Hey, that's not the proper filter to use on an MB diesel! Are you using that as a prefilter? Looks pretty dirty though. I looked at my prefilter last night after a couple days of using this additive and I only have a couple new tiny chunks of filth in the filter.

Pre - Pre-filter
 

THANX Brendan ! .

Yes , as I mentioned I added another , _micronic_ filter in front of the std. pre - filter as the std. filter is only a screen and I was concerned about the fungus doing something awfull to my IP or injectors ~ there was _WAY_ more crud but like it said on the StarTron bottle , it breaks it up to sub - micronic particles so it can flow right on through all the filters and IP , then get burned up in the engine .

I drained it before taking the pic too ~ still and all , it's a nasty , dirty old )(new actually) thing and clearly shows why everyone should do this as a prophylactic measure .

Agreed , I'd ot use this typ of filter unless I carried a spare as it'll clog up rapidly if any crud or spooge is in the fuel .

Its Brandon... :)

And you are welcome :)

the main filter will stop all of the small stuff. the prefilter is there for big chunkes and as a notice that you have crap in your tank

Your fuel strainer inside the fuel tank probably looks like that too.

P E H

I should post some pics of my old Primary s from when I first started using WVO. Those are clean compared to mine. (:

BUt glad to hear the Startron is good for you.....

How about putting some enzyme fuel (starbrite startron) in the filter and let it sit there? See if it will actually clean the whole filter, like that one strip.

pmari,

The fungicide won't clean the filter. It just kills the fungus. The remainder is like brown silicone rubber. I haven't found anything that will dissolve the dead fungus. I had to mechanically (blow gun) remove the dead fungus from my tank strainer.

P E H

In Tank Strainer
 

No , it's clean , I pulled it and looked at it .

-Nate

color of the mung
 

I've been having a problem of clogging filters. The diesel in my inline screen filter is very clear. There are a couple of very fine rust chunks, but nothing serious in that filter.

My canister filter gets coated with this gelatinous grey brown sludge. My car ( 75 240d) has the kind where the filter is a cardboard insert that fits into an aluminum canister. When I pulled the insert out, the diesel in the canister looked like buttered rum. So far I've run 3 tanks of ~25% biodiesel since I've owned the car. My thought is to take it easy on the filters starting with 20% and working my way up to 100%. I did this to my 84 rabbit 15000 miles ago and never had any problems with the filter (replaced it after a couple of tanks in the beginning.) They say biodiesel will dislodge carbon buildup in the fuel system. This sounds like it should be a grey-blank color, not the buttery brown color I'm getting.

Can I deduce from the color that the sludge is fungus and not other extraneous mung coming out of my tank? I've heard of wax crystals forming, which could be giving me that cloudy, buttery look. Temp around here has been between 20 and 40 F for a while. B20 is supposed to have a cloud point of like 17. Today it was well into the 30's. I'm trying to determine whether this is a biodiesel issue or a fungus issue. Are there varieties of diesel fungus? Does the color not tell me anything? I haven't delved into the tank filter yet (hoping for the best). Filters are relatively cheap and as long as I keep the fuel level pretty high, the car runs just fine.

Thanks for any identification of this infestation!!

There is no carbon in a fuel tank, unless the fuel tank is on fire.:eek: The easy way to distinguish between paraffin separation (gelling) and fungus is to add an anti-gel additive. If the gelling doesn't go away, then it's fungus or some petroleum deposits and StarTron should help.

P.E.;
The sales pitch is that Startron (an enzyme) will lyse the dead critters and break them down into small enough bits to pass through the filters and be burned in combustion. Cleaning strianers and filters along the way.

pmari,

Does the STarTron kill the fungus also? Or do you have to use a fungicide like Biobor first and then use StarTron to get the fungus out of the fuel system?

P E H

http://www.starbrite.com/sproductdetail.cfm?ID=1538

Eliminates algae and fungal growth without the use of poisons * Reduces all emissions, including carcinogenic, particulate smoke * Prevents fuel oxidation and stabilizes diesel chemistry for at least two years * Lowers fuel system maintenance * Eliminates carbon build-up from burners, injectors and exhaust components * Increases fuel economy up to 15%. Instantly cures fuel jelling caused by cold weather and alcohol fuels.

http://www.starbrite.com/productdetail.cfm?ID=1166&ProductCat=Marine&ProductSCat=Gas%20and%20Diesel%20Additives&ProductSSCat= Startron%20Tank%20Cleaner
Exceptional in cleaning sludge and algae from gasoline and diesel tanks * Slows the recurrence of new algae that can contaminate fuel * Enzyme will clean tanks better than any tank cleaning service.

Startron[R] uses its nontoxic enzyme technology to breakdown microbial growth into sub-micron size particles. These microscopic particles are then either safely burned away or filtered out. Startron[R] is the only treatment that prevents biological growth and eliminates existing growth without the use of toxic chemicals.

You have the peanut butter type crap, from HUM bugs. Kill'em then either try this product, external pump filter polish and last choice drop the tank.

"Eliminates algae and fungal growth without the use of poisons * Reduces all emissions, including carcinogenic, particulate smoke * Prevents fuel oxidation and stabilizes diesel chemistry for at least two years * Lowers fuel system maintenance * Eliminates carbon build-up from burners, injectors and exhaust components * Increases fuel economy up to 15%. Instantly cures fuel jelling caused by cold weather and alcohol fuels."

I know nothing of this product other then the ad copy reads like snake oil. A miracle do-all product that kills the bugs and eliminates carbon buildup. It cures feil gelling and improves economy by 15%. Is there anything this product doesn't do?