L3400 power loss..

[RadarTech]

Good late Friday evening!
Got a little head scratcher going on..

My little 3400 is having power loss when going uphill..
It happened before.. and I’m wondering what else I can do..

Last time I was sure it was a fungus growth in the tank.. so I put a helping of bio clean in, changed the fuel filter, and it seemed better.. now 2 years later, it appears to be back..
Changed the fuel filter again.. and fuel came out dark brown/black!
Changed the air filters…
Found nothing in the tank with my magnet..
I was expecting something rusty…

I’ve got a whole new fuel filter body inbound.. and new air filters.
Oil is about 8 months old, but it has sat and only run maybe 25 hours in the last year..
Hydro and filters are about 8 months old too..

What else should I do/check?

I want to lick this issue as I’m about to do some serious brush clearing…

Got a used squealer 600 for a good deal…
And 4 acres to clear….
We’ll likely only clear 2 at most..

Thanks!
RT

 

[RjCorazza]

A contaminated fuel issue is usually a "go big, or go home" problem.
I would start by draining and cleaning the tank, replacing fuel filters, flush lines with fresh fuel, and add a biocide.

Equally important is to find out where and how the fuel is being contaminated. The bacterial growth (anywhere from dark specks in the filter, to thick black slop everywhere) requires water to grow. Somewhere you're getting water in the fuel, that must be addressed. I use a water blocking filter on my transfer tank, and keep the transfer tank relatively full when possible.
Good luck.

 

[RadarTech]

Sounds like I’m gonna be in for some serious work.. I looked at removing the tank. Shouldn’t be too bad.. It has about 7 gallons in it now…
But what do I do with that fuel?

 

[RjCorazza]

I use diesel for starting my yearly burn pile.
I have never had a bacterial contamination issue, but did have significant water contamination with (4) 55 gallon drums of diesel that I stupidly pumped unfiltered into my zero turn mower. I drained the mower tanks back into the barrel, then pumped it back out into a clean barrel with a water blocking filter. The last several inches in the barrel was thrown on the burn pile.

 

[Thomas]

Check out youtube might be some ideas help stop bacterial contamination issue.

 

[old and tired]

…But what do I do with that fuel?

Raleigh has hazardous waste collections. I dropped off 15 gallons and they got it out of the truck without me lifting a finger. You can use it to burn brush and stumps... small amounts, I just light it on fire in a coffee can. I would also, mix bad diesel with Garlon to brush onto tree bark that I want to kill...

I *might* have been near a place that was burning an old building in a fire pit... the trackhoe that did most of the work; it's fuel filter was getting clogged with rust. We *might* have drained 30 gallons into a 55 gallon, open top barrel and from 12 feet up, stopped the fork lift abruptly before the fire pit. That might have been a sight to see, IF we did it....

 

[diesel85]

You can also find someone with a waste oil burner. A friend who runs an auto shop has one, and burns everything in it, except lots of gasoline. They just filter the heck out of it before it goes into the tank.

 

[5030]

I have a Kleen Burn waste oil heater and it has a centrifugal filter on it that removes any contaminates from the waste oil before it consumes it. I burn everything including brake fluid but no AF as it don't burn.

 

[JWR]

You said
"My little 3400 is having power loss when going uphill..
It happened before.. and I’m wondering what else I can do.."

1) So what did you do to get rid of it the first time? Just went away ?
2) How much of a "power loss?" Could use a more thorough description of that power loss in order to offer worthwhile comments.
3) Not starving for fuel is it? Any different with a full tank?

 

[RadarTech]

You said
"My little 3400 is having power loss when going uphill..
It happened before.. and I’m wondering what else I can do.."

1) So what did you do to get rid of it the first time? Just went away ?
2) How much of a "power loss?" Could use a more thorough description of that power loss in order to offer worthwhile comments.
3) Not starving for fuel is it? Any different with a full tank?

First time I added bioclean to it and waited 2 days, changed fuel filter, added normal diesel additive and then filled the tank.. and then let it idle 10 min before working it hard…

I think that was extreme… now I admit it doesn’t get run like it used to.. maybe 3-4 hours a month.. where it used to be 20-30 hours a month. Driveway got better…

Struggling— going up a 4-5 % grade it bogs down to the point of nearly cutting off.. if I stop going up the engine returned to full RPM.

Hydro is full.. and I think it was no different full or not..

Note that last weekend I bushhogged stuff that was 5 ft high— grass, briars, and even a few cedar trees (2 ft high —or so)
It didn’t miss a beat— but it had a full tank for sure.. I topped it off on the drive to the property..

I wonder if I could have a blockage of water in the hydro filters? That only appears as an angle?

When I bush hogged it was level..
And I only have issues on an incline… never on level land…