fuel until the engine starts and the governor can pull the racks back to low idle. If it doesn't light off right away, lots of fuel will need to burn off once it starts.
Block heaters will minimize the smoke and should be utilized if so equipped.

Biobor is the only thing I use in the 16-92s and only in the winter. Injectors are pulled every two years and sent out for cleaning and spray test.

 

[Sailor John]

All I have ever used is Stanadyne. You wont find it in the weekenders auto shops. I used to get it from a specialty diesel shop outside of town.
Sailor John