Over the past year, i drive my rig every two weeks just to lube it up.
I have heard that diesel fuel does'nt go bad.
Anyone have any input on this subject?

 

I would disagree. In fact I'd say diesel "spoils" faster than gasoline. Diesel is prone "algae", molds, fungus, and bacteria. Most important though as diesel fuel ages it creates asphaltenes which precipitate out of the fuel creating sludge. You want to keep fresh fuel flowing thru your tank and engine, and should buy from a dealer who pumps a considerable amount of fuel and is always replenishing it.

 

I have always heard this and about gasoline also going bad. But I have never experienced any problems with gasoline. I had a Dodge van which I parked for about a year and it ran fine when I started it up. It was sitting in a yard in SoCAL if that makes any diff.

Does anyone on this list have any direct experience with bad fuel from aging? Or is this more of an urban myth?

Edwin

 

I have plenty of experience with bad gas , i used to work in a chainsaw shop , and i am around snowmobiles alot , i can tell bad gas by the smell of it , and if you ever experience it, you will know right away.

I have seen gas so bad that you could pour it out in a can and it would light with a torch.

It is very true , and it happens.

 

well i have bought about 15 duece and a halfs. i have never put a drop of diesel in any of them. heck i have had one at the house for 2 year and i have never put a drop in it. if fires up just fine as did all the others. i have never had diesel go bad, but i have had plenty of gas go bad. and varnish up every thing it was in.

 

I have never had a problem with diesel going bad, have used stuff that has been stored for over five years. I guy I know was involved in a salvage job of a WWII barge that had several thousand gallons of sixty year old diesel onboard. The salvage outfit used every last drop of it in their trucks and equipment without a problem. Of course they filtered it before it went into a tank.

Depends a lot on the climate though, in dry places like Wyoming and Montana it will last forever. Go to coastal areas or the humid south and then you'll have an algae problem.

 

Imagine putting 60 year old diesel in your truck...

 

Yeah, I have to wonder what the cetane and amount of sulfur was back then.

 

How about the degradation of the fuel's quality, increase in acidity, and microbial content? No filter is gonna improve the fuel quality or microbes/algae etc. Oh well, they probably ran it in older, low pressure injected diesels... Engines with only 2500-3000psi injector pressure probably don't really care..