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Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam?

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Dan783

02-04-2007 14:49:13

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I have got a problem with water appearing in my tractors fuel - but there is no source for it.

The filters on both my tractors have been collecting a lot of water (1/4 of a cup a day)and running a bit rough occasionally. I reckoned the fuel company had delivered a load of contaminated diesel, so i flushed out the tractors tanks. The mystery is that there is not a trace of water in the tanks.
I then cleaned out the storage tank, I expected to find gallons of water, but yet again there was not a trace of water.

My question is how could all this water enter the fuel system between the fuel tank and the filter?
Is it possible to dissolve water in diesel? are there chemicals to do this? Its just that i was talking to a waste oil recycler and he heats the oil up and apparently this helps water to settle out. I was wondering if the oil companies have found a way to add water to the fuel????? All i can say was the diesel looked OK and i am always careful to keep the fuel clean.

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dej(JED)

02-05-2007 05:25:25

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to Dan783, 02-04-2007 14:49:13

I run a fuels testing lab and your problem isn't uncommon. Fuel can hold and retain varying levels of water. Fuels sold today normally have anywhere between 50 and 350 ppm of water. Actually they can hold as high as a couple of percent. Condensation can be a contributor, but what you are describing sounds like you got it hauled in. The longer the fuel sets the more the water seperates and falls out.

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NC Wayne

02-04-2007 22:10:22

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to Dan783, 02-04-2007 14:49:13

I've seen several of my customers having the same problems with their fuel and have heard of many more. I talked to the shop forman at a Komatsu dealership, not to long ago, and he said the first thing they tell someone when they call in with a seemingly fuel related problem is to change the fuel filters. He said it cut down the amount of "wasted" warranty calls dramatically. With diesel the fuel can get entrained with the water so it pays to have a good water filter on your fuel pump to catch it before it gets to the machine.

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kmcampbe

02-04-2007 19:19:52

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to Dan783, 02-04-2007 14:49:13

Adding a demulsifier additive will help to separate the water from the fuel

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Don-Wi

02-04-2007 17:03:48

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to Dan783, 02-04-2007 14:49:13

For future refernece, if your tank doesn't have a water filter on the pump, you should get one. They run under or around $20 for the filter and the mounting base to put it on your pump. Then you know the fuel is clean and water free when you fill up. When the filter is saturated, its supposed to restrict flow so you know it's time to replace it.

We just put one on our deisel tank after not having one on for many years. I replaced the filter on our 1855 after less than 100 hours on it because it was running extremely weak. I now have a spare in the shop for it because the last time was right before noon on a Saturday.... I changed the filters on our 285 about the same time then added the filter to our tank.

Since then, I've put on about another 200 hours no problems, but time will tell. It could be that the tank was dirty when we bought the tractor, but I replaced all the filters right away.

You can get something to add to the fuel to help dry out the fuel. Don't know if isopropyl alcohol will work like you add to gassers or not, but there is something you can add.

Donovan from Wisconsin

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John M

02-04-2007 15:54:53

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to Dan783, 02-04-2007 14:49:13

Condensation??

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Yugrotcart

02-04-2007 16:18:30

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to John M, 02-04-2007 15:54:53

John,
Could very well be condensation. When I fill fuel tanks this time of year, the inside is as frosty as the outside is. If the suction pipe is off the bottom of the tank, it usually doesn't cause problems.

Paul

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Yugrotcart

02-04-2007 15:04:02

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to Dan783, 02-04-2007 14:49:13

When you checked the fuel in the tank did you us "water finding paste"? Moisture can be suspended in the fuel. Make sure the inlet for the suction on your tank pump is at least 4" to 6" from the bottom of the tank.

Paul

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Ken Macfarlane

02-05-2007 06:20:54

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Re: Water in Fuel Mystery or Scam? in reply to Yugrotcart, 02-04-2007 15:04:02

We were getting condensation in our big tank, every time the temp changes or the sun shines then goes behind a cloud the tank was pumping air in and out and it was collecting water. We would drain it down and get it clean, couple weeks later the water separater would be full. We eventually had two filters on it we were emptying them once a month and still getting some water in the tractors bowl.

We now buy our fuel by the jug which is a pain in full swing. The stations don't like you showing up with a bedful of diesel jugs. It is nice when a machine is low and far from home, just toss a jug in and go instead of filling it up first.

Anyways, I hope to try a plastic tank in the shade so it doesn't pump so much air in and out.

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