Diesel Polishing‑010
It has been almost
one year since I wrote the first, Diesel
Filtering report. I have learned a lot
during that time. One of the things I have learned is to call this process,
"Diesel Polishing" instead of "Diesel Filtering."
RECAP
Most of the
original nine reports are in the archives, but for those who were not here at
the beginning, or don’t want to read all that stuff again, here is a brief
recap.
I have two fuel
tanks of 400 gallons each. The fuel was in poor condition because the boat had
been on the hard for almost one year. The fuel was black and had all sorts of
debris and water in the bottom of the tank. Bottom samples were not pretty.
I installed a
FuelMag (formally Algae‑X) magnetic unit, Walbro fuel pump, three‑way
valve, and piping to create a polishing system for the fuel. The fuel flow for
the polishing system was from tank to FuelMag to Racor to Walbro pump to tank‑return.
After 560 hours of pumping and changing two 2‑micron Racor elements, the
observed pressure drop went to 0‑inches across the filter element. The
third element was installed 01/05/1998 and since that time has had 2280 hours
of Polishing Pump operation at about 50 gph and 400 hours of engine time at
about 6 gph. That is a total of about 116,000 gallons of diesel fuel through
one Racor 500 2‑micron element. The observed pressure drop has remained
at 0‑inches.
1001 gallons of
fuel have been added since the initial operation began, and the fuel tanks are
now full.
SYSTEM MODIFICATION
Early this winter a
Gulf Coast Filter F‑1 diesel filter and water separator were added to the
system. The F‑1 was installed after the FuelMag and before the Racor. The
Polishing Pump has run a total of 120‑hours with the F‑1 in the
system.
SYSTEM OPERATION
The polishing pump
is normally run 24 hours on each tank each week. A log is kept of the hours and
vacuum readings.
A vacuum gauge is
installed after the Racor and another one is installed after the F‑1.
This makes it possible to read the pressure drop across each filter and across
the entire system. Filter element changes are made when indicated by the
pressure drop.
No additives of any
kind are ever added to the system.
SYSTEM OBSERVATIONS
Since January of
1998, the fuel has remained sparkling clean. No water or debris can be detected
from bottom samples. No hint of black color can be seen.
Because it is
impossible to take samples from more than one place, we can’t say, for sure,
that there is none of the bad stuff still hiding in the bottom. It is a fact
that the fuel that flows to the system returned to new condition and has stayed
there.
WHAT HAPPENED
I have had a year
to consider what caused the stunning results, and I still can’t say, with
engineering certainty, which part, or parts, of the system is responsible for
everything that happened. I think it is a combination of all the parts of the
system. A few thoughts follow.
FUELMAG
There was a lot of
confusing about these magnetic units a little while ago. A fight between some
of the parties involved in the distribution of these products did not help.
Even today, there are two competing factions involved with this technology.
What I believe we
know is that these units do change the characteristics of the Abugs@ which do
harmful things to diesel fuel. These units do not kill the bugs, but modify
them so they are not harmful and can be burned safely in the combustion
process. Left alone, the bugs will return to an active state to once again do
their harm to the fuel system.
The major reason
for the failure of these units to obtain good results is low diesel flow.
Lehman‑Ford and similar engines pump such little diesel that the magnetic
units don’t get to do their work on enough fuel to make any difference.
The Polishing Pump
provides enough flow for these units to function, and the weekly pumping
schedule keeps the bugs under control.
At one time, there
it was proclaimed by some that the magnetic units did something other than work
on the Abugs,@ but the inventor of the technology states, without
qualification, that their only function is on the Abugs.@ The general black
color, which comes to the diesel fuel that is so alarming remains unaffected by
the magnetic units.
The removal of the
black color was done by something other than the FuelMag.
PUMPING SCHEDULE
Before we can talk
about where the black went, we must talk about where it came from. I don’t know
for sure, but the best information I can get indicates that the black color
that invades all of the fuel is from the asphalt in the diesel going out of
solution. That is a condition caused by the fuel remaining still, or nearly
still, over time. It has been suggested
that the condition
begins about two months after refining the diesel.
What I do know for
sure is that the black went away after pumping at about 50 gph for about 170
hours. That pumping was through the FuelMag and the Racor. The amazing thing is
that I am now on just the third element.
The FuelMag people
insist that the FuelMag didn’t remove the black. The Racor element didn’t
because so few have been used. That leaves the circulation of the fuel itself.
If the black in the
fuel is asphalt, and I think it is. If that asphalt is present because it is
going out of solution, and I think it is. It is not a stretch to come to the
conclusion that circulating the fuel will help put the asphalt back into
solution. Most diesel engines circulate more fuel than they burn, but in many
cases that flow rate is not great enough to help the asphalt problem.
The Polishing Pump
to the rescue. My pumping schedule turns my fuel over about three times a week.
I now believe that the pumping schedule allows the FuelMag to work and combat
the fuel deterioration as well. I now believe that increasing the fuel flow
rate improves everything in the fuel system. The other way of saying it is that
our normal low diesel flow rates allow many of our fuel problems to occur.
GCF F‑1
It is still to
early in the testing process to know how the F‑1 will really affect the
fuel system. It can be said that the F‑1’s increased capacity and
improved efficiency can do no harm and most likely will be a benefit. We’ll
know a little more before I leave for parts south in February and a lot more by
Trawler Fest in FL.
CONCLUSION
With or without a
FuelMag, I think a fuel polishing system will decrease your diesel fuel
problems.
CaptnWil