Diesel Fuel Hygiene
During hurricane Sandy, there were news reports of back-up generators failing. A large hospital in New York had 2 generators go down within a few hours of starting up. Could it be a coincidence that so many generators went down? I would speculate that the answer is no. More than likely it is a fuel related issue.
All of these generators run on diesel fuel and most of them went through a preventative maintenance service recently. When the service technician went through the generator, he/she checked to make sure that the generator was putting out power at the rated capacity; they checked that the generator would automatically start up when the power went out and turn off when the power came back on. They also made sure that there was enough fuel in the tank to last 72 hours. Unfortunately, the one thing that was not checked was the condition of the diesel fuel.
Generators, diesel trucks, and other equipment as well, suffer from dirty fuel. The easiest way to tell this is by the black smoke that is coming out of the exhaust pipes. Some may say that this is normal for diesel powered equipment because they have always done that. With today’s new diesel fuel, this should not be happening.
Fuel Hygiene, what is it? Fuel Hygiene is the complete management of fuel storage and usage. It starts with knowing what is going on with the fuel and its storage containers. In order to know what is happening in the fuel tanks, one must test the fuel and the tank. Doing this will dictate your next step, fixing. If the tank is dirty and /or the fuel is really polluted with microbial growth, the fuel should be polished (filtered). If there is a small amount of water or microbial growth, Diesel Mechanic In A Bottle and the Diesel Tank Snake will clean this up. This will clean the fuel and the tank of all water, rust, microbial growth and anything else that could be in there. The last step is to prevent this from happening again. By using a Diesel Tank Snake and Diesel Mechanic In A Bottle, your fuel storage tanks will be kept clean. This in turn will allow your equipment to operate cleaner and more efficiently.
The probable issue with the generators in Sandy’s path is that the storage tanks were dirty with water and microbial growth. These units are only used when the power goes out which is not very often. They are tough; test ran once per week to make sure that everything is working. Unfortunately, they are only run for about 10-20 minutes each time. Not enough time to pick up the “junk” off of the bottom of the tanks. This normally takes several hours before the filters are plugged enough to shut the engine down. Remember, fuel hygiene starts with knowing. Always use Diesel Mechanic In A Bottle and the Diesel tank Snake in all of your storage tanks and equipment. Diesel Mechanic In A Bottle not only takes care of water and microbial growth, it:
- Is Ultra-Concentrated, for use with all diesel fuel systems
- Removes water, preventing formation of sludge deposits/bacteria/fungus
- Replaces lost lubrication, extending the life of pumps and injectors
- Increases Cetane for increased power and performance
- Keeps injectors and entire fuel system clean
- Is an Anti-Gel to – 40 degrees Fahrenheit
Fix and protect your entire diesel fuel system with Diesel Mechanic In A Bottle. This ultra-concentrated fuel additive is engineered to protect your entire fuel system from problems caused by Diesel and Bio-Diesel blended fuels. It increases fuel mileage, removes water, stabilizes the fuel, keeps injectors clean, prevents gelling, increases Cetane, and extends the life of pumps and injectors.