Bruce in alaska wrote:
In article ,
The Daring Dufas wrote:

You obviously understood nothing I wrote. I explained that I'm
not the world's leading expert on the subject and can only write
about my own extensive experience with generators which includes
the very small to a few large EMD systems. Most of my experience
is with gasoline and natural gas powered systems. I have limited
experience with diesel powered units and have never had to tear
down and repair a diesel engine. My experience on diesel gensets
is limited to maintenance of the engine and repairs to the various
electrical and electronic assemblies. I once had to repair the
voltage regulator from a GM Delco 20kw diesel genset that was in
the hold of our 100 foot crew boat in The Marshall Islands. I took
the regulator to the island TV shop and discovered a thermal
intermittent caused by a defective unijunction transistor on the
circuit board. I was able to find a close match in the stock of
TV repair parts and fix the problem. That was 20 years ago and I've
repaired more than a few since then. Please include a source to
your allegations of my ignorance since I'm not the world's leading
expert and would very much like to learn as much as I can.

TDD

Well, I, for one, agree with this "You" fellow, in that Stabilizer isn't
needed in Diesel Fuel, for the operation of Diesel Engines. I have 40+
years of operating, maintaining, and generating ALL my own power, out
here in the bush of Alaska, mostly with diesel fueled Gensets. I have
burned diesel fuel that was left over for WWII, and was over 40 years
old at the time of use. It was in sealed 55USG Drums, found in an old
Military Bunker. Burned just fine, with no difference in generating
capacity noted during the run. If you have clean diesel going in to your
tank, and keep the water out of the tank, diesel will store basically
"Forever". I have a 250KUSG TankFarm, that we fill every fall, and the
diesel is just as good in the spring, as it was, when it was pumped in
the previous Fall. Some of the fuel in those tanks may be 2 or 3 years
old, before it gets used. Never had a problem in 40 years, except ONCE,
when we got a Barge Load, with bugs in the fuel. We had to biocide three
tanks, and so did every other customer that got a delivery from that
Barge, that trip. All paid for, by the distributer, and a BIG Apology,
for delivering Bad Fuel. We don't get the GasOhol Crap that the Feds
force on you Flatlanders, as the barge can only carry one Grade of
Gasoline, and it needs to be FAA Certified for 80/86 Low Lead AVGAS,
so we don't have to deal with most of the Gasoline problems you guys do.
Our #1 Diesel is JetA50, as well, so we always get the "Good Stuff" from
the Distributer, rather than the slop they pump to the Consumer Sales
places.


I also agree that diesel doesn't need stabilizer like the gasoline
that it's meant for. The information I have indicates that newer
diesel blends aren't as good as the older blends because of government
mandated emission standards. Hell, you guys in Alaska know more about
diesel generators and small airplanes than any other Americans for
obvious reasons. It wouldn't surprise me if you didn't get fuel from
Russia from some folks who also know what works in the God awful cold.
I would imagine that the 40 year old diesel fuel you found was not
kept in a warm environment. I think the problems I faced with diesel
fuel in a tropical climate may not plague you in your somewhat less
tropical climate in Alaska. We had extreme humidity and condensation
to deal with and tried to keep things warm to drive moisture out of
equipment. Bugs love the tropics. By the way, correct me if I'm wrong
but isn't jet fuel blended with additives to prevent gelling or microbe
infestation since jet fuel is often exposed to environmental extremes?

TDD