New to diesel fuel

I've heard that DEF has a shelf life. When putting in storage or between trips should I fill it up or leave it alone?

Drive it, use it . You’ll be better off spinning the tires . Especially during off season , there are many empty parks in Suffolk to park your rig to enjoy the view while you have lunch.

FYI if you have to travel in statesthat require stations to use BIO Diesel only and have to fill your tank with it. MB states that you have to change your oil more often as the BIO Diesel will dilute your oil and can cause you problems.

If storing diesel for over 2 months in summer or 3 months in winter, add a BIOCIDE such as Biobar JF.

Then fill the tank to minimize condensation.

Run engine and generator long enough to get them fully up to temp (like 25 highway miles) and park it.

If in very cold climates and you filled in the summer/fall, add an anti-gel. Walmart carries PS brand.

Biocide for short term storage is like belt, suspenders and safety pins.
In 35 years of driving, wrenching on, operating and being responsible for thousands of diesel powered engines, I can count on 0 fingers how many times a tank grew algae. Including the multitudes of infrequently operated or stored pieces of equipment.
But it won’t hurt, just totally unnecessary in the OPs scenario.

Back when I had my WB View the Mercedes mechanic that changed my oil always said when you put it in storage fill the diesel tank and the DEF tank and pull it out for a 20 minute drive every two to three weeks and run the generator during that time as well. Enjoy your new motorhome!

wolfe10 wrote:
If storing diesel for over 2 months in summer or 3 months in winter, add a BIOCIDE such as Biobar JF.

Then fill the tank to minimize condensation.

Run engine and generator long enough to get them fully up to temp (like 25 highway miles) and park it.

If in very cold climates and you filled in the summer/fall, add an anti-gel. Walmart carries PS brand.

Condensation has been shown to be a myth. If you change the air space over 100% each day as the temp falls then rises and you squeeze every molecule of water over 100% humidity air...a 50gal tank might generate the equivalent of 3-4 peas volume of water. In reality, you won't be at 100% humidity and you won't squeeze every last molecule out.

Doubly so, with modern vehicular fuel systems which aren't open to the outside air.

Anti-gel only matters if you will be using it during the winter. If you are putting her away for the winter with no intention of using her until spring, the fuel will gel as it gets cold, then it will un-gel when it warms up.

two travelers wrote:
We recently purchased a 2023 Winnebago View. New to the whole diesel fuel issue and have a few questions.

1) Do I need to put any fuel stabilizers in the tank when in storage or between trips?
2) A friend suggested using Bio Bro to keep fungus down. Do I need to use it?
3) I've heard that DEF has a shelf life. When putting in storage or between trips should I fill it up or leave it alone?

What does your owners manual say?

Chum lee

valhalla360 wrote:

wolfe10 wrote:
If storing diesel for over 2 months in summer or 3 months in winter, add a BIOCIDE such as Biobar JF.

Then fill the tank to minimize condensation.

Run engine and generator long enough to get them fully up to temp (like 25 highway miles) and park it.

If in very cold climates and you filled in the summer/fall, add an anti-gel. Walmart carries PS brand.

Condensation has been shown to be a myth. If you change the air space over 100% each day as the temp falls then rises and you squeeze every molecule of water over 100% humidity air...a 50gal tank might generate the equivalent of 3-4 peas volume of water. In reality, you won't be at 100% humidity and you won't squeeze every last molecule out.

Doubly so, with modern vehicular fuel systems which aren't open to the outside air.

Anti-gel only matters if you will be using it during the winter. If you are putting her away for the winter with no intention of using her until spring, the fuel will gel as it gets cold, then it will un-gel when it warms up.

^Listen to this guy. He’s right!

klutchdust wrote:
I use opti- lube XPD additive to my fuel every fill up. My engine does not require DEF. It's an 06Duramax with 100K miles. The cost to replace the injectors on my engine is 3K. The additive, in my opinion holds that off a bit longer. :h

I never ran anything but diesel in my 2005 Duramax. I bought it new and sold it with 307,000 miles. It still had the original injectors in it.