What do with dirty diesel

[Royk]

I keep off-road diesel in two blue plastic 55 gallon drums in my garage for my tractor. Every year or two, I put the barrels in the bed of the PU and go to a distributer to fill them up. I use a hand crank pump in the bung attached to a plastic hose to get the fuel out



A few months ago the tractor stalled. The filter was filthy so I replaced it, bled the lines and topped off the tank. Tractor ran good for about a day and it happened again! I suspected water and sure enough, when I opened the petcock, quite a bit flowed out before the red stuff.



I went back to the garage and pumped some into a clear bottle and it was filthy (but now water), so I lifted the pump siphon tube off the bottom so I was sucking clean fuel.



I drained the tractor tank and replaced it with fresh. Worked well the rest of the time.



Well I'm sucking air now and had to drop back down to the bottom. What do I do with all the remaining dirty diesel in the bottom of the barrel, as well as the

8 gallons I drained from the tractor? At $4. 75 or so, I want to put it to better use than using it as herbicide!



Also, I'd like to get one of those big tanks people use for home heating fuel. This way they would deliver it and it would actually be cheaper per gallon. Any thoughts on where to get one and how to set it up?



Roy

 

[TFucili]

Having fuel lay around that long, especially above ground, is not the best idea in the first place, IMHO. You can get algae growing, in addition to the water condensation problem you have already run into. Diesel fuel does oxidize. Buy fuel in quantities you can use in a reasonable period. As for the fuel you have, filter out the biggest stuff and feed it to your oil furnace.

 

[steved]

Gulf Coast Filter or Frantz, that's what the GCF was originally designed to do... but you're talking $$$.



I would probably decant the clean fuel off the top, and then burn the rest (may even invest in new storage containers).

 

[Troubleshooter]

Had a similar question about what to do with the diesel that I drain out of the fuel filter, and with some (maybe 10 yr old) gasoline that the previous owner left behind in one of the sheds (this stuff was turning to varnish). Simple solution was to wait until next time I had a brush pile to burn and use it there. Hey, it's an option.

 

[Royk]

Unfortunately, I don't have an oil burner and it seems like awfully expensive lighter fluid! I was hoping I could filter and clean it somehow. It's going into a farm tractor, not my VP44.



Roy

 

[MEby]

Pour it down a ground hog hole and light it up. (If you wan't and explosion use gas. )



Disclaimer: I am not resposible for anything stupid you may do. :-laf

 

[steved]

Buy a Frantz, filter the fuel... then install it on your truck...

 

[XtremeDiesel]

have you thought about doing something like the Airdog kit to fine filter it down to 3 microns. it'll also seperate the water as well. the only other thing i can think of is something like the fuel manager.

 

[Royk]

have you thought about doing something like the Airdog kit to fine filter it down to 3 microns. it'll also seperate the water as well. the only other thing i can think of is something like the fuel manager.

What is the fuel manager?



Roy

 

[XtremeDiesel]

it's a fuel filter and they also make one that has a water seperator on it. it's made by stanadyne.



Stanadyne Corporation - Home Of High Quality Diesel Fuel System Components

 

[betterthanstock]

Sell it to someone with an oil furnace for half price, and don't mess with cleaning it. In that case, adding used motor oil works just as well too.

 

[MAleshire]

size funnels with different flow rates. The funnels have a water seperator and will filter particles out of the fuel. They have a website: Mr.Funnel They vary in cost from $20-$50. They are reuseable.



Skip

 

[MAleshire]

Oops--lost part of the post. A company called Mr. Funnel produces filtration funnels with different flow rates. The funnels have a water separator and will filter particles out of fuel. They have a website: Mr.Funnel They vary in cost from $20-$50. They are reuseable.



Skip

 

[Royk]

I'll have to look into that. So far the only dealer within 250 miles is "Bill's Banjos & More Store". Yeah, that's the first place I'd think to look for a funnel!

Roy

 

[MAleshire]

I saw that one too and had the same reaction. Sort of like going to a Mexican restaurant for Chinese food. Maybe you can get one of the dealers to ship you one.



Skip

 

[icman95]

Maybe you can get a fuel filter system off of a commercial truck that separates the water and attach it to your container. Pump it from one container, through the filter system, and into another one. If you have a junkyard with commercial vehicles near you, you might be able to scavange it cheap.

 

[Champane Flight]

Separation...

Diesel and water have a good separation, so if you let the barrel settle you should be able to pump out the water by putting the pump on the bottom. You will have a small interface (mix) at the separation point, but nothing more than a few gallons, you can put a good water dispersant like methanol into the barrel to absorb that and mix it down with a good clean diesel. . Pump nice and slow as not to start a vortex pulling diesel down to the water. .

 

[AABEN]

Run it throw a filter 10m then 7m then you can use it. Also put some diesel treat in the tank after it is clean.

 

[AABEN]

I thank you have a allergy in your fuel. I had it in my above ground tank. There is a additive that will kill it. Mine looked black and was slimy