Community Forums

Dave0559 · 11-05-2016, 11:24 AM

How long can diesel fuel last in your tank? I added to biodiesel stabilizer hopefully that'll work. I've kept a full tank and started the engine and generator once a month. Also drive the coach every two months just to exercise it. It will be 5 years when we head back west. Anymore suggestions?

powderman · 11-05-2016, 11:37 AM

I have seen old dozers and backhoes that have sat for many many years and all they needed was a fresh battery and a shot of start fluid. If the tank is full and it has dino diesel most likely you would be good. Now as for bio diesel, all bets are off.

Dave0559 · 11-05-2016, 12:01 PM

I'm not sure if it's regular diesel or bio diesel. I did put anti gel additive for a hundred gallons in the tank.

dix39 · 11-05-2016, 12:10 PM

I've left it with the tank full for about a year with no apparent ill effects. Surely you will use the RV enough to use the fuel that is in the tank now before your trip that is 5 years in the future?

Steve

Ray,IN · 11-05-2016, 09:21 PM

I once bought a Case diesel engine farm tractor that was sitting in a fence row with trees 3" in diameter growing up through its openings. I cut the trees and brush away and towed the tractor to his barn for convenience in getting it running.
I drained the fuel tank into buckets, changed filters, then poured the diesel off of the top and discarded the watery dregs.
I put in a new battery, then turned the key, the engine fired almost immediately and ran fine while burning that 1/2 tank of old fuel.
For interesting reading open this pdf.http://www.diesel-fuels.com/pdf/Guide_1.pdf

J. Frank · 11-05-2016, 10:57 PM

The days of diesel fuel lasting for years is history. The ultra low sulfur diesel fuels manufactured today have a shelf life of 9 months. They will deteriorate and cause problems unless they are used. There are some products that say they will stabilize and help preserve it. Not sure if it works. You can thank the EPA for screwing up your diesel fuel. This is also the main reason diesel fuel costs more than gasoline. The desulfurizing also takes out the lubricants and they have to be added back in. A friend of mine is looking at long term diesel storage and it looks like he is going to use kerosene and a lubricant additive. Kerosene does not have to meet EPA's sulfur specs and so has not undergone the desulfuring that shortens the shelf life.

PanJH · 11-06-2016, 05:58 AM

I routinely let my diesel pickup truck sit for a year or more at a time and it fires right up.

Tall Tex · 11-06-2016, 06:10 AM

I would take a sample of the fuel and have it analyzed and the results compared to new fuel. OR Drain the tank and refill with new fuel. The cost and inconvience of doing that is significantly less than engine repairs, if the fuel is bad. JMHO

F76Marion · 11-06-2016, 10:09 AM

I am a ship's engineer and diesels have been my stock and trade for a very long time.

The real problem with storing diesel fuel is not the fuel, it is the biological activity that takes place at the water/fuel interface that is at the bottom of every diesel tank. If the bio-diesel conditioner you added contain a bioside specifically for diesel bugs, you are set.

You do not say where you are. If you have access to boat people, ask what they do to store an engine. Fogging the engine is tricky because a diesel will start on the fogging oil. You do want to close off the intake and exhaust in any case.

Frank

dphaynes · 11-06-2016, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Frank

You can thank the EPA for screwing up your diesel fuel.

Or you could thank the EPA for improving air quality for hundreds of millions of people and for helping reduce the incidence of some pretty serious respiratory diseases in kids and old folks.

It's just one of the minor costs of living in a civil and forward looking society, it's not government conspiring to make people miserable just for fun.

LETMGROW · 11-06-2016, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dphaynes

Or you could thank the EPA for improving air quality for hundreds of millions of people and for helping reduce the incidence of some pretty serious respiratory diseases in kids and old folks.

It's just one of the minor costs of living in a civil and forward looking society, it's not government conspiring to make people miserable just for fun.

Right. And fart sacks on every cow is a great idea too.
Lynn

awol50 · 11-06-2016, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LETMGROW

Right. And fart sacks on every cow is a great idea too.
Lynn

I could not have said it better.

Anyone who buys the sky is falling bs, needs to walk the walk. Get a bicycle and live in a tent in the national forest, picking berries and drinking puddle water.

For low sulfur non-bio diesel, I have read 6 months if temps average 80 degrees F or more, or one year if temps are less. But I do add the anti fungus inhibitor to a full tank over the winter. Everybody thinks it is algae that grows in your diesel tank, but it is not. Algae needs sunlight to grow. It is a fungus or mold that lives on the surface of water that accumulates in the bottom of your fuel tank and lives off the yummies right above it in the diesel fuel. No water, no mold/fungus. That is why they recommend parking with a full tank of diesel to minimize air in the tank which can for condensate and sink to bottom of tank.

jelag · 11-06-2016, 05:22 PM

I think Powderman has a point on all the old equipment where you can see the size of the hole in the injectors with your eye.. today it almost takes a magnifying glass to see the holes in he nozzle of the injector... and we used to be happy with a 10 micron filter... today its a 10 micron primary and 2 micron secondary filter... modern diesel will start growing algae in as short of time as 5-6 months in the right conditions...

Stable helps and other additives designed to stop the bug growth... but you must mix the additives into the fuel... so just pouring some in the tank won't do the job...

When I'm ready to store my unit I start 1000 miles before we put it in storage and we treat and re-treat the fuel as we fill the tank... and allow the sloshing of running it down the road to mix it up...

I have a set schedule for our stuff.... when we do an annual check as we start into winter we look at when we last changed filters... 10 micron, every 2 years, 2 micron every year... transfer filter from 1 tank to the other, every 3 years... coolant filter ever other year.... etc...