Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
I recall reading a study about corrosion in diesel handling and storage equipment conducted by the Battelle Institute. It was kind of preliminary, but sounded plausible.
Apparently corrosion has occurred mostly since sulphur in diesel was reduced. However, what they found, was that there was acetic acid (same as vinegar) at the bottom of the tanks. And they also found ethanol present. But where would those come from?
Apparently the reduction in sulphur creates a better environment for certain bacteria. The bacteria feed on the ethanol and create acetic acid.
They did not know where the ethanol came from, but guessed it might be from tank trucks that are also used for gasoline that contains ethanol.
Solution is to use a diesel additive that is designed to kill bacteria. I have used a product called Biobor in the past (in my boat diesel tank). It went off the market for a while here in Canada, but it seems to be available again. There are several others that should also work. Very low cost. Just remembering to use it has been my problem!
By the way - how did you know your screen was bad? |
Interesting re: contamination. It wouldn't surprise me that the lack of sulphur could eventually damage machinery. I bet those government documents will remain top secret.
I've noticed that the diesel is no where near as oily as it used to be and the smell of it leans more towards that of paint thinners!
I've found a similar product to the one you mentioned as that product isn't exported here- will give it a go.
I wasn't planning on changing the screen filter. The maintenance job was to replace the threaded flex hose coming out from the screen filter as it had begun to weep diesel, but I figured since I had drained the tank already and was covered in diesel, I may as well have a look/see at the tank screen whilst I was there.
Attached is a photo of the original 19 year old hose.