Diesel Fuel Additive During Winter Storage

SidecarFlip wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
I put a bottle of Power Service injector cleaner in about every other tankful and one into the last tank. You need to drive it for a while to get the stuff into the injectors. On that last fillup I also use Power Service anti-gel. Probably not needed on Cape Cod but it's cheap insurance. Wal*Mart carries this. They also have a biocide, but if you keep the tank full you shouldn't need it.

Power Service

Not always true. Been there and did that and it's not a cheap date (repairing and replacing components and flushing tanks because of algae growing in the fuel over the winter.

While I don't have a diesel pusher, I do have a diesel pickup truck that sits all winter in the garage, next to my truck camper, usually from November to April every year and a couple diesel farm tractors too. I lucked out on the tractors, didn't on the truck.

I got a case of algae (red slime) in the fuel system over the winter 3 winters ago. I didn't know it until I got the truck out and it died in the driveway, I went hmmmm, what's going on, so I did all the usual checks (both fuel tanks were full and I had Power Service anti-gell in both tanks (I have 2 on the truck) so I pulled the fuel filter (my filter sits on a cast aluminum bowl atop the engine.

When I pulled the filter it was a solid mass of red, slimy gook and it stunk. So, I had to remove the fuel bowl (no easy job and clean it plus it ate the lift pump so I had to replace that and I had to pull all the injectors and have them cleaned and benched because the goo was in the injectors too. All in all, I had about a grand in parts with me doing the wrench part. If I had, had a shop do it, I imagine it would have been at least twice that because pulling the injectors on a Powerstroke is a job in itself. Besides the mechanical stuff, I had to drop both fuel tanks, remove the sending units and pickups and have them steam cleaned inside and I replaced both sending units and pickups because they too were loaded with the goo......and all new duel lines too..

Just glad I have the tools and the know how to do it myself...

Moral of the story is this:

Straight diesel with no biocide added, you might get lucky and never have an issue but, if you do, it's going to be a costly one for you.

Biocide is cheap and it don't take a lot. I Power Service Bio-Kleen myself....and a dash of Power Service anti gel too.

That is my story and I'm sticking to it....:B

Additionally, because I have a Powerstroke I also use Archoil Friction / Stiction modifier and their fuel additive (which has biocide in it) as well. I picked up a real world 1 mpg in fuel mileage overall and the motor runs much quieter.

While neither here nor there concerning algae, I figured I'd toss it in too, while I was entering this post.

Have fun.