Bad fuel - check out this post

[Steve St.Laurent]

I got a bad load of fuel this weekend. Check out this post for all the frustrations I've gone through so far - https://www.turbodieselregister.com/ubb//Forum5/HTML/001162.html . I always thought it happened to the "other" guy and wouldn't happen to me - boy did I learn my lesson!!



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-Steve St. Laurent - President of the Great Lakes TDR
'98 QC LB (CMNSPWR), 4x4, ISB, 5sp, 4. 10 LSD, TST Powermax3, 275hp RV injectors, Joe Donnelly modifed Sachs Clutch, SS ladder bars, SW fuel pressure gauge, BD exhaust brake, Isspro turbo temp monitor, front Draw-Tite receiver, rear Draw-Tite class V receiver, BFG 285/75R16 AT KO's, (all the common stuff clipped)

 

[Alan Reagan]

Sounds from your other post that you got what we used to call "tank bottom" when I worked on the pipeline. Smells like sulphur, dark brown and when flowing has black streaks in it. That station needs to have their tank bottom pumped out. It's reaching the point where it will pull "slugs" of that crap and put it into someone's vehicle. That is some nasty, abrasive stuff. A lot like creosote. I'd let the local Shell distributor know. They can put paste on their measuring instruments and tell how much water is in the tank bottom and will usually pump it out when there is a problem.

 

[ldg]

Had a NT 335 Cummins in a tuna boat I use to skipper off the west coast (jig boat). Took on 2K gallons of diesel from a Colombian source in two of my four tanks, that turned out to be what we called black diesel, which is what your discribing. About 200 miles off shore and three days later when I switched to use that fuel my rpms would all of a sudden go from 1800 to 900 rpms and the seas/weather were not all that good. With the multi filtering system I had on it and the ability to pump fuel from one tank to the other, 10 days later and 34 filter changes later I pulled into San Diego where I had to have the fuel pumped out and cleaned.

This is a real problem and a issue with diesel in large tanks and hot or tropical areas (that's why fuel cleaning businesses exsist in many of the ports, especially in the southern waters). Once that bacteria starts to grow you have problems and if you haven't treated it for a long time or wait until you have a problem and treat it the treatment at that point only compounds the problem by freeing the bacteria from the tank walls to float in your fuel and the headache really starts.

Just an experience and reason to buy your diesel from reliable or at the least, high volume diesel sources, which as you have pointed out on this thread isn't always a sure bet either but never fuel if a tanker is dumping his diesel into your source tank of supply.

Never got re-embursed for that fuel either and had to buy it twice, almost. Its a problem no matter where it happens or in what but at sea in 15 to 20 foot seas it just makes a bigger impression on you to never make the mistake again or have some method, if possible, to deal with it. Always keep at least one spare filter, I keep two .

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Y2K RAM 2500 4X4 QC LWB Patriot Blue 5-Speed 3. 54 LS rear end, Trlr. Tow & Camper Packages, Westin Nerfs, Isspro Boost & Pyro gauges in a dual Pillar mount and DC Mud Flaps. Stock, ALMOST (so there is no mis-understanding, ALMOST refers to my Westin Nerfs & Isspro Gauges).

 

[Bad340fish]

My dad works at a Network Center where they have 3 or 4 huge Cat Generators. They all pull from a 6000 gallon tank. The fuel flows constantly through a filtering building and it checked monthy for algea and all the other crap that grows in diesel. I can't imagine what it costs to maintain all that fuel for a year.
Clark

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Clark
1999 2500 QC SB 5spd, EZ, Flowmaster 3 chamber, K&N Re-0880
1968 Barracuda Formula S Viper Blue 11. 98@112 Currently scattered all over the garage