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Old 10-25-2014, 06:24 AM   #1
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Help, Bacteria in Diesel fuel tank

Last night I spoke to the current owner of the 1997 Monaco Dynasty I am purchasing. The coach is at a Monaco Certified facility having a couple items fixed. One of the items was, the fuel gage stuck on full. The repair facility informed the current that the cause of the gage stick was due to bacteria in the fuel tank. Can someone please educated me as to why this happens, how to prevent it from happening and what is the extent of damage the presence of bacteria can cause.
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Old 10-25-2014, 06:30 AM   #2
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That's a big red flag. It's easy enough to kill it off as long as it's not too bad.
It's actually an algae that grows. It gets in everything in the fuel system and will cause the vehicle to stop running. There are several algaecide products available that can kill it. If the chemical can't get to all the algae because of clogging, it can require removal of the fuel tank for cleaning, changing the fuel filters many times to get dead algae out. I would make sure it was fixed, and fixed well before I bought it. Algae grows in diesel fuel under the right conditions. You need to use algaecide to keep it from growing in your tank. It can be one of those really persistent problems if not treated well. Good luck!
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Old 10-25-2014, 06:49 AM   #3
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Thanks for your input and advise. I might have to let this coach go to someone else!
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Old 10-25-2014, 08:13 AM   #4
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Good choice to move on, not worth the risk. I use Biobor bought at West Marine.
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Old 10-25-2014, 08:32 AM   #5
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If you like the coach and the deal is right why not just let the owner get it addressed before the sale? It's not something that can't be rectified and after the tank is clear you can make sure it's done by checking the fuel filters. I've never heard of a case where the use of a chemical treatment and filter changes didn't fix the problem.
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Old 10-25-2014, 09:44 AM   #6
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To the OP, you are close to the lake, I would be surprised if there were not companies offering fuel polishing in your area as this is a common need for marine diesels.

Sounds like this one has a bad case however!
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Old 10-25-2014, 10:18 AM   #7
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I wouldn't worry about it. Since they're going to drop the tank to fix the sending unit I'd insist that the tank be sent out for a through cleaning and a fresh fuel filter. Then a good load of algecide, change the fuel filter again in a couple of thousand miles.

Your lines and filter housing should be ok, alge likes to grow where fuel isn't flowing, so algecide should handle those ares for whatever is there.
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Old 10-25-2014, 08:19 PM   #8
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Algae in fuel is not actually algae.. What actually happens is, at the line where water and fuel meet, when undisturbed, microbes will grow/feed on inorganic matter in your fuel tank.
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Old 10-26-2014, 11:57 AM   #9
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Dirty Fuel
I don’t of any subject that has as much misinformation about as this issue does. Almost all offered solutions are from those trying to sell you something.I don’t know of a single one that offers a real definition of the source of the problem, and none offer the real solution.

There is great danger involved in providing the only real solution to this problem because very few know anything about the causes of the problem. And then you have the general attitude of the very independent RV community that has a hard time accepting facts that differ from their own preconceived opinions.But let’s have a go at it.

I was a member of the cruising yacht community for many years and known in those circles as CaptnWil. The boats in this community are known as “slow boats.”They go slow, have have great range, use little fuel, have large fuel tanks, and suffer from this same problem, “crud” in the diesel fuel stopping up the fuel filters and shutting the engine down.Please note that I didn’t use the word algae.Algae ain’t the problem.

Having an engine stop on a motor home is a problem, but no way near the problem as having the engine stop on a yacht on the high seas in heavy weather. I worked many hours trying to solve this problem.There was absolutely no reliable information or help from the entire yachting community.

The Light Came On
After trying many different “solutions” with none solving the problem, I decided to install a circulation pump into the fuel system. The pump took its supply from the fuel tank, pumped through the Raycor diesel filter and returned to the fuel tank.

I connected a pressure gauge on each side of the fuel filter to observe the pressure drop across the filter. I decided that I would change the filter when the pressure drop across it reached 5 psi.The circulating system ran continuously, and I recorded the pressure drop twice a day.With a new filter, the pressure was 0.5 psi.It increased with each observation and after five days it was 4.5 psi.I expected the pressure drop to reach the 5 psi limit the next day.

As I prepared to change the filter, I noted the pressure drop a final time. It was 4.0 psi.Impossible!I have worked with all kinds of fluid piping system for a great many years.I have never seen the pressure drop across a filter decrease in service.It always increases as the filter removes more crud.

I let the system continue to run without changing the filter. The pressure drop continued to drop until it was 0.3 psi. little less than when it started with a clean filter.I removed the filter and inspected it.It was as clean as new.There was no crud on it all.

That gave me a lot to think about, and then I stumbled on some information that made it all very clear. Large diesel fuel storage farms have elaborate circulating systems to circulate the diesel fuel continuously – I didn’t know that.

Here’s what is happening. The solids in the diesel fuel are coming out of solution because of gravity.The diesel fuel is just trying to return to its native state, crude oil.The circulating system keeps the solid in liquid form so they don’t cause problems.No diesel flow, big problems.

Since then I have helped many (hundreds) of slow boat captains solve their fuel problem using this method. I’ve never sold a single item connected with this or accepted any money for the advice.

All of this assumes that you start with diesel fuel that isn’t contaminated with foreign elements. That’s what filters are for and is a different story.

The concept is very simple, but its implementation on a motor home may be more complicated than on a yacht. If you desire we’ll discuss that issue.

Good luck!
Wil
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Old 10-26-2014, 02:43 PM   #10
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I have a bottle of farm fuel I pulled out of a contaminated truck, that fuel is easily ten years old.

It's still diesel, not crude oil. And you never explained how your filter got clogged to the tune of 4.5 psi then dropped to less than a brand new filter.
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Old 10-26-2014, 02:57 PM   #11
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Just the kind of response I expected. I'm done with posting and responding on this forum!

Goodbye!
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Old 10-26-2014, 03:12 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by wil01 View Post
Just the kind of response I expected. I'm done with posting and responding on this forum!

Goodbye!
Wil
You said we can discuss it. I asked you to explain something. But, nice having you I guess.

Here's an interesting article from Dow about organics in diesel fuel.

http://www.hpcdfuel.com/pdf/DOWfuel_training.pdf
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Old 10-26-2014, 03:17 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by wil01 View Post
Just the kind of response I expected. I'm done with posting and responding on this forum!

Goodbye!
Wil

Would be a loss to the forum. I enjoyed you post & although I don't profess to understand the mechanism, my gut reaction is that the constant circulation through a filter would be a good system.

I have come to realize that it's very hard to discern the intent from a written post since tone and inflection are not available. I urge you to give the benefit of the doubt to this poster as just seeking more information. I sincerely hope I can heed my own advise the next time i get irritated.


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Old 10-27-2014, 09:43 AM   #14
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I second your comments Steve. I read Wil01's post with great interest, as I've read articles discussing naturally-occurring heavy organic matter in diesel fuel. I
That makes me wonder if the "re-circulating excess diesel fuel system" for Cummins engines helps with keeping the fuel in good condition..
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