I would not say that I am against biocide. It is, however, one of the most overused fuel additives. Buying it is good for the economy and if it makes you sleep better, then go for it.
I would say that most people do not understand the simple fact that nothing grows in diesel. If it was that big a deal, then biocide would be included in the additive package from all the fuel retailers. -Dave Walton On 11/18/09, Dieselhead <126die...@gmail.com> wrote: > If you have microbes in the tank sufficient to warrant draining the tank, > you NEED biocide, water or NOT. Once, a treatment at the shock/kill level. > The reason is that you want to KILL the organisms and not leave the starter > for the next time water does condense in your tank, or you get a load of bad > fuel. It doesn't matter how well you clean the tank, some of the > organisms/spores will still be there as an innoculant if you don't use a > biocide treatment. Once you have had to limp home, drain the tank and try > to clean it, you DON'T want algae in the fuel again! THe ounce or two of > biocide is CHEAP INSURANCE! > > When you drain the filter, if the top of the filter is black, add biocide > to the tank right away. The black stuff IS algae, and it will kill your IP > way faster than running out of fuel. Dave, if you are against biocide, you > should by no means buy and use any. However for those of us that ARE > interested in hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles in our Diesel, we > DO need to use Biocide on occasion. > > Biocide should be used: > 1. If there is black stuff on the top of your filter when you change it. > (shock treatment) > 2. If the clear prefilter gets black inside (shock treatment) > 3. If your tank screen is plugged with black slime (shock treatment) > 4. If you are going to store a vehicle over summer (prolonged temps over > 80 F) (preventative treatment) > 5. if you inadvertently let a vehicle sit over summer, add biocide before > starting the engine. (shock treatment) > > Preventative treatments during the summer are not unreasonable. in 37 > years of driving MB Diesels, and other Diesels, on road and off road, I > don't think I have used a pint of biocide. I probably have not used it > enough. We had an old AC loader that sat a lot, and one summer when the > engine was out getting worked on, it grew algae in the tank, and I had to > drain the tank. That is the worst algae I have had, but I learned to watch > the signs and use biocide as needed. In all those years, my MB Diesels have > never left me stranded due to algae, and I have never had to drain a tank > because of a plugged screen; only to change the hose sections from the tank > to the steel lines. But, I can't remember all the times that I needed to > use biocide. When fuel prices become unstable as in 2005-2008 and usage is > unstable as in 2009, there is a lot of bad stuff in fuel. 1974-79. 1985-88, > 2005 to ? are periods of instability in the fuel market. All my bad fuel > has been in these time periods. All my biocide use has been in these times. > > On 11/18/09 10:27 AM, dave walton wrote: > > > Biocide only works if you have water sitting in the bottom of the > > tank. NOTHING grows in diesel. > > > > If you are getting fuel with water in it, you need to use biocide all > > the time. If you are getting good fuel you don't need it at all. > > > > Whenever you change the fuel filter, dump out the contents into a > > clean container. If you see water you have a problem. > > > > -Dave Walton > > > > > > > > > 87 300SDL, 87 300D, 81 240D, 200D > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
