algae [crud] in fuel tank

[bng]

veh 85 td 185k pri filter changed often as it gets restricted with black crud. ive tried additives but had little if any success. last prob was severe enuogh that it was necc to blow back thru line as tank strainer if equipped with or line was plugged to the point that elec lift pump couldnt pull fuel. this has been a prob in tropical climates [so fl] for a long time.does anyone know of a solution [chemical] rather then making tank removal part of maint. procedure. many thanks for responses regards butch

[t walgamuth]

YOu have bacteria growing, apparently, in your tank. It happens when there is water in the fuel either in your tank or someplace you buy fuel.

The solution is a treatment or so with biocide. It is available at truck tractor or marine stores.

Put in the biocide....it will kill the bacteria and then it will go through your filters harmlessly and be gone.

Good luck.

Tom W

[Cervan]

bleach, thatl kill it real quick

[t walgamuth]

ARe you kidding?

Thats not anything I would want to put in my tank.

Tom W

[Brian Carlton]

In addition to the biocide, plan on pulling and replacing the tank strainer. It's going to be covered in fungus.

[chasinthesun]

Pull the tank ,if its that severe it will need to be cleaned out ,radiator shops can boil it and clean the crude ,clean all your lines or replace with nice viton ones ,reinstall ,then you know your done with the stuff.If you let a car sit for more than 2 months I would add a gallon of diesel treated with the biocide every so often and run it for that gallon just to be safe.

[Bens lover]

I had a very similar problem with my wife's car last fall when I bough it.It had been stored for over a year and a half,and the fuel tank was also infected with this algae.This is the product I purchased at my local marina.It did wonders and to date its running just fine.Mind you I had to replace two or three times the primary filter but that was predictable.If you are going to replace the fuel strainer,your best bet if you can is to remove the fuel tank,cause its a PIA to replace the stainer with the fuel tank in place.
Good luck.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Bens lover

If you are going to replace the fuel strainer,your best bet if you can is to remove the fuel tank,cause its a PIA to replace the stainer with the fuel tank in place.
Good luck.

Have you removed the fuel tank? If so, how long did it take to R & R? The strainer takes about one hour..........maximum..........which includes allowing the engine to drain the tank for you..........while you have a coffee.

There is a single fuel line on the strainer and a 46mm bolt to loosen.........that's it.

[Bens lover]

Oh yes I am well aware of that,but you see in the physical condition I'm in,my hands are much to big to fit in tight places,so the tank had to come out.It took several hours but I had it done.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Bens lover

Oh yes I am well aware of that,but you see in the physical condition I'm in,my hands are much to big to fit in tight places,so the tank had to come out.It took several hours but I had it done.

I'm not grasping where the tight place will be? There's plenty of room beneath the vehicle for your hands. The socket on the 46mm nut is the only real issue..........it's got to be short to accept a ratchet.

[pmari]

Starbrites Startron, should be available at local marine supply store and claims to dissolve the biofilms and rid the nasties without clogging filters. NAPA carries the same product and is called Xbee.

Understand that Hydrocarbon Utilizing Microbes must have water present in the fuel to live. Since you live in a high humidity enviroment, water contamination will always be a problem to deal with. You'll have decide wheather you want to disperse the water or coalese it. Then pick the appropriate additives to do it. Startron does claim to disperese water so you may only have to use one product. Which you will want to do on a regular basis.

HUM bugs; Black soft crud = Desulovibrio bacteria, Greenish crud =
Hormoconis resinae, orangeish stuff = Pseudomonas aeruginosa

If the stuff is hard it may be asphaltene agglomerations. Then you will definitly need to polish the fuel and change the strainer.

[dxpoo]

Clean it out. It's stuck like soapscum all over the inside of your tank. A tank strained change won't get that. It only takes another 30-40 minutes to get the tank out past what you have to do to clean the strainer. About an hour to scrub it out, or maybe 2. Dry it out by sloshing around 2-3 bottles of Heet (methanol) inside, making certain to get all the inner surfaces. Let the methanol drain out well. Reinstall, fuel it up and go.

Make sure when you wash to get it cleaned out very well. After an hour of pressure washing, I ran some water from the hose through it and dislodged more crud. That's when the 15' of dog chain, 1 gallon of HOT water and some Dawn dish soap went in. Another hour later, the crud was gone.

This process fixed my nightmares of 10-20 mile filter changes.

StarTron did not.

[pmari]

You may have not had HUM bugs. Asphaltene deposits can be confused for Desulovibrio bacteria. How much Startron did you use and how long?

Originally Posted by dxpoo

Clean it out.
StarTron did not.

[doxland]

In my experience, the dead bacteria/algae will not pass harmlessly. They will block the filters several times if it's a good infection. You'll know if you are getting results; The dead material smells pretty bad.

[t walgamuth]

I have had the problem several times and have never pulled the tank or strainer. The biocide has done the trick for me.

Tom W