Algea in the system??

[Tlauden]

Anyone dealt with this problem before. After only gaining a few more rpm's after my filter change I started asking around. One guy said the snotty slimy stuff that I got out of my filters sounds like algea, and he said if it has truly sat for a few years it would have a real good chance to produce algea. I never heard of this and didnt find much searching here. So tomorrow I'll start the algea treatment from the truck stop on it and see what happens... I'll keep ya posted!

I see alot of filter changes in my future If this treatment starts breaking away this gunk.

 

[dabtl]

Get some bio killer from O'Reilly or Autozone.

 

[sandcobra164]

I've not personally run into this product. If the truck was on an Active Duty post all it's life, it likely had JP-8 in it which I don't believe gives as much trouble. If it spent it's last years as a National Guard truck, it's straight diesel that has sat for who knows how long. If it truly has algae, I'd likely burn what you can, drop the tank and have it steamed. While it's off, flush the lines up to the secondaries, change filters and see where that get's you. I'd flush the return as well to ensure I got as much old fuel out of the system as possible then run the heck out of it for a few tanks.

 

[Nonotagain]

Years back I was moving a 46' Trawler out of the Chesapeake Bay to its winter home in Cape Hatteras.

I fueled up in Norfolk VA before going out into the ocean to gain entrance to the Intercostal Waterway. About 10 miles out, the engine lost power and shut down.

A quick check showed that the fuel strainers were full of algae, of the spaghetti variety. It took me three filter changes to get back to Norfolk and the marina that the fuel was purchased from. The marina denied that the problem was theirs, but dispensing a couple of gallons of fuel into a bucket showed the problem and their liability.

I've read that ultra-low sulfur diesel is the perfect breeding ground for algae.

Diesel Fuel Doctor has a product that will treat the fuel without having to remove the tank, but you will have to make a couple of filter changes.

Diesel Fuel Doctor, Algae-x diesel fuel cleaning, Diesel Fuel Polishing

 

[Tlauden]

Thanks for the tips, once it gets warmer the tank is scheduled to come off and get a good cleaning. And if the algae cleaner doesn't do much maybe new fuel lines is in the future. As to what was in the tank I can't begin to tell ya. It was murky looking and didn't smell like any diesel I've ever seen. I've been running good clean diesel and diluting whatever that stuff was but figure it will take a few times to completely get fresh fuel in the system

 

[Bill W]

Algae is just a slang for the Fungus that grows in diesel fuel, its correct name is Cladosporium resinae
or Hydrocarbon utilizing microorganism aka H.U.M.BUGS.
If you have the heavy matting of it on the bottom of your tank you have to drain and clean the tank, a simple garden hose will work being if it wasn't already loose then it wouldn't be in your filters, just be sure the tank is throughly dry before refilling with fuel and Biocide. I just recently saw a bottle of"Bio-Kleen" which is made by Power Service products at the local Tractor Supply which I consider a excellent biocide and is what I use now and when I had my marine fuel cleaning company in So.Fla ( 27yrs )

 

[Dave Kay]

Years back I was moving a 46' Trawler out of the Chesapeake Bay to its winter home in Cape Hatteras.

I fueled up in Norfolk VA before going out into the ocean to gain entrance to the Intercostal Waterway. About 10 miles out, the engine lost power and shut down.

A quick check showed that the fuel strainers were full of algae, of the spaghetti variety. It took me three filter changes to get back to Norfolk and the marina that the fuel was purchased from. The marina denied that the problem was theirs, but dispensing a couple of gallons of fuel into a bucket showed the problem and their liability.

I've read that ultra-low sulfur diesel is the perfect breeding ground for algae.

Diesel Fuel Doctor has a product that will treat the fuel without having to remove the tank, but you will have to make a couple of filter changes.

Diesel Fuel Doctor, Algae-x diesel fuel cleaning, Diesel Fuel Polishing

Another option is to visit your local airport FBO, preferably one that services corporate jets, and ask for their jet fuel bio-cidel. It comes in an aerosol can and you attach it to the fuel nozzle at fill-up. That is the additive in mil-fuel that keeps our flyboys safely in the air. From my days of youth spent hanging around and working at airports this is The Stuff to have--- FAA approved and prolly expensive. But you figure if it'll keep Learjets and FA-18's flying safely in the sky, it'll darn sure keep yer' rig ready to roll.

 

[1995USAFRetE6]

I've used Bio Kleen successfully to keep the tanks on my TW-20 tractor clear of it. You can find it in the Bio Diesel that the Farm Ag stores sell... at least here in SW Missouri. Hope you get it cleaned out and running like it should.

 

[1995USAFRetE6]

Oops... I meant that you can run across the algae in the diesel that MFA sells during the summer...

 

[Preacherboy]

My 5-ton has this problem. The bottom of the tank is covered in an inch of nastiness. Mineral spirits will not touch it, MEK has been sitting in there for 2 weeks with the fuel cap off. I will probably have to drop the tank, wash tank with water as stated earlier.

The only thing is, this stuff is ultra sticky! I mean, I got some on my hands and hot soapy water wouldn't touch it. Break cleaner would sort of blow it off, but I had it on my hands for nearly a week before it rubbed off. That is why I suspect water will not work. So I am trying MEK. I was also told to try acetone as a solvent.

 

[Srjeeper]

Get some of this.....

Use this to prevent problems in the future and keep your fuel delivery system clean & lubed....

Diesel Fuel Improver

 

[Bill W]

My 5-ton has this problem. The bottom of the tank is covered in an inch of nastiness. Mineral spirits will not touch it, MEK has been sitting in there for 2 weeks with the fuel cap off. I will probably have to drop the tank, wash tank with water as stated earlier.

The only thing is, this stuff is ultra sticky! I mean, I got some on my hands and hot soapy water wouldn't touch it. Break cleaner would sort of blow it off, but I had it on my hands for nearly a week before it rubbed off. That is why I suspect water will not work. So I am trying MEK. I was also told to try acetone as a solvent.

Thats not algae (fungus) thats old varnished fuel, try some denatured alcohol or even K-1 kerosene, I've had mixed results with both

 

[tjmilitary]

Had the same problem with my wercker and the guy at the truck service station said it was algae. Got through the filters and into the injector lines. A buddy had the exact same problem with his m35a3. The only thing I could get to work in the tank was lacqer thinner, lots of it. Let it sit for a little bit and stuff washed right out.