Old diesel fuel

lumphammer

lumphammer

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We are taking over our new boat this weekend, the diesel tank is about three quarters full. Is it OK to use this? Should I add any additives? biocides? etc

It has been standing for about 9 months.

Any comments gratefully received.



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I'd keep the old diesel and run the engine - but be prepared to replace the filters (maybe more than once) especially if you see a lot of water gathering in the primary fuel filter (you should probably drain this first). In fact, replace the filters anyway. Oh - and do an oil change as 9 months standing will almost certainly need it unless there was a change done as part of laying up.

There has been a reasonable amount of comment on the forum about the shelf life of fuel - if I may interpret on behalf of the forum I believe most people would say 9 months isn't too long before it goes off. Your major problem is likely to be water content; as its only 3/4 full you could have a lot of condensation gathered in your fuel (hence the need to drain off).

If you have a bottle of bug treatment to hand then its probably ok to use it - otherwise I'd wait and see if you have a problem first.

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Tony
Did a search for shelf life but couldn't find it, out of interest what was the outcome. I know petrol is ok for about a year but I thought diesel was ok indefinitly.....may be wrong on this one
Regards

<hr width=100% size=1>Dave
 
Unless the fuel or tank was contaminated when the fuel was put in (or, as someone else has said enough water has condensed to cause a problem - unlikely over 9 months I would have thought) then the fuel will be fine. Just check to see it has no gunk floating in it first from previous contamination.

I suspect many cruising sailboats with reasonable fuel capacity will be the same as us, as follows - we fill our tank in autumn, it sits all winter until next season which may be 6 or seven months. It takes us 2-3 months of continuous cruising to empty the tank so at end of season (autumn again) the tank is often still quarter to a third full still - that is then one year after the tank was filled so the fuel is one year old by then and is still fine. The tank is refilled that autumn again, the remaining 1 year old fuel and the new mixed.

I do put in a water dispersant additive at each fill. The engine always runs fine on one year old fuel - never noticed any difference.

John

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Diesel will not normally go off. ( Petrol is said to go off by some because certain compounds evaporate and you end up with something more akin to homeproduced paraffin) I have had to use old diesel in the past in the jungle out of rusty drums and have no problems apart from rusty sludge shortening the life of the engines fuel filters. My own fault for trying to use all the fuel in the drums and not supervising the transfer myself.
If the tank has been standing 3/4 full then advise draining for any condensation. A full filter and oil change would be a good start if the previous change date is unknown. Take spare fuel filters with you in case the tank is sludgy, by draining and changing the filters before hand at least you will be sure of how to change them at sea if push comes to shove. Happy sailing.

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Use it ..... from a Petro-Lab

I run a Petrochemical Inspection Co. as my primary business.

Diesel / Gasoil can store for months / years ...... it basically does not have shelf-life.

Drain off any water you find in the tank, if possible disconnect your fuel line and run a bit of fuel through to ensure no wtaer in there. It may be an idea to change a fuel filter.

Biocide - ok but go easy on it - don't overdo it. To check if you have bio activity is not so easy - but a good indicator is to dip the tank with a stick ..... and see if any black gunge comes up on it. That is the dead bugs ......

As to water dispersant etc. ----- not so good idea personally speaking as water is a dangerous product to have anywhere near a high compression engine like a diesel.

My boat sits for months and months of inactivity. I give a bit of housecleaning to the interior, dip tank, charge batterys and go. Never think about it really ...... now that I have said it - my engine will probably come to a grinding halt next time !!!!

Oh Yes ....... petrol ...... store it in dark place in sealed container at cool temp. will mean a long life ........ again months !!! I keep my outboard fuel in the shed in a closed gasoline can ........ it still works after 'years'.



<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !
 
Re: Use it ..... from a Petro-Lab

the plants i run have between 5,000-40,000 litres of diesel fuel stored in tanks and no customer ever disposes of the stuff.for boating purposes we do not have to worry about fuel "going off".

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sorry to say it ......

But the old saying ..... a little bit of knowledge is dangerous ....... holds here ........

It's good biz to build up the biocide / water side etc. I know as I am agent also for Petroleum additives .... CFPP, PPD, H2S, Bugs, CONDUCTIVITY, WATER, LUBRICITY, OCTANE, CETANE, SEDIMENTS ............ it's a much wider field than some imagine. SORRY - BUT THE PUBLIC doesn't need to know all the bits and bobs about what goes into petroleum ...... because it needs REAL understanding which is back to chemistry / refining etc. and far beyond my or this forums level.

Sorry again but true !! eg - if you knew what goes into a famous soft drink that your kids drink - you would ban it outright ........ again limited knowledge !!!!


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !
 
Tony .....

There is NO diesel in the world that doies not have bug inherent ...... it is a case of levels of bugs in the particular stock / tank.

eg. - I used to 'dip' tanks in Venezuela years ago that had near 50cms of dead bugs in the bottom ........ tank was 30,000 tons capacity.

The accepted max. contamination for bugs is 1000 cfu/l total. In plain english .... even for Kiwis !!!! is 1000 colony forming uints per litre. If you looked at a petri dish after 5 days incubation ...... part of the bug test ----- it is significantly spotted !!!!! What is regarded as 'clean' disel ...... is still well dotted with colony's !!!!!!


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !
 
Do you mean AGAR ?

The actual composition of the agar I would have to ask my Chemists ...... I'm a company owner not the actual analyst !!

But if you want some 'dip sticks' ....... PM me


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !
 
Re: Do you mean AGAR ?

Talk to your techies. Agar is like jelly,it's just a substrate it's what they put in it that differentiates the different bacteria

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What do you really want to know ?

With all due respect ..... the average person in the street / boat doesn't need this ...... what's the point you want to make ?

I currently have a fully accredited Lab for Petrochems in the Baltics .... one of the few ! + other lab facility's
I have at last count 10 analyst's running around the Baltic's

So can you please define what you want to know or are you in the competition >>>>>>>>>


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !
 
The MOD has both diesel fuel and aviation fuel that has been in store for many years in some case 25 years plus. If the housekeeping is good the only problem that can hit diesel fuel is a form of dirt crystalisation, termed fuel derived dirt. Sadly this effects some fuels after long term storage and the reasons for it are not widely understood but this is after long term storage, fuel stored in a diesel tank from last season is unlikely to have suffered any deleterious effects providing the there has been no water bottom in the tank.

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??

Gum and ptroduct stability are main concerns with long term storage.

A new'ish paramter that is hitting the market ...... commercial not retail ....... is Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ..... but that is another avenue....


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !
 
Re: What do you really want to know ?

Nige You are being paranoid. I simply asked what your techies use in their agar. I used to be a microbiologist/DNA fingerprinting/Molecular Biologist type person, and the field still interests me. Growing any sort of bug takes a very specialist medium and conditions. If you are worried about competition, just pm me or ignore me

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Sorry - ----

I was silly - I thought you might be trying to be smart !!!

Recently a few things have happened that cause me to be cautious ..... I have a situation where I just fired my Lab Manager for xxxxxxxxx. Can't say what - its still subject of investigation.

No I'm just a lab owner who pays for commecially available prepared petri's. We used to do out own, but it worked out cheaper and more effective to buy in. As to the medium - I have to refer to the 'techies' quite right.

BUT as regards the actual fuel bit - that I am good on, at least good enough to keep in business and steady development !! But we all learn as we go .....

Seriously I do apologise and I'm more than happy to 'chat' direct or via forum ...... but I think that the forum would soon get bored of it !!!!


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I only came - cos they said there was FREE Guinness !
 
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