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