[Shop-talk] diesel fuel question

[alfuller194 at gmail.com]

Jeff [and all]:

 

As regards the comment you made below that the generators get exercised 30 minutes a week: Please keep in mind that its sounds like you meant to say the diesel engines get exercised [as opposed to the generators]. 

 

The difference is the generator set also includes the transfer switch, wiring and other components. I had one client that fired up the diesel weekly, but when a wind storm blew down the power lines, the facility was down for a week while they tried to locate a new transfer switch. It turned out the building housed a lot more people and equipment than when the generator set was first specified and the switch set couldn’t support the load.  It was very frustrating to have a working diesel generator, but unable to power the building!

 

As a validation person, our motto is if it needs to work, it needs to be tested ahead of time – in the same way you would use it.

 

----------------

All the best,

 

Al Fuller

 

From: Shop-talk <shop-talk-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Jeff Scarbrough via Shop-talk
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 9:15 AM
To: Shop-talk at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] diesel fuel question

 

 

We have two 500kW generators at work.  Each has a 1400 gallon tank; we go through about 500-800 gallons per year.  I expect that, despite the fact that these generators are having their 21st birthday this year, there is still some portion of fuel in the tank that is 21 years old.  This bothers me a little bit, but it keeps working.  We did throw a jug of biocide in one year with the fresh fuel.

 

Having said that, we have a service guy come in twice a year to check fluids and change filters, and they get exercised 30 minutes a week just to make sure they will run when we need them.  

 

Do like the others have said:  check filters, check a fuel sample from the tank, and let us know what you find.

 

There exist people who do fuel polishing - they come to your large ship or tank farm and run an extra fuel cleaning and refreshing for your stored diesel fuel.  Might be a bit of overkill on the farm.

 

Jeff Scarbrough

Corrosion Acres, Ga.

 

On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 7:46 AM eric--- via Shop-talk <shop-talk at autox.team.net <mailto:shop-talk at autox.team.net> > wrote:

Does anyone know of a way to tell if diesel fuel has gone bad? 

Here is my situation.  I have a large diesel fuel tank for my tractors on my property (so I don't have to buy 'over the road' diesel.)  The fuel in there has been there a few years. 

My newest tractor (a small 25hp subcompact) started acting funny.  At full throttle, it seems to sputter a little. 

Could be a fuel problem, but I would love to test the diesel somehow. Or is there a way of looking at the filter on the tractor? Or another test to do? 

Related follow up, if the fuel is bad, and I have about 50 gals in a 250 tank.  Can I just add fresh fuel to it, or do I need to drain out all the bad first?  What would be a good bad/good ratio to dilute the bad fuel? 

Thanks! 


"Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory." Ralph Waldo Emerson 
-Who is John Galt?_______________________________________________

Shop-talk at autox.team.net <mailto:Shop-talk at autox.team.net> 
Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
Suggested annual donation  $12.96
Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk http://autox.team.net/archive

Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/fishplate@gmail.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk/attachments/20200424/17f3fca9/attachment.htm>