Diesel Stored over Winter

Captain PartyMarty

Crew Member
Hey Guy's

So I didn't realize that there is such a thing as Algae growth in diesel fuel until last week when a buddy of mine mentioned it. I have about 40Gal of diesel in my boat tanks which has been sitting since about October, Do I need to worry about the condition of this diesel? Should pump as much as possible out and fill with fresh before firing the engine up?
 
Hey Guy's

So I didn't realize that there is such a thing as Algae growth in diesel fuel until last week when a buddy of mine mentioned it. I have about 40Gal of diesel in my boat tanks which has been sitting since about October, Do I need to worry about the condition of this diesel? Should pump as much as possible out and fill with fresh before firing the engine up?
If you look on line diesel can be stored between 6 and 12 months. Longer with stabilizer.
 
Half the farm equipment in the country is parked by mid October and not fired up until late spring some not until fall again. No issues with your fuel run it with confidence. My family has been running logging equipment for years, parked by late March not fired up again until October no issues.

Throw some fresh fuel on top of it add some conditioner you’ll be fine.
 
you should check to see if you have any water in your fuel tanks with a stick and some water paste. smear some of the water paste on the stick, and dip it into the tank. the paste turns colour when it contacts water. Pump the water out and then add a diesel biocide. Keep a spare fuel filter on board as well.
 
It will be fine, as walleyes says most equipment on the coast sits for extended periods of time with no issues. I have a couple of tractors that only get used a couple of times a year with no issues. You should always add diesel conditioner as they took out the sulfur about 20 years ago which is important for lubricating the fuel injector pump. Otherwise, open the bottom of the filters every so often to make sure you don't have any water in them and change them regularly.
 
The algae associated with diesel fuel grows in water not the fuel. If water is present in the tanks algae may grow. Diesel fuel has a very long shelf life, I did a project in the Yukon once and we were burning fuel in our equipment that had been in a tank farm onsite for 25 years with no ill effects.
 
The problem now with storing diesel for extended periods of time is with a fungus not algae, as they are using Bio-fuel mixed in the diesel that is normally made with canola you will get a fungus growing in the fuel. That said it takes a long time (years) for this to start growing.

I purchased a 77 Kenworth to restore that sat for about 6 years in a yard, the fuel tanks and system was full of a black sludge that took me days to clean out, after that I had to purchase a sterilizer that cleaned the residual off the inside of the tanks. Otherwise it will start to grow again no matter how clean you get them.

Just keep clean fuel and keep it moving and you will have no problems.
 
I let mine sit for about 8 months a year quite often and haven't had any problems. I always top my tanks up before parking it though. and sometimes use an additive, stabilizer. But sometimes let it slip and haven't had a prob yet...
 
Back
Top