Testing stored diesel.

[Barking Mat]

Here's a random one.

I bought this house six years ago, it was like the owners left it like it was, without clearing it.

So much clearing, much crap, some pleasant surprises.

I've got a 205 litre canister of what seems to me white diesel, it's not red I don't think.

I'm going to transverse (pump) it into a clean canister 205 litres thing, and in an ideal world I'd like to stick it in my common rail diesel 2001 Volvo .

I'm aware of water and bacteria issues, anything else I haven't though of ?

Alternatively, I could take it to work, dump it in a reservoir of 2000 litres, and extract 205 litres, all though I haven't run this past my boss, and may or may not.

Anyway to check diesel ? It's obviously old diesel.

Over to you folks.

Obviously 200 litres of diesel is £350 or somesuch....

 

[Moose McAlpine]

Alternatively, I could take it to work, dump it in a reservoir of 2000 litres, and extract 205 litres, all though I haven't run this past my boss, and may or may not.

Take the clean 205L before you tip the old stuff in.

 

[hotponyshoes]

You can get cheap test kits for the water and bacteria but a putting some of it into a milk bottle and visually comparing it side by side to some new stuff would be good enough for me...

The cetane rating will degrade over time although it's mostly the bacteria growth that accelerates that so if it's been well stored it should be ok.
You could do a rough test by measuring out a known amount of that and the same in fresh and seeing if they burn at the same rate with similar looking smoke Bit of metal sheet over the top of a couple of tin cans and you could do a soot test as well..
If it's really really old it might have a higher sulphur content and not be legal but that was a good few years ago..

Personally, on a 2001 volvo, I would fill up at the pump to 3/4 then top off with the old stuff when I got home.
Might take you a while too get through it but you might get a chance to notice the car running a bit rough that way rather than just dying completely if it's bad or some sort of homebred bio fuel or moonshine.

 

[Barking Mat]

You can get cheap test kits for the water and bacteria but a putting some of it into a milk bottle and visually comparing it side by side to some new stuff would be good enough for me...

The cetane rating will degrade over time although it's mostly the bacteria growth that accelerates that so if it's been well stored it should be ok.
You could do a rough test by measuring out a known amount of that and the same in fresh and seeing if they burn at the same rate with similar looking smoke Bit of metal sheet over the top of a couple of tin cans and you could do a soot test as well..
If it's really really old it might have a higher sulphur content and not be legal but that was a good few years ago..

Personally, on a 2001 volvo, I would fill up at the pump to 3/4 then top off with the old stuff when I got home.
Might take you a while too get through it but you might get a chance to notice the car running a bit rough that way rather than just dying completely if it's bad or some sort of homebred bio fuel or moonshine.

Thank you, exactly the kind of advice I was after.

Much appreciated.

Thanks again.

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you are anywhere near the coast have a word with a local harbour master, some offer diesel testing for boats for about £35-40 but that's normally on a group testing basis and normally at the start of the season which you might just have missed..

 

[Barking Mat]

If you are anywhere near the coast have a word with a local harbour master, some offer diesel testing for boats for about £35-40 but that's normally on a group testing basis and normally at the start of the season which you might just have missed..

Well, I'm not far from the coast, work with boats all day long, but never heard of that.

Can do a visual check, check for bacteria, but that's the limit of my knowledge, hence post.

 

[123hotchef]

Parts cleanner fuel

 

[Barking Mat]

Parts cleanner fuel

Explain please.

Oh, for cleaning parts ? Not fuel ? I assume ?

 

[123hotchef]

Yeah I got giving 2 25l canisters for free it's in my home made parts washer with some.petrol and kerroseen

 

[Barking Mat]

I was wondering if I could filter it ?

 

[123hotchef]

I was wondering if I could filter it ?

You.could if it is vissibly dirty. If not visible That's what the fuel.filter is for..

 

[Barking Mat]

You.could if it is vissibly dirty. If not visible That's what the fuel.filter is for..

I've a diesel pump and a empty 15/40 oil barrel, well we'll see.

 

[dan.taylor.1]

You can get additives for diesel to boost cetane rating if its old old. Water can be filtered but not sure what you do about bacteria?

 

[qwakers]

put some diesel bug treatment in it, run the water off the bottom and send it.....

 

[Barking Mat]

You can get additives for diesel to boost cetane rating if its old old. Water can be filtered but not sure what you do about bacteria?

Bacteria grows on the interface (surface) between diesel and water in the fuel tank.

We fill all our boats up at the end of the season, a half tank will cause condensation obviously, increasing the risk of this.

This is a sealed barrel, age unknown of diesel, bacteria is quite easy to spot, looks like coffee grains.

 

[Moose McAlpine]

Well, I'm not far from the coast, work with boats all day long, but never heard of that.

Very common practice in backup generators to check fuel reserves are still good.

 

[Matchless]

Could it be heating oil, if so it will lack lubricating properties of diesel, if in doubt add some two stroke oil,

 

[8ob]

Bit of overthinking going on here, I have had some oddball bits of kit lying about that havent been started in ten years plus and they will fire up and run without any issues on the fuel that's in them. That said I dont think I would risk running old diesel through a common rail.

Bob

 

[m_c]

My dad could tell you a story about one of his former (tighter than a ducks behind) farm contracting employers.

It involved a very similar sounding 205l drum of red diesel, a combine, and a day spent very regularly cleaning filters and bleeding the thing to get it running again, culminating with it breaking down yet again in the middle of the local town (when it still was the main A1 route) during rush hour, as they nursed it back to the farm to clean the tank.
I think he's still surprised how they never got done for blocking the road, or for the copious amounts of diesel that were running down the high street.

in short, if you do use it, make sure it's well filtered.

 

[Moose McAlpine]

I think you need to taste test it.