Fuel additives to prevent contamination

[Birddog Pilot]

Both the April issue of “Family Motor Coaching” magazine and the May “MotorHome” technical columns have articles regarding diesel fuel additives. Sta-Bil and Biobor JF were mentioned as possibilities. I stopped in at the El Cajon, CA, Cummins Coach Care facility and asked their opinion of fuel additives to prevent the growth of fungus and algae in diesel fuel tanks. They really didn’t have answer except to keep the tank as full as possible when the coach is not in use to eliminate as much air as possible. They also said that Cummins does not have any sort of proprietary fuel additive products.

Apparently long haul big rigs do not have the problem of fungus and algae growth in their tanks because they are continuously cycling fresh fuel their systems as opposed to many of our Alpines that may not move for several months or even longer.

Have any of you folks had problems with filters or pumps clogging due to fuel contamination? Also, is anyone currently using, or in the past had any experience with fuel additives; if so, what types have proven successful?

[Route 66]

Quote:

They also said that Cummins does not have any sort of proprietary fuel additive products.

They were mistaken.

Click here.

[Birddog Pilot]

Route 66,
Thanks, I should have checked the Cummins site myself? Goes to show you, sometimes the Cummins service writers don't always know what they're talking about. Next time I'll talk to the parts people.

Cummins appears to have a product for practically any problem. Have you been using any of their additives?

[EngineerMike]

Stanadyne makes an additive called Performance Formula that was shown to about pay for itself in increased mileage by an independent test done by one of the diesel hot-rodding internet sites (The Diesel Page). Don't know if it suits your needs, as additives address specific needs. Some have anti-algae components, some have enhanced lubricity, some enhance Cetane rating of the resultant fuel mix, some do multi-purpose.

[Route 66]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birddog Pilot Route 66, Thanks, I should have checked the Cummins site myself? Goes to show you, sometimes the Cummins service writers don't always know what they're talking about. Next time I'll talk to the parts people. Cummins appears to have a product for practically any problem. Have you been using any of their additives?

No. Never have.

I'm not a believer in additives.

Cummins doesn't recommend additives, with the exception of a microbicide, but since so many believe they need to add something, Cummins came out with their own additives.

[Algoma]

I use Stanadyne Performance Formula because it stabilizes the fuel which is important when your coach can sit idle for months. If you use yours regularly and fill up frequently then stale fuel will not affect you and you probably don't need to use anything.

[OldForester]

Birddog-

We used to a boat that we kept on salt water year round, and it had twin Cummins 330 diesels. Cummins NW was big on using biocide in the tanks if it was going to sit at least two to three months without cycling the fuel through the tanks. Since it held 330 gallons of fuel, and we only did short trips on it during the winter, we used Biobor, as most of the boaters in our area used. It worked fine. We also saw the results of people who didn't use it and had to have their fuel polished (a slow, and somewhat costly process, counting the fuel system cleaning). Cummins NW also recommended a lubricity additive. These were not ISL engines.

When we bought this '06 coach, the same manager and technicians at Cummins NW, said we didn't need to use a lubricity additive because the newer fuel already has enough lubricity, and as long as were using the coach every 3 months or so, we didn't need a biocide, and that's with rainier NW weather. They said if were going to leave it parked for 4-6 months during the winter, then a biocide wouldn't hurt it. Apparently a boat sitting on salt water is a different situation than a coach on dry land, in terms of the speed of algae growth.