2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Sea Monkeys growing in diesel fuel?

[jtisdale]

Will someone please explain what the microbial "thingies" are that is supposed to grow in diesel fuel. Will they create problems if not treated? I read something about them on the back of a Power Service jug. Are they friendly?

 

[Diesel Freak]

It is algae. It can grow and foul fuel lines, filters etc. . No they are not friendly to your engine.

 

[Whitmore]

You have to hire a guy to come in and kill em with a big gun and they then filter your fuel thru cheesecloth so not to plug up your screan on the lift pump



Seriously , I read that if you have water in the fuel is when they start, I use addetive 100% of the time for many reasons and this is one of them.



cheers, Kevin

 

[illflem]

The algae grows on the fuel water interface. It's not much of a problem except in partially filled tanks with little use and subject to wide temperature variations which causes condensation. Unless your fuel additive says kills algae it doesn't, you usually have to buy a separate biocide. In my forty plus years of diesel use I haven't used a biocide even once and have never had a problem. Keeping your tank full is the key.

 

[LSMITH]

If you get sea monkeys in your tank and do not use a biocide they will get worse and worse. They can do a lot of damage to injection pumps and injectors too, but usually when you get a big enough dose of monkeys it is right out of a tank that you filled from.

 

[Shovelhead]

I only fuel up where the "Big Boys" do when on the road.

You have to find a station where they "turnover" fuel regularly.

If it sits too long in the tanks trouble starts.

 

[illflem]

LS and Shovelhead, are correct.



Two other things about algae I didn't mention -

1)it doesn't like to grow in tanks that are agitated such as in a moving vehicle, the water and fuel mix and the water/fuel interface is destroyed. Fuel with entrained water will pass right though your fuel system and burn.

2)The algae are killed by temps below 32 and will quit reproducing but can start after it warms again, their "seeds" are still there.

Both of these are reasons why underground fuel storage tanks are the ideal place for algae to grow. Most good fuel suppliers keep a careful eye on water in their tanks and will try hard to keep the levels down. Often tanks with water are pumped out and the fuel hauled back to the refiner to be cleaned. It doesn't make good business sense to sell fuel that clogs filters up, you won't get many repeat customers that way.





One more thing- the algae aren't as much of a problem as their dead bodies are. If you do have a bloom and use a biocide best practice is to drain and clean the fuel tank.

 

[jbrowne]

Sea Monkeys

In my experience over the years of flying jets, they use avaition keroseen now days, and algea can grow in the tank and does cause problems. We always added PRIST. It comes in a aerosol can and is added into the stream of fusl as the tank is being filled. If it works in aircraft, I'm sure that it would work in diesel trucks. It can be purchased at most airports where jets are normaly fueled. jbrowne

 

[monkfarm]

I use "Killum" ; purchased at my local Peterbilt dealer. Not that expensive. Just use occasionly .

 

[LAnthony]

All though "algae" can grow in your tanks, the real problem is small organisms that grow there. they are micro organisms that are invisible the naked eye, and so small they go right through your system and you never know they are there. They don't grow in fuel though, they grow in water. That is true of all the things living in your fuel system. The funny part is that the thing that fouls up the system is not the bugs, it's there bi-product. IE: poop, sh_t, crap, ect... There are many ways to take care of the problem, first of which is to make sure you are getting good fuel from a reputable place, and keep an eye on your W. I. F. If you have no water in your fuel, you will have no problems. Fleetguard make a bioside, and a fuel conditioner now, and that is what I would recomend if you have any problems with "bugs" in your fuel. -Lane-

 

[dpetre]

I hope that is site can help clear up some of your questions on the items that you see in your diesel fuel.

http://boatdiesel.com/Articles/index.cfm?SD=20010922

 

[illflem]

Thought that was a good article. Here are couple new things I learned below learned below.



"There is no Algae in diesel fuel... Never! This is a myth; what looks like Algae is diesel sludge, sometimes called asphaltene. Diesel fuel may be contaminated with Fungi [yeasts & molds] or Bacteria. Bacterial contamination is most likely from seawater. "



"Most biocides are halogenated [corrosive] and shouldn't be used long term. "





Main use of Halogenated Hydrocarbons is dry cleaning solvent, their use has been severely restricted and total ban isn't far off due to environmental concerns. I highly doubt any biocides contain them.

 

[dpetre]

illflem



You need to reread the article. You have a misconception of what it is saying. First its against using magnetic treatment. Second it wants the readers to know that they are dealing with bacteria and not algae. Bacteria feeds on diesel fuel and that is what you are trying to kill and prevent in your fuel tank. The part about salt water in the fuel tank could happen but is not likely. The salt water would do more damage than the bacteria. The best thing you can do is get some bacteria(algae) killer and put it in your fuel tank. You will also have to keep and eye on your fuel filter and change them more often. I notice on the boat it takes longer to plain and the tack needle will pulse when the filter starts to get plugged. -- email address removed -- is a great site for the guys who have marine diesels there are some pretty knowledgable guys who answer questions on that site. I have 25 years of dealing with marine diesels and I joined this site to learn about small truck diesels. I am stilling learning and this is a great site. Happy Holidays to all. West Marine has some fuel treatment products http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...splay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001

 

[illflem]

dpetre, sorry I'll recant. I'll admit I started skimming near the end and misinterpreted.



One thing I've noted studying diesel critters is that they are most often mentioned in a marine environment. Any correlation other than very high humidity or getting stuck in the middle of the ocean with a plugged filter?

 

[Joe G.]

dpetre,



I ran a fish boat for a while. It was infected when we got it, but we didn't know it. Big mess. There was a lot of creamy stuff that looked like snot in the fuel. We killed that with biocide (four tanks, total 1000 gallons), but we still had a big problem. Now the snot was dead but it was still there. Brown instead of cream colored. We bought fuel filters by the case before that episode was over. Lots of fun changing both primary and secondary filters in rough weather. After that the fuel up procedure was dump in biocide and then the fuel. We were kind of hopeing that would kill the noisy 6/71 Detroit so we would have a good excuse to replace it. Didn't bother it except for stopping in the worse weather possible when the filters plugged up. It even plugged up the diesel stove.

 

[dpetre]

illflem

I think the main problem in the marine end, starts with dirty fuel and the amount of fuel the boats burn. My cummins powered boat burns around 200 gallons a fuel a day so I am going to see the problem a lot quicker. In Alaska we burn a lot of fuel in the summer but the winter months the fuel just sits and I think that is part of the problem. It does not matter where you live the bacteria are going to try and eat your fuel that is the way they survive and I guess that is a good thing because they help to clean up oil spills. I think that in warner weather the bacteria are more active. It is kind of like a septic tank in real cold climates the bacteria do not do much, but once the weather warms up they do their thing. I used to live in Montana and I really miss it. Beautiful country and great people.

 

[dpetre]

Joe I know where you are coming . It is hard to clean that type of mess up in bad weather. I had one I thought it was the bugs causing the problem and it was aluminum off a new fuel tank that was plugging the lines. I ended up taking the hole thing apart and emptying the fuel tanks. I hate changing filters in bad seas as going below deck makes me turn a little green. Twin engines with separate tanks is the only way to go in a boat.

 

[Joe G.]

It didn't bother me too bad as far as turning green. My deck hand couldn't take it. Hot engine room with diesel fumes plus rocking and rolling did him in. He would start to complain. I would say "shut up and hand me that filter". His response would be "Ralph".

 

[dhauser]

Sea Monkeys

I spent 5+ years of a 27 year career in the Coast Guard aboard cutters of various size. It would always be specified that the fuel be treated with Bio-Bore by the supplier or we would add it before pressing the tanks. Never had a problem. Also the engineer on watch had to do a test for clarity before taking on fuel. The most important thing is that it is clean (clear) and no water before delivery. If it was a big problem there would be trucks littering the sides of the highways, OOC all over the country. Happy Holidays and truckin, Dave

 

[dpetre]

Here are a couple more articles on the bio problem. If you read all of the different articles in TDR we may find different area's like with lift pumps, and injector pumps where this bio bugs are a real problem. One of the articles I read talked about how diesel fuel is circulated from the injector pump back to the fuel tank. The warmer fuel returning to the tank can cause condensation which is water that settles to the bottom on the fuel tank. These bugs need the water, food(fuel) and oxygen to survive. So to keep the your tank as bug free as possible treat your fuel,change your filters on a regular schedule, and fill up at a high volume fuel station. If you are going to store your vehicle for a long period of time fill the tank up add fuel stabilizer. and treat it for bugs. Or if you have a drain take all the fuel out and clean the tank. illflem

you are right about the water part but it is caused by condensation and not sea water. As far as the truck being broke down every where because of bad fuel the major of large trucks have all the gauges to monitor their fuel systems. I used to own 3 semi's and I spent a lot of money on oil,air, and fuel filters. As far as the pickup diesels go the dealers seem to have all the customers they can use it would be interesting to seen how many are caused by bad fuel. All of the Coast Guard Vessels that I have seen have had excellent fuel filtration systems on them and they perform maintenance on them on a daily basis. I was amazed last year when one of the Coast Guard crew members said he was going to a tech school to learn how to strip down a Yamaha 4 stroke and put it back together in order to maintain it. They are using them on the Safe patrol boats which can go in speeds over 50Knots. The Coast Guard do one hell of a job protecting our water ways and in savings lives.