Fuel Additives???

[Dick Simonis]

Question about fuel additives;

Should I use one?

If so, what is best?

I had been running an additive in my Jeep diesel but eventually stopped.  No particular reason except it became unclear if it was beneficial or necessary. I suspect these engines are a whole differant breed of Cat than my little one so I'm interested in what others are doing.

[Larry Fisk]

I have wondered this myself. With all diesel now ultra low sulphur is it a good idea to use an additive? I'm too am interested to know the response from those of you in the know.

[Gerald Farris]

Dick & Larry,
To answer your question in one word is impossible. The subject of need depends on your particular coach. If you have any microbial growth in your fuel tank a biocide additive is needed. Otherwise there is no need for a fuel additive. The additive advertisements that claim that you need an additive as a replacement for the lubricating properties of the sulfur that was removed from the fuel are not based in facts. Caterpillar, as well as the other major major diesel manufactures states that their engines will operate on ultra-low sulfur fuel without a problem,

As for the claims of benefits from diesel fuel additives, there are some. However, the benefits of improved fuel mileage do no more than offset the cost of the additive in all of the impartial studies that I have read. So if you are using an additive for any reason other than a biocide in your fuel, you will experience little or no benefit from the additive, or at least not enough of a benefit for me to go through the trouble of adding it to the tank.

Gerald  

[Larry Fisk]

Thank you Gerald! The wear on the engine from not enough lubricating properties in the fuel is the one that had me wondering. It's good to know that it's not needed and the engine is fine without an additive. I have never added anything for growth in the fuel and never had a problem of this nature. Is this biocide additive something that should be done periodically or only if this problem becomes apparent?

[Gerald Farris]

Larry,
In a coach that only receives fresh fuel from a high volume retailer like Flying J and is mostly operated and stored in a relatively dry area, there will probably never be a need for a biocide additive. However if you are always in a very humid area, or if you buy stale fuel from a low volume retailer, you will probably need to use it at some time in the future.  

There are a few coach owners that use a biocide as a preventative measure, however they are usually boat owners that are accustomed to the problem. Most dry land RVers only use a biocide if they notice a problem like short filter life, or a dark layer building up on the pre-filter screen. I have never had the need for a biocide and I hope that I never will, so I never use it.

Gerald

[Bill Sprague]

The only product I've found that says it is strictly a diesel biocide is "Biobor JF".  I've never seen it at a truck stop or autoparts store where all the other additives are.  It is readily available at marine supply stores like WestMarine.  

Apparently, microbes can grow at the interface between diesel, or jet fuel, and water.  If you have no water in your tank, there will not be microbe growth.  

The best way to get water in your tank is to park it for a few months where it is cool and rainy (Seattle?) with less than a full tank.  As the atmosphere routinely cycles through low and high pressure cycles, a little damp air cycles through the vents in your tank.  Then, on cool days, condensation forms on the walls of the empty part of your tank, like water forms on my martini glass.  (My martini glass gets pretty wet in the condo near Tacoma and stays pretty dry here in Lake Havaru!).

So, if you winter near Seattle, keep your tank full.   Or go to WestMarine and buy some Biobor JF.

[Paul Schwalen]

I did not use a biocide before this year.  We have lived in Florida for 35+ years and have been RVing for most of them.  I always try to fuel up before parking the MH because of the humidity here and having been in the marine industry and knowing about the problems with water in fuel. I always felt that keeping the tank full when sitting would do the job.

About, 3 months ago we were at a Rally and I was talking to a friend who had just had a nightmare with his Mountain Aire.  He also used to keep his tank full but had a family problem and the RV sat in Tampa for 3+ months with a low level in the fuel tank.  Heading north on I-95 they got into South Carolina before the Cummins shut down.  To make a long story short they spent $4K having Cummins remove the fuel tank and have to cut access holes into it to remove the built up gunk before they could continue their trip!

That really scared me!  I now add BioBorJr and still try to keep the tank full when parked.  The small cost for prevention is letting me sleep at night.

Paul

[Phil N Barb Rodriguez]

 :K)Thanks for the info Paul. Looks like I need to head into Spokane and find a boat dealer and pick up some biocide for piece of mind. I keep my tank full when parked long term. I assume the biocide is a preventive and not a cure from algae already built up in a fuel tank. (?)

Regarding other fuel additives: I have used Power Service (brand name) Diesel Kleen or Diesel Fuel Suplement for years in 3 different pushers. The product claims 4-6 increase in Cetane points and improved lubricity. The price is $10-15 per gallon, the least expensive is at Walmart. Truck stops are the most expensve. Usng the additive is of course a personal choice. Do I need it....dunno, but makes me feel better to have the claimed additional lubricity for the injector pump and injectors. With an engine rated 1550 ft lbs of torque does the additive claimed additional Cetane number help. Dunno. The engine doesn't smoke, noticably. It did under moderate load when I bought the coach. Last I checked the cululative MPG since I bought the coach is 9.2 towing. Don't know how that fares with others.

Again, personnal choice. I'm not trying to convince anyone to use additives. Just my experience. I suppose it's kind of like taking herbs, or vitamin suplements, or Plavix. After using them for so long it makes you a bit afraid to stop taking them .

[Paul Schwalen]

Phil,

The BioBor can be bought on line or from West Marine. The dosage listed on the jar is for preventive measures and also a larger dosage if you are having a biocide problem. I just add the preventive dosage each time I add diesel.  It is pretty straight forward and the jar makes it easy to dispense the proper amount.

Good luck.

Paul

[Joel Ashley]

I did a bit of research a couple years back, and opted for the Power Service products.  Tom Ward at the company was super in helping me understand the products and principles of function, patiently and thoroughly answering a lot of my questions promptly by email and phone.  They are a pretty good company, and when I couldn't find locally their Bio-Kleen algicide in a small size, they sent me some at a great price.  

Clear Diesel and Bio-Kleen are a good choice if your coach is parked for months at a time without a fuel freshening.  Those on the road a lot probably don't need to fret about it much.  http://www.powerservice.com/cd/

Joel

[Jeremy Parrett]

I have used both Biobor JF and Diesel Kleen in my sailboat and in the Marquis . Add the right amount at each fill. So far it has worked to keep the algae low enough not to be a concern.  

[Richard And Babs Ames]

 At he recent CAT seminar at Pantropic Power in Ft Myers, they did reccomend biocides, but did not reccomend any particular brand. They did not reccomend any other additives and were neutral.

 They did say to watch the percent of biodiesel in your fuel, as they have seen up to a 30% mix in the Midwest.  The older CAT's, like mine, are not reccomended to use more the 5% bio, but some of the newer ones can go higher. Your owners manual or the CAT RV help line can help. http://www.catrvclub.org/cat_rv_centers.htm

[Richard Cooper]

Anybody feel the need to add SeaFoam product to their diesel?  Went to their website at http://www.seafoamsales.com/how-to-use-sea-foam-motor-treatment.html and it says to add 1 oz per gallon of diesel.  A 16 oz can of this stuff sells for $11 on Amazon so I assume it's $11 approx at Pep Boys.  For my tank I would need about 9 cans.  This is an extra $100 per tank.  Seems expensive.   Is SeaFoam the same as you all were discussing above with fuel additives?  Brand SeaFoam was not mentioned above.

[Jeremy Parrett]

I use Diesel Kleen or Cetane Boost. 1 liter will treat 100 gallons of diesel.