For how much longer?
[image credit: thecostaricanews.com]
Derailed by climate obsession? According to The Telegraph the problem is that ‘algae produced by green fuels blocks engines’, if they’re left unused for a certain period of time. Potential implications for other motorised transport here.
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A train operator has reduced services after diesel engines were clogged with biofuel, reports BBC News.
South Western Railway (SWR) said a fault was discovered on Wednesday in much of its diesel fleet at depots in Exeter and Salisbury.
It said the issue would disrupt services in the Romsey area and west of Salisbury until further notice.
BBC South transport correspondent Paul Clifton said SWR would run a fraction of normal services on the routes.
He said the issue would affect the West of England line for the next week.
Full report here.
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
hmm, nothing new AT ALL about that: using Bio-fuels ( and issues with DEF / Ad-Blue ) with engines used occasionally. DON’T people ( aren’t politicians = people too?) Instruction books ( How-to books) for simple LAWN mowers ( any fool can use one, righr? ) TELL you how to store over winter, etc BECAUSE of issues like this – though of wourse they wouldn’t specifically tell you, now. Would they? And Management knows better – when they don’t. Yessir, Knowsir 3 bags full sir etc.
The initial solution at least seems to be to go back to 100% diesel.
Has there even been a greenie project that did not have unexpected & undesirable consequences.
That is a common problem with any kind of fuel. And it has been around since the coming of the ICE. Seen that in the old Ruston more than 60 yrs ago.
saighdear above puts it very nicely. Gumming with non-use of where there are fine tolerances is very common. But worse is where your fuel source tanks may have a bottom sludge layer of sea water from the delivery tankers. Bacteria live in the sea water interface exchanging sodium from the water and into the fuel while digesting the hydrocarbon, raising the sodium contamination in the fuel to destructive levels. In diesels its corrosion of pump plungers which destroy the whole pump. If used in gas turbine plant it destroys the hot gas path blading.
Once bacteria contaminates a fuel tank, cleaning is a long and costly job. Efficient monitoring in necessary for fuel sources that supply important users, like emergency standby plant at pwr stations and hospitals; and airports.
Although not a new problem, the storage life of the diesel goes down as the proportion of biofuel goes up. Also, on first use, it has a flushing effect on the whole fuel system that can rapidly block filters etc.
As an aside, I’d be interested in the technically inclined opinions on how long one should store sealed plastic jerrycans of diesel & petrol, I.e. filled to the brim, tightly closed & stored in a cool shed?
A lot of people have gone down the back up genny route and many also have a few cans of fuel stashed to tide them over fuel shortages planned by those who govern us
Where did the ‘bright’ idea that farmers should convert from growing food and instead pretend they were oil barons come from?
I have yet to find any green idea that is worth something. They are all based on feelings rather than hard scientific fact and as a consequence are utterly useless and cost too much.
nessimmersion, as for technically inclined, Although I have had my fill of academia Ivory tower stuff, etc, disagreeing in the company of Professors and Doctors, I prefer to revert to the Vernacular, So: to try and answer your point, the sealed plastic container SHOULD be ok since there is no likely corrosion ( and I’m for the mo. referring to storage of Lube oils) whereby the additives may be converted / neutralised( if you like) and being sealed, there should be no degradation of the contents. Air in/out allows moisture in and permits bugs to enter and grow on the contents. Now and this is from my Family’s experiences and passed on to me ( Boy! – what ARE you doing with that! , kinda thing, – since I’ve always been inquisitive) Diesel as in Farm machinery diesel, there was an old standby machine which had not been used for several years, since its fueltank had been filled ( to the brim to reduce breathing). So with all this Bio rubbish and difference between Bio content of DERV & Red, we thought we’d experiment on our old Laid up pickup, on the estate tracks. So burst tank replaced and some RED OLD diesel provided. Bingo no problems whatsoever. Hmmm. Now recently there was the Issue of FAME in some brands of Derv & with some suppliers of Red. ( It seems that our old usual suppliers of Shell or Esso lubricants & fuels all supply now, at least, the same COMMON red fluid. Oh! but some fuel distributers were supplying FAME diesel and that IS an issue in very cold weather – gelling, but then leads on to what to do with machines ( Seasonally used and standby ) Do we keep a Minimum of fuel in the tank, -easily drained before the START of the season and fill with fresh, or what ? Oh, but what about the Bulk tanks sitting on their podium amongst the nettles and old used tyres at the back of the shed ( easy access for large machines). They tend to accumulate detritus. So when re-filled it is best to let the juice settle for a day or two. Filters should always be used so as not to introduce muck into the system. So where does that leave you? throw away the 1/2 “tin” of fuel? Keep cans full, store engines with as little fuel as possible in the tank. Petrol gumming is becoming a more serious issue than I would have given credence to – from my own experience, BUT rather have SOME petrol in the tanks to that the vapour pressure is sufficient to keep the system pressurised and prevent moisture entering. At the end of the day, Fuel HYGIENE is most important. … no bucket for re-fuelling, no Oilcans which may add just that Little bit of “Contaminated” oil+ Ant-freeze + whatever else a Measuring jug may get used for …….!! Yes they do get used for that too sometimes. And DEFinitely no DEF into the fuel tank – worse than those sweety bugs. ( don’t want to give folk ideas.)
Oh Ivan , you are soooh hard! Have you no feelings for the Planet?
TBCH – I have NPO TIME for those “fellow” who follow those types of gravy trains. Blame amongst others, the EU ( the EEC then ) when, I believe, way back in the 80’s students of Agriculture were TAUGHT, yes taught – and that was one of the required Answers for Exams that Growing crops for “Intervention aka Storage” was a part of the Agric Marketplace. and so it’s gone on Carrot & Stick. Take a look at this stuff. Language is a problem but the diagrams and name dropping say enough – I just could mn’t stop to watch it all yesterday maybe next week in the forecast SNOW – if there’s no wee lammies coming!
https://www.arte.tv/en/ Frankenstream The Devouring Monster
We’ve created a monster, and now it’s coming for us: The story of streaming is a fable for our times.
Planet Finance Gier nach Rohstoffen – Wie Corona die Ölmärkte crashte and more at https://programm.ard.de/TV/Programm/Sender?datum=21.04.2023&hour=0&sender=28724&archiv=1
Many years ago I when my diesel cars were serviced the mechanic offered me a can of additive for ten or eleven quid which I accepted and noticed actually provided a decided improvement.
So I acquired the empty tin and inspected the ingredients, which when decoding the
numbers proved to be white spirit and naphtha and realised that I could make my own mix considerably cheaper, so have done ever since, with a couple of extra additives from my own research.
So now I mix my own diesel additive which I add around 1 litre every four or five tanks.
It consists of ~5% isopropyl alcohol which removes water from the tank and filters:
https://theensign.org/isopropyl-alcohol-prevent-water-contaminated-fuel/#:~:text=Isopropyl%20alcohol%20is%20also%20sold,absorbs%20moisture%20from%20the%20air.
Also ~5% acetone which is a cetane improver and improves the atomisation of the fuel when injected:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0957582022011454
Also 45% naphtha AKA barbecue lighting fluid which improves combustion and removes varnish from the fuel lines:
https://journal.uod.ac/index.php/uodjournal/article/download/179/129/
And 45% white spirit which improves combustion and cleans the filters, fuel lines and injectors:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259217467_Impact_of_Using_Adulterated_Automotive_Diesel_with_White_Spirit_on_the_Performance_of_a_Stationary_Diesel_Engine
Spot on Catweazle. Oh and I did go on a bit – gone random, maybe that’s gurgle results : coincidence? Dunno – just what I fell over on tv yesterday and about the GreenBlob Controls etc. so many watchable progs on that links for the Remoaners to gorge on ( sarc) – that’s why I’m a proud Brexiteer, not growing for intervention but struggling through insufficient support from minimal-compliance with green carrots, etc.
So, in addition to the wrong kind of snow we now have the wrong kind of fuel.
I have a couple, well 4 actually oldish English sports cars. Just from the 70s & 80s, nothing too exotic. About 10 to 15 years ago, when the cars were in their 30s owners found our fuel tanks rusting out, from the inside out, from water condensed in the tanks. These cars had mostly become weekend toys, so many sat for longish periods.
After trying many cures we found upper cylinder lubricant was the answer, when we realised those who used the stuff were not having this trouble. Experimenting I found the lubricant preferentially dissolved in any water in your tank, turning it into an oily sludge, which did not promote rust. It probably did not do much for your valve gear, good or bad, & did not effect the running noticeably, but was great for steel tanks.
I think you will find that as diesel is now so expensive, vehicles such as trains when left overnight may be subject to systematic fuel theft and even replacement with substitutes such as paraffin, spent lube oil and spent cooking oil. This is happening with farming machines and road vehicles and too – often the latter after ‘wise’ owners have applied substitute fuels themselves!
Obviously the muck being forced into these engines is doing them no good at all and multiplies the rate at which biofuels deteriorate.
Mike Wattam says…
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People stealing something don’t normally replace it with something else?
They do if they are doing it systematically over a long period of time.
Had the same problem at my last (lefty) employer in a (lefty) state… imagine two 48,000 gallon main tanks, a diesel distribution system to several emergency generators and diesel firepumps, each with day tanks ranging from 100 to 250 gallons… and all of it sludged up because the (lefty) bureaucrats mandated that biofuel be used and, sitting there for long periods, it got growies in it.
Of course, I warned them that it would happen… but lefties always, alway, always defer to unaccountable bureaucrats rather than the people who know that equipment.
nessimmersion wrote:
“As an aside, I’d be interested in the technically inclined opinions on how long one should store sealed plastic jerrycans of diesel & petrol, I.e. filled to the brim, tightly closed & stored in a cool shed?
A lot of people have gone down the back up genny route and many also have a few cans of fuel stashed to tide them over fuel shortages planned by those who govern us.”
Acetone generally kills the growies in biodiesel, as well as scavenges any water. Too much of it can be a bit harsh on any o-rings if your fuel system uses o-rings (some Cummins engines have them, especially the older units), but most generators nowadays use metal-to-metal fuel fittings.
The best route (IMO) for small backup generators is LPG / natgas / propane (preferred is propane). It burns clean, so your engine doesn’t get carboned up and your engine oil stays cleaner for longer, and propane bottles can be stored indefinitely without degradation of the fuel.
The best generator manufacturer? Caterpillar. I’ve worked on Cummins and Cats ranging from 100 kW to 1500 kW capacity… Cummins tend to leak oil and coolant (and it seems the bigger they are, the more likely they are to leak), whereas the Cats I’ve worked on never leaked anything.