Was just told by a service writer that they are cleaning at least one tank a month because of alge in the diesel fuel. This is the new reason to not warranty injectors and it is your fault that they failed. Has anybody ran in to this?

 

No, and I hope I never do! On one hand I can see DC's position... they are not responsible for a tank of bad fuel, but who is to say that the faulty roll over valve didn't let water into the tank?

I've been keeping a receipt for every fill-up, and IF I ever have a problem I can try to go back to the station that I bought the fuel from to pay for the damage.

 

Another good reason to run Power Service Silver in the summer. It has an algecide.

 

The alge can grow in your tank. What makes you think it is the fuel dealer's fault? Granted they can have bad fuel, but if you go to a good fuel stop and use Power Service you'll be good to go.

There is a reason they may be selling their fuel cheap.

 

The only thing that should be happening if you have algea in your tank is your fuel filters should be clogging.
Other wise the only two components they could void warrenty for would be a intank lift pump and fuel sending unit.

Unless of course your filter is pugged so solid with algea that it starved your injector pump. but your engien would have stalled long before that ever happened.

If they try the old water in the fuel excuse then ask them why their fuel water seperator is not performing to it's specs.

 

A fuel pressure guage will show you when your filter is getting clogged.

 

In the case of newer trucks (like most of us have), microbial contamination usually is introduced from an outside source (where you buy your fuel). It is important to use a fuel conditioner like PS …I use it every third or forth fill-up. I always try to buy fuel at a reputable high volume station (usually Flying J or a Texaco truck stop near me), but sometimes out on the road you get what you can when you are near the “E” mark.

Here is some interesting info:

Algae, microbes and water

There has been a lot of discussion and misinformation about algae in diesel fuel. Algae is a plant, and it requires sunlight to live and grow. As there is no sunlight in a closed fuel tank, no algae can survive there. However, some microbes can survive there. They can feed on the diesel fuel. These microbes form a slimy colony that lives at the fuel/water interface. They grow quite rapidly in warmer temperatures. They can even grow in cold weather when fuel tank heaters are installed. Parts of the colony can break off and clog the fuel lines and fuel filters.
It is possible to either kill this growth with a biocide treatment, or eliminate the water, a necessary component of microbial life. There are a number of biocides on the market, which must be handled very carefully. If a biocide is used, it must be added every time a tank is refilled until the problem is fully resolved. Biocides attack the cell wall of microbes resulting in lysis, the death of a cell by bursting. The risk of filter clogging may continue for a short period after biocide treatment until cellular residues break down and are absorbed into the fuel.

 

If you are getting algae in your tank, then the fuel you are buying is highly contaminated. Most if not all light distillate has micro organisms in it. This means it has the ability to grow algae.

usually algae will be found in marine fuel tanks due to the lower quality/ more contaminated fuel that they use. I remember one place in BC where the fuel was always contaminated and we had to carry lots of extra filters if we fueled up there. They finally had to clean their tanks out when DND did fuel sampling and threatend them with having to clean some rather large fuel tanks of theirs.

Most of time algae can be fought with biocides and other additives. Problem lies in if you have heavy contamination then the only solution is to pull the tank and have it steam cleaned.

Again though your fuel filter will catch this contamination if it is present. But filter changes will become a pain in the butt.

 

I have a gmc350 diesel with 230,000 miles and have never had any problems. Most of these replys say to use a certain brand product? I have never used anything before, why lately, last year, is this becoming problem? Just asking, because if I am having this problem I can see a lot more of it happening.

 

Does Stanadyne fuel treatment handle algae?

 

I am curious as to what part of the country you are from and whom do you buy or these other guys buy their fuel from?

 

I use power service white in the winter (every tank full) and power service silver every tank full in the summer.(1/3 oz. to 1 gallon) I swear buy it. I wouldn't leave home without it. The only problem with the silver power service is my favorite wal-mart took the stuff of the shelf. Why I don't know. I wish someone could tell me why they pulled it off the shelf. The dep. mgr. said there was a recall on the stuff.

 

they have to relabel it...something about being compatible w/ ulsd

 

If you live in an area with marinas, you can get the fuel pollished. It's a process that is used to clean fuel in diesel boats that removes and treats the the fuel, the fuel is removed and returned to the tank many times until the problem is solved. Large boats that hold thousands of gallons of fuel can't just remove the tank.