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Another Questionable diesel thread...

Z

zlssefi

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
334
Location
Connecticut
Hey Guys,

I recently bought a Volvo L150 out of minnesota. The machine runs well, but in this last stretch of cold weather gelling issues have arisen. We started plowing thursday and gelled right away. I put 911 in the tank, changed filters, bled system etc and the machine ran the rest of that day with no problems. Yesterday we went back out to stack piles and it gelled again. another round of 911 and filter change didnt help. We couldnt get the system to pull any fuel from the tank. We ended up running the machine back to our shop on a jerry can, and had no issues. Today i drained the tank, got some crud and stones out of the tank, nothing huge. what i did notice is that the fuel was a cloudy red in all the buckets. The fuel coming out of my tank is a very clear red and no other machines have any issues. Does fuel with 911 treatment turn cloudy? Just looking for some opinions here. thanks!
 
J

Jim D

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Nov 11, 2012
Messages
408
Location
California
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equipment operator
Does the fuel somewhat look like a strawberry milkshake?

Water in the fuel causes that.
 
B

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,324
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I like to use those clear pint size water bottles for fuel analysis. I might pull some into several of those (dried out) and let it set for a day or so. If it is water it should sink to the bottom. If it is fuel waxing it should clear up if it warms.
 
D

Delmer

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Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
8,891
Location
WI
"Diesel 911 is a winter emergency use product. This Winter Rescue Formula reliquefies gelled fuel and de-ices frozen fuel-filters to restore the flow of diesel fuel to an engine. Diesel 911 does not prevent fuel gelling – use Diesel Fuel Supplement +Cetane Boost (in the white bottle) as a preventive measure to keep fuel from gelling. Diesel 911 and Diesel Fuel Supplement +Cetane Boost are compatible in diesel fuel and may be used at the same time."

Gelling and waxing are different things. Water and alcohol will cause cloudiness also. You did the right thing by draining the tank, did you try to flush it with some of the old settled fuel to see what else you could get out? The fuel is probably fine to use when it gets back to freezing, maybe 50/50 with winterized if you're cautious.
 
John C.

John C.

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Northwest
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Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
A Mason jar works good for checking fuel for clarity and contaminants. Wide mouth to fill with and clear glass to see through. You should be able to read a news paper looking through the jar and fuel.
 
Z

zlssefi

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
334
Location
Connecticut
DEFINITELY cant read a newspaper through this crap. ill be heading out around 730 to grab some pics. So the question is what would you guys do with 90 gallons of this stuff? Im thinking of putting it in my home heating oil tank, which stays a constant 55-60 degrees where the water should pass through with no problems.....thoughts?
 
Z

zlssefi

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
334
Location
Connecticut
Delmer said:
"Diesel 911 is a winter emergency use product. This Winter Rescue Formula reliquefies gelled fuel and de-ices frozen fuel-filters to restore the flow of diesel fuel to an engine. Diesel 911 does not prevent fuel gelling – use Diesel Fuel Supplement +Cetane Boost (in the white bottle) as a preventive measure to keep fuel from gelling. Diesel 911 and Diesel Fuel Supplement +Cetane Boost are compatible in diesel fuel and may be used at the same time."

Gelling and waxing are different things. Water and alcohol will cause cloudiness also. You did the right thing by draining the tank, did you try to flush it with some of the old settled fuel to see what else you could get out? The fuel is probably fine to use when it gets b
ack to freezing, maybe 50/50 with winterized if you're cautious.
Click to expand...

I did flush the tank with the same fuel, but with the plug out and poured into a white bucket in between pours. The last inch of fuel with any visible contaminants went into the waste oil drum.
 
old-iron-habit

old-iron-habit

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Nov 22, 2012
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Location
Moose Lake, MN
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Retired Cons't. Supt./Hospitals
John C. said:
A Mason jar works good for checking fuel for clarity and contaminants. Wide
mouth to fill with and clear glass to see through. You should be able to read a news paper looking through the jar and fuel.
Click to expand...

Red dyed fuel for off road is a bit harder to see thru. Still a good idea to see what's in it.
 
old-iron-habit

old-iron-habit

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Moose Lake, MN
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Retired Cons't. Supt./Hospitals
zlssefi said:
DEFINITELY cant read a newspaper through this crap. ill be heading out around 730 to grab some pics. So the question is what would you guys do with 90 gallons of this stuff? Im thinking of putting it in my home heating oil tank, which stays a constant 55-60 degrees where the water should pass through with no problems.....thoughts?
Click to expand...

Should work fine for that purpose. I would try to filter it first, at least thru a screened funnel.
 
Z

zlssefi

Senior Member
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Nov 17, 2007
Messages
334
Location
Connecticut
chatted with my fuel supplier, who also happens to be a dirt modified sponsor of mine... he vouched that close to anything will burn in a home heating oil setup. The decision was made to put all 90 gallons in my home tank. He looked at my sample and said it looked like the fuel couldve been mixed with bio diesel, giving it the cloudy orange look. im going to put our newest mix of 20 percent kero and offroad diesel in the tank and run it. should be good!
 
T

thepumpguysc

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Mar 18, 2010
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Sunny South Carolina
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Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
All the bio I've seen is yellow looking & a VERY distinctive smell.. almost "greasy"..
ALOT of the pumps I get in the mail have bio problems & I can smell it thru the box.. I know what the problem is before ever opening it.
Its HARD telling a customer that bio fuel IS THE PROBLEM, if that's the only thing available to him..
[corn belt]
The fuel should be fine for the home furnace, seeing the nozzle orifice is much larger in the furnace than your engine & probably burns hotter.
 
R

RZucker

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Jul 7, 2013
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Wherever I end up
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Mechanic/welder
thepumpguysc said:
All the bio I've seen is yellow looking & a VERY distinctive smell.. almost "greasy"..
ALOT of the pumps I get in the mail have bio problems & I can smell it thru the box.. I know what the problem is before ever opening it.
Its HARD telling a customer that bio fuel IS THE PROBLEM, if that's the only thing available to him..
[corn belt]
The fuel should be fine for the home furnace, seeing the nozzle orifice is much larger in the furnace than your engine & probably burns hotter.
Click to expand...
I have seen the results of Bio in large boilers with huge nozzles, it builds up this grey scaly mess depending on the Bio percentage. And the stuff attacks rubber parts. Been out on 3 B and C Cummins engines that wouldn't run... The rubber in the transfer pump check valves was swelled so badly they would not pump. BIO again.
 
B

Ben Witter

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Apr 3, 2013
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264
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On the outside
As stated 911 is only for after fuel is gelled. You should not use it as a treatment. Looks like you ar eon the right track. Use good fuel and keep it clean, free from water.

I assume you are running a NE dirt mod, which tracks?
 
Z

zlssefi

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
334
Location
Connecticut
i understand the usages of 911 vs white power service etc. we cleaned the tank and started mixing 20 percent kerosene in our fuel, should be good to go.
 
T

tuney443

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Mar 19, 2006
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Dutchess County,NY
Occupation
excavating contractor
It was so cold for so long in my part of the world that my JD 410G would not respond to a full tank of clean diesel treated with a double dose of my Schaeffer Winter fuel treat with a full bottle of 911.I could get it to run somewhat for short periods, mostly by heating up my filter with a torch but it wouldn't stay running.Next day I made a cocoon with tarps blasting hot air with my kero salamander for an hour.I'm convinced it was ice blocking the line inside my tank.Found out recently from a reliable source there was a large batch of bad water in the fuel delivered to stations around me.
 
DMiller

DMiller

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Feb 21, 2010
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Hermann, Missouri
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Cheap "old" Geezer
Don't know what is going on with diesel here of late. Is almost as bad as the Corn Gas we can only get as to water, makes one wonder if they aren't slipping a little ethanol into the fuel. I did not have excess water issues until this last year on our farm tank.
 
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