Diesel Fuel Additives

[guldam]

Since the previous owner of my truck had a bad batch of diesel with fungus in it, I continue his practice of running anti-fungal treatment most tanks of fuel. I still see evidence of that stuff here and there, on my fuel filter and on the pre-heater strainer. And this past weekend I dropped the fuel tank on my truck, and found a partially clogged filter and strainer on the fuel sending unit. Some of that stuff was most definitely old hardened fungus, and some was residual glycerine from running BioDiesel most of the time, and I suspect there were some food/fryer particles and crud from a bad batch of BioDiesel I got a year ago.



I soaked the fuel sending unit filters overnight in SeaFoam, and it did absolutely squat for cleaning up those filters. I will never, ever use SeaFoam as a fuel system cleaner since it doesn't work.



What did work was soaking in carb cleaner, and finally in straight methanol.



Interestingly the tank was pretty clean inside, no doubt to running BioDiesel. That stuff cleans very well. I think I just had residual crud from the bad BD, and the older bad batch of dino diesel.



My truck is so much quieter when running BioDiesel. And I will say that it's much more pleasant working on the truck when the smell of the fuel is BioDiesel versus DinoDiesel. And I was up to my elbows in the stuff for a good portion of the weekend.



I have run other fuel additives and the truck runs smoother and quieter and seems to have more power with the additives such as Power Service, Liqui Moly Diesel Purge, etc. These days I don't use them, other than the anti-fungus stuff.



GulDam

 

[Mhannink]

Biodiesel Fuel

LINKS TO EXECUTABLE FILES NOT ALLOWED/pdfs/msds%20CANOLA%20OIL.pdf

http://www.berminghammer.com/PDFs/Downloads/Diesel Fuel.pdf

Fuel Cost Comparison Chart

http://www.hrt.msu.edu/energy/pdf/heating value of common fuels.pdf

http://dspace.knust.edu.gh:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/582/1/THESIS OF EDWARD ANTWI.pdf

Canola Oil



so i had some time and decided to do a little research, i do hate the internet sometimes. there is a lot of information on canola oil but it takes some looking. also there seems to be a wide variance between sources about specifics of the oil. i have listed most of the sources i have looked through. the ones not listed either didnt have what i was looking for or just didnt seem to make sense. for those who dont trust my evaluation you can look them up yourself.



im not sure how to organize all this info so im just gonna plow through it and if there is anything that is difficult to understand ill try to clarify.



starting with the msds sheet i found. the specific gravity of canola oil is listed a little wider than diesel fuel here, it tends to the light side but is very close to the same weight. i thought i read on the msds sheet the ph is 7 to 7. 6, looking back i cant find it, probably in one of my other sources. 7 range ph is good that means its neutral and will not react with much. someone with a better understanding of the ph scale please help me out here i know going from 7 to 8 is big but is 7 to 7. 1 all that much? the msds also states canola oil is stable and insoulable in water. so no worries about it absorbing water while in the tank.



there is an article in there that is somebody's thesis for a masters in mechanical engineering. it was loaded with some good information, some of it supports my theory of no worries at all at 2% mixture, it also said that there would be no significant loss in performance at 2% both of these things are good to 5%. i do have a little issue with the performance comments, while all the data supports the authors thesis, real world performance seems to differ and sometimes is actually oposite that of their theories. im not going to argue them at this time though. one thing in with that part of the thesis was a comment about oxygenation. it was not real clear but it almost seemed to indicate that biofuels or oxegenated. if thats true it would make a lot of sense why real world performance differs from the test data.



in all it looks like canola oil is a very good fuel source, and since it has a very high lubricity i think it will provide a lot of benifits for the fuel system.



if you look through some of my sources you will find some information talking about shortened engine life and increased wear from the higher flash point. the solution is increased timing advance. since most of us have all done that i dont think it will be a concern. i also have some issue with the idea of coking from the high flash point and "incomplete" burn. if that where the case, there would be higher emmisions, i dont think anyone would argue that biodiesel actually runs cleaner than dino diesel.



my current plan is to continue use and inspect the truck closely for the next few thousand miles for any abnormal wear possibly related to the canola oil.

 

[BIGNASTY]

guldam When I was dropping fuel at work. We had stations that had problems with fungus or what ever you want to call it. We would pump out the tanks drop in a Biocide and fill the tank to the top. Any air gap would cause moisture and that problem would reoccur . The Biocide was MENT to collect the growth on sieves and in filters. so looking at your pic's I would say that it worked. At the stations that had the problems they changed pump filters allot until the problem was gone. But it seemed like when it got warm temps it would come back. I dont know that you could ever get rid of it once it starts. JMO

 

[pfmoale]

Where do you purchase this Amalgamated additive ?

I am in the San Francisco north bay are region.



Peter

 

[GHarman]

Where do you purchase this Amalgamated additive ?

I am in the San Francisco north bay are region.



Peter

Heres the link! GregH



Diesel Fuel Additives, Biodiesel Additives, and Custom Fuel Additives : Amalgamated, Inc.

 

[BIGNASTY]

pfmoale it may seem like allot of money when you buy it but goes A LONG WAY depending on how much you drive. But it's IMO the best lube out. I bought it for just that a lube. I didn't notice any tire burning power difference no 44 miles to the gal mileage difference but it did make it quieter and gave me the peace of mind that I had something to help this crap fuel that we are made to run.

 

[Mhannink]

so another update.



this tank i did not add any canola oil, that changes my percentage to . 1%, i have driven about 225 miles on this tank and already i notice some differences. for starters, the truck is a little louder, i here more drone now then before. my power seems a little low, paticuarly in the bottom end, it just does not seem to pull as easily down between 1000 and 1500 rpm. another note is my egt's, cruising i dont think has really changed much, but the difference i notice is on acceleration. with canola oil 2nd and 3rd gears egt climb about the same as without. 4th gear though climbs quickly and peaks about 100 to 150* higher WITH canola then with out. 5th gear seems about the same either way. also it seems that egt's cool off more and faster when coasting down and inbetween shifts. i have some theories about why the strange action of the pyro but ill share those later. the last thing is fuel mileage. im only about 1/4 of the way through the tank but it seems to be getting worse fuel mileage. my estimate is that it will be about 1 mpg lower than the previous tank. driving conditions have been pretty consistent so i think it will be an accurate measure. also the temps here have been down in the low 30's, cold enough to gell the canola oil and cause a problem. so far i have not had any issues, truck sits outside, and is not plugged in. i get out to the truck, roll the key forward, let the grids warm up, wts light goes off, i crank the engine, and it fires right off with no problem. i actually think its starting better with the canola oil than without, but that could be just me.



the last thing i want to address is mixing the canola oil in the tank. i sat down and did a little math work. i based my numbers on my typical fill up. i have a 35 gallon tank, i usually fill up about the same place on the gauge. i tend to be between 28 and 30 gallons every time i fill. so i based my calculations on a 30 gallon fillup every time. with that if you add a qt of canola oil every fill up the percentage barely changes. in four projected fillups the percentage went from . 714% to . 788% then . 797% and finally . 798%. maybe later i will work it out farther and see if the pattern changes or not. if not then i think there is no need to worry about any concerns regaurding too high a percent.



ill report back with more as things unfold, but so far im really happy with the results i am seeing in my truck. information on my other two trucks is a little slower in coming since they dont drive as many miles as mine, but i will starting getting some feedback on those soon.

 

[Mhannink]

just wanted to mention i have not forgotten about this thread, just dont have time right now to collate my data and provide a response for anyone who is interested.

 

[KLauber]

10 gals per tank

just wanted to mention i have not forgotten about this thread, just dont have time right now to collate my data and provide a response for anyone who is interested.

I run 10 gals of refined Waste Canola Oil per tank of fuel in my 6. 7. Been doing it for over 50K miles with no ill effects. The good effects are I've spent a lot less money on diesel fuel. To account for the lower cetane and BTUs I use 20 Oz of Amsoil Diesel Fuel Concentrate for a 50 gallon batch of WVO. Also I put in 8 Oz of Amsoil Cetane Boost to raise the cetane number. Then into the tank it goes. An effect of using the WVO is the truck starts much quicker than it used to... almost like a 24V some mornings.

 

[AEdelheit]

So yesterday we had a fuel injection class at my work Led by Mike with Associated Fuel Injection who does all our pumps and injectors, very good reputation, been rebuilding pumps since 1983. I asked him about additives and he his a big fan of stanadyne, he sees situations weekly where the purple lubricant stanadyne has fixed issues that would have required a pump tear down, usually on mechanically injected engines, and works with people who watch there mileage ridiculously close and run the blue stanadyne every tank, they have documented a . 7-. 9 difference when not using it for comparison purposes. He does not use other brands much so couldnt give much comparison but I thought this was interesting enough to share

 

[HerbW]

What about two cycle oil? Has anybody tried it? I have used VRO two cycle outboard oil that I had a couple of gallons sitting around. I've used some in each tank recently. So far it seems to be working great and two cycle oil is made to burn without deposits.



Your thoughts? Thanks, Herb

 

[WalterJ]

My diesel mech friends are amazed I haven't had to service my injectors yet @ 191K miles, especially since I only change fuel filter annually. I do not have aux. fuel filter assy's. I change oil @ 7-8K miles w/Valvoline 15W-40 [non-synthetic]. We haul a 5th wheel about 15K/year too. Engine runs smooth & starts just fine in the Wisc. winters. The Lucas does improve mileage . 5-1 mpg.

I see where some are using Canola Oil to stretch their fuel dollar$. Unless it's "ashless" and is scientifically shown to actually lubricate the injector mechanisms & HP pump internals, I would avoid experimenting with it in a 'daily driver'.

I use Lucas fuel additive in Summer to assure minimal lubricity in all the fuels I come across on the road & Howes in the Winter for water absorption and anti-gelling.

Good luck & safe travels.

 

[JCockerill]

Has anyone used Opti lube Xpd additive that tested well for lubricity? I have Used Standadyne due to great recomendations and that gelled on me at 4 deg F. so thats out. I have used Power service, CRC fuel therapy, and Bell performance DEE-Zol. I just ordered the optilube xpd so i will see how that works.

 

[KLauber]

I see where some are using Canola Oil to stretch their fuel dollar$. Unless it's "ashless" and is scientifically shown to actually lubricate the injector mechanisms & HP pump internals, I would avoid experimenting with it in a 'daily driver'.



Good luck & safe travels.

Canola Oil is a plant product and just as effective at powering our trucks as diesel. It's just a lot younger. And both create ash or soot when burned incompletely. I generally run it at 20% mixture. Been doing it 4 years now and haven't had any ill effects.

 

[dieseljunkie]

4 pages of replies and nobody mentioned Schaeffers products? I run Schaeffers soyshield for a fuel additive. I figuered anyone who really cares about their trucks will eventually find www.schaeffersoil.com. but what do i know.

Not the only company on earth, but there stuff works for me.

 

[ENafziger]

4 pages of replies and nobody mentioned Schaeffers products? I run Schaeffers soyshield for a fuel additive. I figuered anyone who really cares about their trucks will eventually find www.schaeffersoil.com. but what do i know.
Not the only company on earth, but there stuff works for me.
<!-- / message -->

Me!!! I run Schaeffer's Diesel Treat as well. Great stuff. I also try to dump in a gallon or two of B100 when I'm thoughtful enough.

--Eric

 

[JLeake]

I use Opti Lube XPD, have since I got my 2011 6. 7L in October of 2011. No complaints, have run a few tanks without it when I forgot to carry more on a trip. The review on TFR and other sites convinced me to use it, and not look back. I am considering a better fuel filter like the FASS Platinum but the total installation cost is a bit steep.

John

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Howes Meaner Power Cleaner is a Great product.

http://www.howeslube.com/meanerpowerkleaner.php

 

[AlanWilson]

Anyone have experience or knowledge of RBP additive? It claims to do everything...like most additives. My diesel shop swears by it...but they sell it too. In a pinch, he recommended two cycle motor oil. RBP claims to treat the gas as well as octane boost and lube.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I like the looks of the Decal that looks good on the side of a toolbox