Is 4 year old diesel fuel any good?

[ray66v]

The quality of diesel fuel varies dramatically.

The fuel I buy, I would not worry. (Premium product from a local trusted agricultural supplier).

The fuel from the average gas station, I would worry.

I had someone once wanting me to fly his airplane, with 65 gallons of 5+ year old fuel in it.

 

[Pecosbill7]

I have about 75 gals of 4 year old diesel fuel and am wondering what I should do with it.

The fuel has been sitting in the fuel tank of a diesel pusher motorhome fuel tank. The fuel tank is 150 gals, or about 1/2 full. The motorhome has been always stored inside an insulated metal building located in a dry climate area.

I don't know if there are any problems with the fuel, and I don't know how I would test it or find out. The motorhome starts and runs fine. But I've read that old diesel fuel can have water or algae in it that clogs filters or does damage. I don't want to do that. Can you help with any ideas?

Here are the options I am considering:

- do nothing and just use it.
- siphon it out, replace with fresh, then slowly use it up/blend it elsewhere by adding small amounts when refueling my tractor.
- siphon it out, use for burn piles (but that's a LOT of fuel for that use!)
- put some additives in it and just use it.

The motorhome engine is a Cummins ISX. It is expensive to work on, even if just buying new filters. So I'd like to avoid causing any maintenance or damage.

Ideas?

Use it for burning brush piles. Maybe for mixing with Remedy to kill mesquite. But don’t put it in an engine and expect it to burn without any issues. It’s just not worth taking a chance.

 

[nyone]

I have been burning home heating oil I bought in march of 2020. My Kubota KH41 dosnt mind and neither does my new holland Tc40. I just changed the fuel filter on my tc40 yesterday because I saw some water at the bottom of the clear bowl. It's been running that fuel and fuel filter for about 200hrs just fine.

You guys are welcome to bring me your few year old diesel fuel.

 

[Hay Dude]

Again, it’s not purely an issue of the age of the fuel.
It’s what may have creeped into the tank while it was sitting (water, algae, rust, etc) that you have to worry about.

It aint the age of the fuel, it’s how & where it was stored.

 

[jd110]

take a sample and have it tested. find out if it is ok.

in 1972 i had 24,000 gal of fuel put in the ground for a generator. it cost 13.5 cents a gallon.
every year it would be tested and once in a while a gallon or two of inhibitor would be poured in the tank.

when i retired in 2003 it was still being used.

Diesel fuel from 1972 was a totally different product than the ultra low sulfur fuel of today. The older fuel was much more stable and had longer shelf life.

 

[Hay Dude]

Diesel fuel from 1972 was a totally different product than the ultra low sulfur fuel of today. The older fuel was much more stable and had longer shelf life.

AND newer injectors are much more sensitive to bad Fuel.

 

[nyone]

Again, it’s not purely an issue of the age of the fuel.
It’s what may have creeped into the tank while it was sitting (water, algae, rust, etc) that you have to worry about.

It aint the age of the fuel, it’s how & where it was stored.

They sell filters for every one of these issues. My fuel is just kept in a heating oil tank outside. I do have a $30 goldenrod filter on my transfer pump. In today's fuel prices $30 is about 6gal of fuel. I have filtered over 70gal per filter.

 

[Hay Dude]

They sell filters for every one of these issues. My fuel is just kept in a heating oil tank outside. I do have a $30 goldenrod filter on my transfer pump. In today's fuel prices $30 is about 6gal of fuel. I have filtered over 70gal per filter.

They do, but would you put a filter in front of old, contaminated fuel, then fuel your expensive tractor up with it?

I wouldn’t.

 

[RjCorazza]

The quality of diesel fuel varies dramatically.

The fuel I buy, I would not worry. (Premium product from a local trusted agricultural supplier).

The fuel from the average gas station, I would worry.

I had someone once wanting me to fly his airplane, with 65 gallons of 5+ year old fuel in it.

So true about potential fuel quality issues from low volume gas stations.
I am just getting over a contamination issue from a local fuel station. Using the same supplier for several years, my tank pump started sucking up dirt, rust, and what appeared to be fine gravel. There was at least 2" of that crap in the bottom of the tank. I got rid of the tank (for other reasons) and started fresh with an aluminum transfer tank, 17u water separating filter followed by a 2u final filter.

 

[nyone]

They do, but would you put a filter in front of old, contaminated fuel, then fuel your expensive tractor up with it?

I wouldn’t.

Old dosnt mean contaminated. This is where a clear fuel filter bowl comes in handy.