Major problem? No, just bad fuel

[careyo63]

Wow. Chevron red diesel up here in the North Bay was $4.49 yesterday.

Red Diesel here 3.99 Gal. Reg unleaded 2.75 Gal. 4.29 diesel. I think prices a going to drop again. Hopefully

 

[ponytug]

I went looking on Amazon for a Mr Funnel. The reviews are mixed.

One of the two videos show water pouring right through the Mr Funnel. A one-star review noted it filtered when new then after 10 gallons same as that video.

Is that an expired patent where anybody can name junk as 'Mr Funnel'?

I had one of the originals. It has/had a small cup below the teflon coated filter to catch debris and water. So if you didn't have much water (2tsp?) and poured the fuel really slowly into the filter to not disturb what was in the bottom, it kinda sorta helped. I've used exactly twice, but only once for fuel.

In my book bad fuel is bad fuel, and putting it into anything just addd to the damage and repair costs.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

Starter for orchard burn pile if not outlawed…

Our last burn of diseased trees was above and beyond all the required steps to the letter…

Yet it still had Cal Fire helicopter dispatched and Fire Department dispatch despite both being notified…

Local fire said burning not allowed yet AG said diseased trees must be burned on property and transport forbidden… local fire did not understand AG burning.

Besides, local fire jurisdiction goes to the other side of the highway and we are just over the line.

 

[California]

Starter for orchard burn pile if not outlawed…

Our last burn of diseased trees was above and beyond all the required steps to the letter…

Yet it still had Cal Fire helicopter dispatched and Fire Department dispatch despite both being notified…

Local fire said burning not allowed yet AG said diseased trees must be burned on property and transport forbidden… local fire did not understand AG burning.

Besides, local fire jurisdiction goes to the other side of the highway and we are just over the line.

At least we haven't had to deal with that nonsense. The harvest contractor arranges the $300 annual burn permit after his pruning crew has finished.

It's strictly limited to burning orchard prunings to halt disease. We've heard of fines for adding lawnmower clippings. The excess smoke was what brought the FD over to investigate. And we can't burn old tires any more. They were great for completely demolishing old wet stumps over couple of days.

I called in the burn day one time to the local fire dispatcher. She interrupted my description saying she knew the exact location from years of burn permits here. No problem.

I've been told the best starter for a damp burn pile is a few cardboard boxes stuffed with diesel-saturated crumpled newspaper.

 

[careyo63]

The county I live in. Couple days!
Under Senate Bill 119, GA code section 12-6-90 (July 1, 2021) was changed to eliminate the need to notify the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) by the person, firm, corporation, or association who intends to burn hand-piled natural vegetation/yard debris. Meaning there is no need for a burn permit to burn hand-piled Natural/Yard Debris such as leaf and limb material. Home products (paper, plastic, wood) are NOT allowed to be burned outdoors at ANY time. This does NOT affect the outdoor burn ban which are in effect between May 01 and September 30 of each year.

 

[California]

Bah. Now the larger Yanmar is stumbling too. There's 5 gallons of the bad Diesel in it.
I completed this gardening project for my wife with the tractor purring (well clanking) like always.

Then I went down into the terraces in the back of the orchard to clear some of the blackberry jungle.

I just about didn't make it back, it was stumbling, failing to fire, so badly.

20 gallons of bad Diesel. Nearly $100. Is there any practical use for this? All I can think of is offer it free on Craigslist, clearly described.

 

[ultrarunner]

The good thing is you know the problem and able to fix…

Someone may be Johnny on the spot if offered free.

 

[careyo63]

I only fill my pickup up from 2 stations local. The truck sits and only gets driven seldom Wkly. Beer store Fuel Etc.. It's F250 gas 40 gal Tank. Maint. fluid, filters with dealer parts. Early this Yr.. The Fuel filter first. Then the Fuel pump in the Tank went out. Fuel filter was super heavy again and was changed Not all that long ago. Were it sitting in the Pic. Which we replaced also. We new it but prove which station. Every things back to normal. This is a super fast pickup 01. The old man! everybody asked when in it! AKA. who's your daddy truck. Ford Credit!!
Gas and Fuel prices went up and the cheap oil came out IMHO.. Had to order from the dealer the fuel filter. That was odd. Motorcraft filter!

 

[sandman2234]

I need to take a video of the fuel depot out near the mouth of the river here! Trucks with Shell, Chevron, Love's and a host of independent fuel haulers all use the same tanks to receive their truckloads of fuel which goes to the underground tanks at the respective stations.
How long it is stored in the underground tanks at each location and how well that fuel is maintained will directly affect the fuel quality.
I agree, buying fuel from places that sell more fuel is a good thing. My local small business sold so little fuel, one time when he got too low, he just put an out of fuel sign on the pump. I drive my tractors up there to get fuel, so finally asked him when he was going to get more. He said he sold so little diesel that it didn't make sense to stock it. I suggested dropping the price at the pump by a few pennies, to or below the larger competitor down the street. He said "then I won't make anything off of diesel"! I suggested that he start watching diesel truck owners and see how many buy fuel and drive off, compared to how many come in and buy something in the store, as compared to gasoline customers. He apparently was satisfied with the outcome, because he has been keeping it one cent below the nearest competitor since 2019. I see a lot more diesel pickups, (especially lawn service) now buying diesel at his single diesel pump.
David from jax

 

[ponytug]

I need to take a video of the fuel depot out near the mouth of the river here! Trucks with Shell, Chevron, Love's and a host of independent fuel haulers all use the same tanks to receive their truckloads of fuel which goes to the underground tanks at the respective stations.
How long it is stored in the underground tanks at each location and how well that fuel is maintained will directly affect the fuel quality.
I agree, buying fuel from places that sell more fuel is a good thing. My local small business sold so little fuel, one time when he got too low, he just put an out of fuel sign on the pump. I drive my tractors up there to get fuel, so finally asked him when he was going to get more. He said he sold so little diesel that it didn't make sense to stock it. I suggested dropping the price at the pump by a few pennies, to or below the larger competitor down the street. He said "then I won't make anything off of diesel"! I suggested that he start watching diesel truck owners and see how many buy fuel and drive off, compared to how many come in and buy something in the store, as compared to gasoline customers. He apparently was satisfied with the outcome, because he has been keeping it one cent below the nearest competitor since 2019. I see a lot more diesel pickups, (especially lawn service) now buying diesel at his single diesel pump.
David from jax

Great business advice! Reminds me of the oldie, but goodie about grocery stores: "Get the customer in with low cost milk and eggs and sell them other items to make up for it."

All the best, Peter

 

[MahindraYanmar]

Reading through this thread, I am surprised on how many of us are close. I think I know where that Rotten Robbie is right off the main drag. One time I stopped there and made mental note they had red diesel because an hour away it would be one of the closest
I get my on road diesel near a grade that is always on the traffic reports every morning. All the quarry trucks fill there so it’s usually fresh.

@California what were your symptoms?
Trying to diagnose for my 186 up near the border. I only get up there every other weekend and usually don’t have time to tinker with it.

 

[careyo63]

Look into the glass fuel bowl. The reason I don't use Red offroad Diesel is for this exact same reason. You can't see in the fuel or see the filter. I just filled up the tank with off Rd. and of course I was smart enough to look at the fuel bowl before I ran the off-Rd. in it. It's so dark red you can't even see the fuel filter in a clear as could be fuel bowl. I have a new filter just waiting for the last 40 or so Tach Hrs. and I'll roll it over 000. 025 Hrs. was the first oil change in 4/2008.

 

[Hay Dude]

I picked up 3X cases of ATF last year for $1 per qt. on clearance. Looking to use it too.

I know ATF saves and prolongs the life on Cummins CAPS diesel pumps. Those are found on 8.3L Cummins engines just to name a few.

 

[careyo63]

use atf in the fuel? I'm guessing he does it.

Copilot Answer





Adding Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) to diesel fuel:

Car Care Hacks

• Common ratio: one gallon of ATF per 250 gallons of diesel fuel.
• ATF improves lubrication and prevents wear and tear on the engine.
• However, ATF is not meant to be burnt in today's diesel engines.
  
  1

 

[ponytug]

use atf in the fuel? I'm guessing he does it.

Copilot Answer





Adding Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) to diesel fuel:
Car Care Hacks

• Common ratio: one gallon of ATF per 250 gallons of diesel fuel.
• ATF improves lubrication and prevents wear and tear on the engine.
• However, ATF is not meant to be burnt in today's diesel engines.
  
  1

I think I would rephrase that last line as
"Modern ATF is not designed to be run in yesterday's engines"

There are friction modifiers in particular that aren't supposed to be good for injectors and pumps, but I don't know first hand.

All the best,

Peter

 

[California]

Reading through this thread, I am surprised on how many of us are close. I think I know where that Rotten Robbie is right off the main drag. One time I stopped there and made mental note they had red diesel because an hour away it would be one of the closest

This RR is a few miles west of Santa Rosa. This, and the nearby Chevron, have the only red diesel near me. Chevron's price is similar, I'll go there next time.

@California what were your symptoms?
Trying to diagnose for my 186 up near the border. I only get up there every other weekend and usually don’t have time to tinker with it.

The symptom of bad fuel was loss of power that felt identical to running out of fuel. Holding rpm above 1800 kept it running, but it ran rough like one or more cylinders weren't firing And it had intermittent weak performance, ie it needed a downshift to climb the grades in my orchard without bogging down to a stall. It stalled a couple of times when I was maneuvering at lower rpm but each time it re-started readily - unlike real out of fuel.

I had added Sta-Bil - (an additive claimed to make water blend with fuel) last fall prepping the tractor to be out of service for several months. I suspect that ruined the fuel. It no longer smelled like diesel.

Replacing 100% of the fuel with fresh red diesel from Chevron resolved the problem.

 

[California]

I think I would rephrase that last line as
"Modern ATF is not designed to be run in yesterday's engines"

There are friction modifiers in particular that aren't supposed to be good for injectors and pumps, but I don't know first hand.

I sometimes find un-opened Mercon ATF on the free table at the Household Hazardous Waste facility where I take used motor oil. Then use it to top up the 40 year old backhoe that has its own pump and reservoir. The hoe's manual specifies JD303 UTF. This Mercon must be better than that.

Today's find at HHW was an unopened 5 quarts of Castrol GTX Conventional 5w-20. Google says this hasn't been available since 2016. But it should be fine for my 2005 Focus that wants 5W-20. Yeah I'm cheap!

 

[Hay Dude]

Thankfully the price of fuel is generally coming down. Then desperate or cheap people can begin affording decent fuel again.
In the past few years, fuel was so expensive, it was getting stolen. Idling was a wasteful exercise. I banded together with a few other farmers and we bought in bulk.
Looks like sanity has returned to fuel prices.

 

[careyo63]

Sounds like Performance problems and a quick easy fix! First thing comes to mind Low Cyl. pressure.. Miracle oil is what I'm guessing they use it for.

 

[Jtullis13]

This RR is a few miles west of Santa Rosa. This, and the nearby Chevron, have the only red diesel near me. Chevron's price is similar, I'll go there next time.


The symptom of bad fuel was loss of power that felt identical to running out of fuel. Holding rpm above 1800 kept it running, but it ran rough like one or more cylinders weren't firing And it had intermittent weak performance, ie it needed a downshift to climb the grades in my orchard without bogging down to a stall. It stalled a couple of times when I was maneuvering at lower rpm but each time it re-started readily - unlike real out of fuel.

I had added Sta-Bil - (an additive claimed to make water blend with fuel) last fall prepping the tractor to be out of service for several months. I suspect that ruined the fuel. It no longer smelled like diesel.

Replacing 100% of the fuel with fresh red diesel from Chevron resolved the problem.

There are only a few diesel additives that I will use and have used with good results. Opti-Lube is a great lubricity additive, Hot Shot's EDT, Hot Shot's Winter Anti-Gel and Howes, which some people will have various things to say about. However I have used all of these additives for years and never had a fuel problem, unless I run out of fuel (most recent issue). I will say that Walmart's "Super Tech" Tc-w3 outboard 2 cycle oil is a great lubricity additive to use too, but not in any common rail engine, just in our older diesels.