No doubt we all worry about whether or not our engines may be damaged when we use “bad fuel”.  And if my fuel is dark, should I assume the worst?  Engines are costly investments and no one wants to accelerate an engine’s demise by running inadequate fuel through it and potentially causing harmful results.

And where does engine failure usually start?  In the fuel tank! A diesel engine is an intricate machine that can actually run for quite a long time given:

• Its mechanical components are functioning properly and are in good condition;
• All other systems within the engine, such as cooling and the lube system, are working appropriately;
• Clean oil is flowing through the engine and its components; and
• An adequate flow of clean air is available and reaching the combustion chamber.

So what is the potential weak link in the chain?  Your fuel quality.

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Filter plugging can have several causes. For example, low temperatures can cause wax crystallization, which can lead to filter plugging. An example would be using summer diesel in cold weather. Wax or paraffin is part of the diesel fuel. A proper preventative additive with an Anti Gel agent is the answer to that problem.

Chemical incompatibility may cause dramatic filter plugging. This may happen when fuels with incompatible additive packages are mixed.

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Contaminant build up resulting from excessive microbial growth and bio-degradation of fuel can cause filter plugging. Micro-organisms, bacteria and enzyme activity, fungus, yeast and mold cause fuel degradation and the formation of waste products. The process is similar to milk turning into cottage cheese, a different form of milk. Of all the microbial debris and waste products in the tank only about .01% is bugs. Even though microbes may cause and accelerate the process of fuel degradation, it should be clear that the waste products clogging your filter are not the microbes but fuel components which have formed solids. (more…)

Diesel fuel is a very complex mixture of thousands of individual compounds with carbon numbers between 9 and 23 (number of carbon atoms per hydrocarbon* molecule) Most of these compounds are members of the paraffinic, naphthenic or aromatic class of hydrocarbons (HC). These three classes have different chemical and physical properties. The different relative proportions of the three classes is one of the factors that make one diesel fuel different from another. It influences fuel properties and affects its performance. (more…)