Last spring I purchased about 200 gals of diesel and I stored it in a 200 gal tank. I added about 8 oz. of stanodyne and sealed the tank. Wondering how long it will keep without giving me problems? Any body know? Thanks.

 

In the Austrian military the storage time for diesel fuel is 15 years. (With a storage conditioner) You'll need to be careful about water in the fuel due to condensation in the tank- if the tank is accessible from the top you can make a pickup float of 2 metal canisters and put the suction hose only 2" below the canisters and siphon it out. This way you won't agitate the fuel and the water and sludge stay on the ground and you get clear diesel.
HTH

AlpineRAM

 

Question... I have an old 1960 Mercedes diesel in the garage. The fuel has been in the tank for 8-10 years. Is there any way to condition that fuel, or should I just drop the tank and discard it? Could pour it around the fence line to kill the weeds/grass under the barb wire fence I guess....

Just thinking of trying to get that old car started again...
Inline 4 cyl diesel.

Hay

 

I think it's gonna be more important to remove the glow plugs and squirt in some penetrating oil before you even try to turn the engine over. After letting the oil soak for some days turn the engine with glow plugs removed slowly with a wrench. I'd discard the fuel because it may well have formed algae. New fuel filter and maybe new fuel hoses (depending on the state they are in)

HTH

AlpineRAM

 

Thanks Alpine. Good advice. The pick up in the tank is about 2" above the bottom and I also have a 5 micron fuel and water filter on the transfer pump.I will keep an eye on it. Thanks again.

 

it can go sour after about 5 years.

you can add "Sta-Bil" to it like gasoline.

 

A friend's company did a salvage job on on some WWII barges in Seattle.
They brought back several thousand gallons of the 50 year old diesel and used it to run heavy trucks and equipment without problem for many years.

 

bill, I think the older fuel was made much differently than todays fuel giving it a better shelf life. here's some reading.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=479588

http://theepicenter.com/tow021799.html

http://www.el-cerrito.org/fire/power_safety_issues.html

 

Oops, I think we must have completely different fuel over here.

The shelf life minimum requirements are quite high- IIRC it's 5 years for diesel and 10 years for heating oil.

AlpineRAM