Fuel cleaner additives

[STEVEDUNSTABLE]

hi all...took my disco for MOT monday (passed) and on taking my cash the mechanic said that it would not be a bad idea to give it a dose of "wynns fuel cleaner" into the tank...apparently this cleans all the parts of the engine the fuel comes into contact with inc injectors etc etc hhmmmmm thought i........i wonder if a dose in my kad 32 would be a good idea....thoughts n comments please ...Thanks all in advance......PS. bewarned.. Thanks Mum will be about the solent over the bankholl !!!!!.......feel free to say hello or bug*er off !! we wont be bothered !

 

[Morpheous]

I use a fuel cleaner, apparently helps reduce smoke. Can't vouch for how effective it was cos I always put it and don't know what it was like before.

 

[DAKA]

I used to use wynns injector cleaner once a season in my volvo penta ADAQ41 with good results.

It kept the back soot away on long passages during use and reduced it on subsequent tank fills.

There is a marine version which is much stronger and works out cheaper than a dozen or so car ones you need for 15o gallons.

 

[Questor]

I've used Millers Diesel Power Sport 4 in cars for years, and more recently the boat. Obvious differences are considerably reduced smoke at cold startup, and significant reduction in engine noise. The "top end clatter" has completely gone. Even Mrs Q noticed, which is quite remarkable in itself.

 

[rich]

Try some of this stuff, it does what it says on the tin.



http://www.soltroniw.co.uk/index.htm






.

 

[DAKA]

Try some of this stuff, it does what it says on the tin.



http://www.soltroniw.co.uk/index.htm






.

I think thats a fair comment, it does what it says on the tin but it isnt sold in a tin , is it ?

If anyone bothers to read 'what it says' they will find it says very little that is useful.
It appears to be a naturally occurring enzyme, found in seaweed, same snake oil your wife will pay ££££££££££££££s in shampoo !

Before you waste any money on soltron check out the PBO test here.

 

[Assassin]

While many of these additives prove worthy of use in all diesel engines, a word of caution needs to be introduced.

There are basically two types of additive cleaners, the slow acting types and the fast acting types, and both are effective, but fast acting types can cause problems. Modern diesel and petrol contains many additives which do many things, and some of these are for maintaining the fuel system, and as we already know fuel deteriorates as do its additives. So why add more? generally it is to enhance the original fuel additives which deteriorate, and bolster or strengthen some components which are already there, and occasionally introduce additional additives to maintain the fuel system.

Here lies the issue, the slow acting additives are generally fine in all engine types as they work slowly to remove contamination and allow the engine to burn them off, or disperse them into the fuel filters. This is done over a long period of time, depending on engine operation, and being done slowly does not remove a lot of deposits all at once, particularly in older engines.

Fast acting additives work in an entirely different way, they clean with the pace of an olympic sprinter, very rapidly, and it is this which can cause considerable amounts of contamination to clog filters, or make the engine smoke very badly. This is natural, but if too much contamination is present, particularly in older engines, it removes too much too quickly and can cause numerous problems with fuel system components and internal engine components as the engine cannot burn it off quickly enough. In a modern diesel run regularly, and on good quality fuels, it should not be a problem, but if the engines are older, or not run regularly, it can.

My advice would be to use the slow acting fuel additives.

There is another alternative, use bio-diesel, this has the same affect and costs no more than standard diesel, so effectively it is free, this cleans the fuel system and needs to be around 10-15% bio content to be effective.
There is one downside, that is that the fuel filters will need changing fairly quickly twice, as it will remove a lot of rubbish from the fuel system and deposit it in the filters. Using this method has proven itself in many applications, and once the tank of high bio content is exhausted you simply switch back to normal diesel.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

A thread on the PBO forum suggests using 2 stroke oil at 1% or so.

 

[Assassin]

Using 2 stroke oil has been bandied about for years, and in reality it does nothing positive, just clogs the valves and exhaust systems with soot over time.

 

[BGW]

Using 2 stroke oil has been bandied about for years, and in reality it does nothing positive, just clogs the valves and exhaust systems with soot over time.

I have only read about this on here, and not done any real research, but that's the first I have read about any negative sides. Where does this information come from?
I was tempted to use it on my next refill, but would like to see evidence of these potential issues to make a more informed decision.

 

[CX54WEK]

We use Marine 16 Diesel Fuel Maintenance a couple of times a year. Not sure it has any noticable benefits as we have always done it.

 

[Ripster]

Have used Fuel Set by Liquid Engineering for years now across 3 diesel boats. For what it costs I give it the recommended dose each fill up. Don't know if its needed every time, but I am happy not to have been struck by the dreaded bug yet.

 

[Assassin]

The information comes from many reputable lubricant and fuel testing and research bodies, there are plenty to choose from.

 

[BGW]

The information comes from many reputable lubricant and fuel testing and research bodies, there are plenty to choose from.

Thanks, Looks like I shall do some research starting with the many reputable lubricant and fuel testing and research bodies.

 

[stuhaynes]

I have only read about this on here, and not done any real research, but that's the first I have read about any negative sides. Where does this information come from?
I was tempted to use it on my next refill, but would like to see evidence of these potential issues to make a more informed decision.

Marine 16? any views from personal experience? Read the PBO report but you lot probably know much more than they do?

 

[vyv_cox]

The information comes from many reputable lubricant and fuel testing and research bodies, there are plenty to choose from.

It would be interesting and useful to see some links that support what you say. Googling "2-stroke oil in diesel fuel" produces vast numbers of positive experience and I have yet to find a negative.

Example: To all interested:
due to the pollution control measures of the EC diesel-oil is nearly sulphur free and contains up to 5% of bio-diesel. Sulphur has the property to grease the high pressure injection pump and the injectors. Without sulphur, the reduced greasing property of the new diesel has already shown negativ impacts on the long-term stability of the injectors and the high pressure pump. The pump manufacturers have tried to react by lining the moving parts of the pumps with teflon or other suitable material. However, the long term stability is still not achieved as with the old (sulphor contained) diesel.
The engine-research centre of a well known German car manufacurer has conducted some long term tests of diesel additives to find out whether any one of them will have an impact on the long term reliability of the diesel engine components. This introduction to explain were my information comes from.
The results of this research: any diesel additive of any manufacturer presently on the market is not worth the money!
BUT: 2-stroke oil, which we use in our motor saws, lawn mower or in 2-stroke motor engines has shown to have an extreme positive impact on diesel engines, if such 2-stroke oil is added to the diesel in a homoeophatic dosis of 1:200. In practical terms: 0,300 litre of 2-stroke oil into the 70l diesel tank. The 2-stroke oil will be absorbed by the diesel (emulsion) and grease every moving part of the high pressure pump and the injectors.
Besides this, the 2-stroke oil will keep the diesel engine clean, as it burnes cleaner as the diesel itself.
In other words, the 2-stroke oil has a much lower ash-content as diesel, when burned. This proven fact delays the DPF (diesel particulate (soot) filter) to clogg, and the "burn free" process of the DPF will be much less.
One more information: in Germany we have to present our cars every 2 years to the TUV -Technical Supervision Organisation - who will check, amongs others, the pollution of petrol and diesel engines.
The measured cloud-factor of a diesel engine without use of 2-stroke oil has been 0,95.
The same factor with the use of 2-stroke oil has been 0,47 - reduction of nearly half of the soot particles.
Besides this, the use of 2-stroke oil in the diesel will increase the milage by 3-5%.

And another: You may all know that Mercedes Benz have conducted in 2007 a long distance reliability test with a number of Mercedes E-Class 320 cdi from Paris to Beijing. Due to the fact that the diesel quality in East European Countries, Russia and China does not meet the DIN requirements, and Mercedes did not want to take the risk of their engines to flop due to lousy fuel, the total tour has been accompanied by diesel tanks to re-fuel the E-Class cdi's. Selected members of the Mercedes clientele could apply to participate in selected parts of this test-tour, and advocats and notaries had to certify the correctness of this long term reliability test.
Although Mercedes does not like it published or made public, it is a fact that the diesel-fuel used for this test did contain 2-stroke oil to grease the high pressure pump components and to keep the engines clean during this marathon.
Why our car manufacturers do not officially allow the homoeophatic addition of 2-stroke oil to the diesel fuel has many reasons, mostly of legal nature. Besides this, which car manufacturer has any interest in excessive reliability of their engines? Their repair shops will have great problems.
Meanwhile the "2-stroke-oil to diesel" issue has attracted the interest of a number of Universities in Germany, as this 2-stroke oil has shown to have amazing properties if added in a small doses to diesel fuel (1:200), especially the positive impact on air pollution, reduced fuel consumption and improved long term reliability of the diesel engine. The pro and con discussions will go on for a while. But as soon as an academic report has been published by one of our Universities, this will change very fast.

 

[syd]

Marine 16

The Detroit Diesels in my boat were left for very long periods without being run up under load by the previous owner. He used to fire them up every other month or so, then leave them ticking over for an hour. The result being loads of smoke when started, and I meen LOADS, and not much better when under way. At first I thought of liners and injector replacement but was told to try Marine 16 first. Lucky I did. After a heavy dose as recommended in this situation, I took it out for a spin. The first half hour of the trip was more or less the same, puffing like a good un, then things started to change. The smoke began to abate and the engines started to run smoother. Eventually there was no smoke at all and the engines purred. All this in three hours, I was so chuffed. I changed the fuel filters once more when we got back in and to this day, she smokes a bit when cold for about a minute, as most Diesels do, but once warm the smoke is barely noticeable. Marine 16 worked for me.
Syd

 

[rubberduck]

Have used Fuel Set by Liquid Engineering for years now across 3 diesel boats. For what it costs I give it the recommended dose each fill up. Don't know if its needed every time, but I am happy not to have been struck by the dreaded bug yet.

We had our almost new engines serviced a month ago & the Volvo engineer recommended fuel set, we now have zero smoke even from cold, he also recommended an antifoul for the drive gear, I said Ill stick to mine. Next year I will try his Live & learn as they say.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Two stroke feedback from last weekend.

The usual position was that both engines start easily, with the starboard one producing clouds of thick white smoke for a long time (<10 minutes) after startup, the port making far less smoke, white turned to grey/blue haze after a minute or so. Starboard also had what in petrol terms I would call a misfire for a short while after starting, would run a little lumpy for 30s or so.

I added about 200ml to Jedi's tank, probably an overdose from some suggested proportions but there you go. On startup the usual starboard side white fog appeared for a while, but subsequently cleared to a blue/grey haze after a few minutes running. Obviously inland you can't open up and run hard, but a couple of "neutral turns" in a quiet spot showed that upping the revs from tickover to 1500 did not produce instant thick clouds of grey and white clag. There is still enough smoke that if your car did that you might be concerned, but there does appear to have been a noticeable improvement. Now I have no idea if the effect improves further after ten hours running, and await what happens next weekend with interest.

A positive experience so far on 40 year old HT 6354s.

 

[BGW]

Two stroke feedback from last weekend.

The usual position was that both engines start easily, with the starboard one producing clouds of thick white smoke for a long time (<10 minutes) after startup, the port making far less smoke, white turned to grey/blue haze after a minute or so. Starboard also had what in petrol terms I would call a misfire for a short while after starting, would run a little lumpy for 30s or so.

I added about 200ml to Jedi's tank, probably an overdose from some suggested proportions but there you go. On startup the usual starboard side white fog appeared for a while, but subsequently cleared to a blue/grey haze after a few minutes running. Obviously inland you can't open up and run hard, but a couple of "neutral turns" in a quiet spot showed that upping the revs from tickover to 1500 did not produce instant thick clouds of grey and white clag. There is still enough smoke that if your car did that you might be concerned, but there does appear to have been a noticeable improvement. Now I have no idea if the effect improves further after ten hours running, and await what happens next weekend with interest.

A positive experience so far on 40 year old HT 6354s.

Thanks for that - I have been unable to unearth any substantial negative reasons for doing it so I will be adding some on my next fill as well. (for my sprightly 33 year old HT 6354's)