Diesel - How long can I actually store it?

[Hohn]

So if E10 gas in a gasoline generator is just fine at 6 months, how long are we talking for B5? Do you think 1 year is a good timeframe, potentially longer?

Hard to say.

I will say that many small engines do not have highly sophisticated fuel systems, so they tend to be quite tolerant of the things that can take out a modern high pressure common rail system.

What is the micron rating of the fuel filter that came on your engine? If it's only 15 micron or larger, you may not have any real risk from B5. That's because deposits are primarily an issue in very tight clearance parts of the fuel system, which your system may not have if the OEM deemed a relatively coarse filter to be sufficient.

Personally, if I was forced to buy B5 and all my local #2 fuel source was adulterated thusly, I would probably run a blend of B5 and straight kerosene with an additive to restore some lubricity. 50/50 kerosene/b5 doesn't just lower the effective blend rate, it adds a lot
of solvency from the higher aromatic content of the kerosene (vs #2).

Such a kerosene-cut fuel should have very low risk of biofuel relative deposits for years of inactivity. Be sure your fuel tank has a filtered vent to keep dust in the air from turning into sludge in the tank bottom.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Biofuels even in low blend ratios can cause actuator sticking.

We have a manufacturing plant that was using B7. Engines would arrive and fail production test once built into equipment. The actuators on the fuel pumps were sticking from the b7 residue left in place a few months.

If you need equipment to be reliable after prolonged inactivity, it needs to have no biofuel residue. Flush with b0 before shutdown and storage.

I find this interesting since most ULSD has ~5% biodiesel added to it to increase the lubricity of the fuel. The Sulphur was the lubricant until the emissions ramped up on modern engines.

I'm guessing the generator is not a HPCR engine, but it might be. I would also wonder what emissions tier the engine is. This could be a factor. FWIW, I still think it will be fine as I suggested for a very long time. I also suspect this unit will run at least once a week for some period of time as a PM type service.

 

[ripcord]

I recently got one of my Dad's trucks running that had been sitting for 8 years since it was last started. The fuel in it was probably even older than that. I dumped some PowerService Green-Clean in it just because and got it started pretty easily after I primed the fuel system. It ran fine on the old fuel, too.

 

[Hohn]

I find this interesting since most ULSD has ~5% biodiesel added to it to increase the lubricity of the fuel. The Sulphur was the lubricant until the emissions ramped up on modern engines.

I'm guessing the generator is not a HPCR engine, but it might be. I would also wonder what emissions tier the engine is. This could be a factor. FWIW, I still think it will be fine as I suggested for a very long time. I also suspect this unit will run at least once a week for some period of time as a PM type service.

Sulfur is not a lubricant in this case, at least not one that will show up on the HFRR scar size. This is a common misunderstanding because of the fallacy of correlation equals causation. The process of lowering the sulfur to S15 also lowered the lubricity. But the sulfur was NOT the source of that lubricity. Rather, it was the affect on the other parts of the fuel composition that reduced the lubricity.

Sulfur is obvious present in EP additives and gear oils and such, so this is also why people tend to think of taking the sulfur out of fuel as the reason that lubricity was lost. But the HFRR test runs at loads that are much less than what is an EP condition.

And, tellingly, it's easy enough now to find 100% petroleum ULSD that has an HFRR <520 (D975) or <460 (EN590) and has zero biofuel content. The bio content mandate is separate from the lubricity spec, and you'll note almost every B2 or B5 mandate occurs quite a bit after the lubricity addition to D975 in 2005 and the ULSD mandate changeover date of 2010.

Minnesota and Washington have biodiesel mandates for political reasons, not because legislators needed to solve a lubricity problem the refiners couldn't figure out.

 

[SupremePossum]

A water separator would be a good investment. That is the only thing that would worry me.

Maybe a noob question, but can I add in a water separator to a system that does not have one?

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Maybe a noob question, but can I add in a water separator to a system that does not have one?

you sure can! See if the OEM recommends one, otherwise you can get aftermarket units pretty easily.

 

[SupremePossum]

you sure can! See if the OEM recommends one, otherwise you can get aftermarket units pretty easily.

Its a Marathon Light tower with a Kubota engine, in that case would I be searching for the D1005 engine, or something specifically from Marathon?

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Its a Marathon Light tower with a Kubota engine, in that case would I be searching for the D1005 engine, or something specifically from Marathon?

reach out to the place you bought it would be my first move. Second would be to a Kubota dealer.

 

[SupremePossum]

Went to the gas station today, and there was zero signage saying it had any biofuel. Does that mean it doesn't have any in?

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Went to the gas station today, and there was zero signage saying it had any biofuel. Does that mean it doesn't have any in?

View attachment 288690

pumps don't need to be marked for 5% or less bio.

 

[repairman54]

Main thing is for diesel storage is using an additive that prevents slime and algae build up in the fuel. In my snowmobile club we had a fuel tank pickup tube plugged in a diesel Gator that mostly sits from April to December. Took a couple years for this to happen but it did. PITA to get that tank pickup out also.

 

[SupremePossum]

I filled my cans to the very brim, so virtually no air in the can for condensation to form. Hopefully that gets me a good while too

I threw in some KILLEM too