Diesel Fuel Storage for Winter

[Les Brandt]

I will be storing my diesel coach for winter. Just wanted to confirm what to add for diesel fuel stabilizer and does everyone fill their tanks?

[David T. Richelderfer]

Use a biocide... stuff that will not allow algae to grow in the tank.  I purchased a quart for about $10.  My container calls for 1 (one) ounce in 150 gallons of diesel.

It's also good to store the coach with the diesel tank full.  You get less condensation of water on the sidewalls of the tank.

[Gerald Farris]

Les,
It is a good idea to store the coach for the winter with a full tank of fuel. Like David said, this will drastically reduce or eliminate the condensation problem that occurs with diesel fuel.

No fuel stabilizer should be needed. If there is any water in your tank now, a biocide would be a good idea. However, if there is no water in your tank now, a biocide will be of no benefit because the microbial growth that is often referred to as diesel algae, only grows at the layer between water and diesel fuel. So you be the judge, if the coach spends a lot of time in a very humid costal area, you probably have some water in your fuel. But if it usually stays in an area like Arizona, there probably is no water in your fuel.  

Gerald

[Les Brandt]

Thanks guys. I live in BC which is typically hot in summer. Not really humid in the winter. Temps hover around 5-10*F in winter.

[Joel Ashley]

Although I agree with Gerald's advice, I play on the safe side and use Power Service products as needed, Les, but then I live near Portland.  A little goes a long way in a 100 gallon tank, so I don't consider my use of DeiselKleen, Bio Kleen, or ClearDiesel a waste of money.  Many here use other products, and any of them probably do as intended, but Ive had good advice and personal service from Power Service in the past.  I appreciate that and their products and philosophy, and thus my recommendation.

You have to decide for yourself whether you need any additive.  Keeping the tank topped off during storage in any geographic locale is your first and best preventive move.  I would expect B.C. winters to provide some elevated relative humidity on occasion.  If you ever have fog around, that's evidence enough, although little if any will enter your tank if it's full of fuel and you don't run the engine to draw it in.

A little insurance won't cost that much since little additive is needed annually.  I'm still on the same DieselKleen quart I bought several years ago.  

Just my 2 cents.

http://powerservice.com/bk/

If you can't find one of their products locally, contact them and they will see to it you get some, perhaps as in my case with no shipping costs.

Joel

[Bill Sprague]

I did nothing for the first couple years besides keep it full when parked.  Then I read all about biocide use on rv.net.  As I recall, most truck stop additives don't have bioside because fuel goes through their tanks so quickly that they never think about storage.   The many additives truck stops do sell all claim to cure one or two of the maladies that we can imagine might effect us.  I don't remember Cummins, Cat, Detroit or Mercedes sell or recommend any of them.

Boats do get stored, so West Marine and others sell storage additives.  I bought Biobor and used it for a couple years.  Biobor is only a biocide.  It claims to do nothing more than kill algae.  When I ran out of Biobor, I forgot about it, so for the last 5 years I've done nothing but keep the tank full.  

For the entire ten years, including extended periods of time in the Seattle area, I've not had trouble when I used it or didn't use it.  In 120,000 miles I've had to change fuel filters two extra times between normal service intervals.  I suspect the fuel source more than anything growing at the water fuel interface that Gerald explained.  

FWIW, some private jet owners like to use a FAA approved biocide called Prist in their jet fuel.  

Most of us have "water separator" type fuel filters and they will turn on a dash warning light if you do get water in your fuel.  

[George H. Wall]

Do the 10-20% vegetable oil fuels grow algae faster than regular diesel?   Henry

[Keith Oliver]

FWIW
I have had diesel engines in my boats for almost 40 years.  I once bought a can of Biobor, for use in a boat that I was unsure of, and had no troubles.  All other boats have seen typical usage that sees the full contents of the tankage used in one or two years.  I have always stored with the tanks full.  I have always had Racor filter housings with the clear bowl so that you can see the water, should it accumulate.

In the early years, there was a bit of water in the filter bowl on occasion, but in the last 30 years I haven't seen a drop.  The filter changes required are also a lot less now.  I attribute this to much better quality control at the refineries and to fewer places to buy marine diesel, so they go through their supply more quickly, keeping it fresh.  If I was to cruise to Mexico or further, I would carry extra filters and Biobor, but for home use, it simply isn't necessary.  In the fall, I park the boat and walk away for 6 months.  I have never had a fuel issue. My boat stays in the water, in Vancouver, BC where it is always damp in the winters.

Likewise for the Motorhome, if I am fuelling at a Pilot or similar, where the volumes pumped are huge, I wouldn't worry about fuel quality, and since I have a clear bowl on the Racor there as well, I will stay with the same regime.

I store my Motorhome twice a year.  In the spring, I park at the back of my home, plug it in, walk away.  7 months later I start it up and drive south, where again, I park it, plug it in, and stay put for several months.  Occasionally it gets moved around as our need to see different places arises, but generally sits for months at a time.  I will check the fuel filter bowls when I am checking the oil before startup, but otherwise I have found no need to be at all concerned about fuel.

[Bill Sprague]

Do the 10-20% vegetable oil fuels grow algae faster than regular diesel?   Henry

Lots of people don't like "bio-diesel" and can give you a list of what's wrong with it.  Mostly, what's wrong is that it is a government lead campaign intended to reduce our use use of foreign oil and it is being forced on us as a mandate.  We don't like being told what to do.

Concerned, I spend a full morning recently scouring for facts, studies and articles.  The worst I found was one article that had photos of a high time engine that had been torn down because it was worn out.  Some interior parts has some gummy sludge on them.   I looked for more articles to verify that as a problem and failed.  

I drew the conclusion that if  I put a few hundred gallons of California fuel in our Beaver that I would not notice any significant effect.   It also appears that, as a low user of fuel, I could not use enough California fuel to cause a problem even if I lived there and bought nothing else.  

None of what I found indicated that a bio-diesel blend would grow algae in my tank any more that dinosaur diesel would.  

[David T. Richelderfer]

Here are a few things I learned about biodiesel and the fuel we can purchase at the pump, the biodiesel blend.

The biodiesel blend has far less energy than 100% fossil diesel.  The relative BTU comparison is about 118,000 per gallon versus over 130,000.  That's at least 10% less available energy, mainly due to molecules containing water remaining in the biodiesel after processing.  The water adds to weight but does not add to energy.  Thus, the biodiesel blend we purchase needs to be at least 10% cheaper... or 35c to 40c cheaper per gallon.

The vegetable oil and animal fats that go into making the biodiesel go through an esterification process in which lye, water, methanol, and acid is added to separate the fats from the glycerin.  Once separated, the fats are further processed into biodiesel while the glycerin is removed.  The biodiesel then must go through a cleaning and drying process to render it clean, clear, odor free, and, importantly, to remove the lye, water, methanol, acid, etc.

The biodiesel blend is just as clean as 100% fossil diesel.  The comments about carrying extra fuel filters because the biodiesel blend may clog filters sooner is correct.  The bio part of the biodiesel blend acts like a solvent and cleans the sidewalls of the fuel tank, and on down the fuel lines, which brings an influx of particulates into the engine's filters.

I would submit that going to a 20% biodiesel blend immediately might cause more of a problem, but going slowly from 5%, to 10%, to 15%, and eventually to 20% should not cause as much of a filter changing issue if filters are changed "regularly" anyhow,  The biggest problem I see is the mileage reduction, resulting in a 50 to 75 miles per tankful reduction.  And, of course, don't forget the cost-benefit difference of at least 10% regarding the fuel prices.

[Keith Oliver]

David:

From your numbers, the extra fossil diesel we have to burn to cover the same number of miles completely and exactly negates any "reduction in dependence on foreign oil" as we have just burned up that reduction.  In other words, the total amount of fossil diesel burned will be 10% more with bio mixed in than without.  Unfortunately, there is no choice in the matter, as the regulators require minimums of bio in diesel, and that is not likely to change.

Same effect as putting ethanol in gas.