Gelled Fuel

[Bob_Trevithick]

Bird: I'll have to go and look.. I'm pretty sure I saw in the manual that it does have a transparent bowl you can look at. Will the water be obvious if it's in there?

Cowboydoc: a water in the fuel light?? Nope. Are you kidding, or do some models really have this? I'm a newbie, so you can have a lot of fun with me if you want. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bob Trevithick

 

[Bird]

Bob, if the filter bowl should be FULL of water, you might not know what it should look like, but if there's less than a bowl full, you'll see the line where the water is in the bottom and the diesel on top.

And to answer your question to Cowboydoc, yes, some diesels have such a warning light, but unfortunately, not mine./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

Thanks Bird.

Say, this brings up a related question.. I have a valve for "draining water and sediment from fuel tank." This is something one should do periodically? I guess it's a blessing that water tends to be heavier and goes to the bottom, eh?

Bob Trevithick

 

[DVerbarg]

Richard,

<font color=blue>Does your tractor have a water in the fuel light on it?</font color=blue>

This shows my lack of knowledge but is that a serious question or tongue in cheek? Or do they actually have such indicators? If so, how do they work? If it is all in fun then go ahead and laugh.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif


DaveV

Oops, already answered by the time I finished posting...<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by dverbarg on 12/28/01 10:52 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[cowboydoc]

Guys,
Yes they do have water in fuel lights on them. On bigger tractors almost all of them have one. On pickups, trucks, and semis they also all have a light that comes on to indicate water in the fuel.

As far as emptying the sediment bowl yes this is something I do every couple weeks. It cleans out any deposits and any water that has accumulated in there. Don't hold it a long time as it will drain all your fuel out and you will have to bleed the system, well depending on if you have autobleed or not. You just have to hold it a few seconds. Look at it when it comes out. If it comes out and diesel colored just hold a couple seconds. If it's clear or it looks like sediment in there hold until all of that runs out of it.

 

[Bird]

Bob, unfortunately, I don't have one of those sediment drains on my tractor, but I used to have one on a diesel sedan. And Cowboydoc has already answered your question. Like he said, I used to drain mine on the car periodically into a clean glass jar, then look at it to see if there was anything there besides diesel fuel. You know that's routinely done on aircraft (at least the small planes I was familiar with).

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

Thanks Guys! I'll go check that sediment thing!

Bob Trevithick

 

[hayden]

Umm, could be. There was fuel in the can too, but perhaps not enough to disolve all the wax? At the same time, I don't recall any signs of the wax disolving in any way.

I seem to recall reading something in a paper on fuel (in fact I think it was one of the reference you posted) that suggested a one-way nature to precipitation of waxes, but my memory is getting soft. I'l try to find it again.

 

[cp1969]

cowboydoc said, "It doesn't hurt the tractor at all to run extra additive or extra anti-gelling formula."

Cummins does not agree. This is from their service bulletin, "Fuels for Cummins Engines":

Great care must be exercised in the choice and use of additives. Some fuel additives can be harmful to the engine. Fuel additives containing ash forming material will cause combustion chamber deposits. Most legitimate additives perform only one function. Multifunctional fuel additives are mixtures of several additives. All fuel additives perform differently in different fuels; therefore, the additives used must be one to which the fuel will respond. There are no known additives which will increase the power or improve the efficiency of a properly maintained engine.

 

[cowboydoc]

cp1969,
What I was talking about was power service. It is specifically for the diesel engine and I used to have the same concerns. I talked to one of the Navistar engineers at a Ford diesel truck rally and they said it would do no harm to a diesel engine at all. In that article aren't they talking more about engine performance and not fuel performance? Yes there are snake oils out there but I don't think power service is one of them. Additionally all an anti-gel compound is going to do is lower the freeze point of the diesel. I don't see how that could do any harm at all.

Ash or soot is a big problem with all diesels with the lower emissions standards and fuel. Rotella even has a specific oil for diesels that is just for soot control in diesels. Yes it is a problem but not with a reputable additive, at least not in my opinion.