Should I be putting algicide in my tank, to prevent pump/filter clogging with algae? I have seen diesel trucks shut down by algae clogging fuel filters and/or pumps.
If you drive your car regularly, this should not be necessary. If the algae doesn't get trapped elsewhere by your fuel system first, any algae in your fuel would be vaporized by your engine once it reaches your combustion chamber. That and diesel fuel pumps (especially if your engine has a direct injection system) runs at much higher pressures than regular gasoline fuel pumps, direct injection or otherwise. I doubt any algae could survive the temperatures inside a diesel engine's combustion chamber.
In all my years of running a diesel I never had this problem. My parents have run diesels for over 35 years and have never had a problem either.
It happens. It is not algae, but it is definitely some sort of biological. It survives in the tank somehow and can plug up the inlet screen. I have had to drain numerous Benz tanks and clean them out because of the goop. I don't know if it is an issue now with common rail diesels since they have circulating fuel. What kind of diesel do you have?
Check out my thread here: http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=65920 Quite a bit of horrible melted wiring and such all fixed. It has turned into a very nice car, though it still has a little way to go cosmetically.
I caught your link in another thread after I posted here. Looks like it has already come a long way, well worth the hours put into it!
It can be a problem... I had a friend whom had it happen to his motor home, and it was expensive to fix. I believe that water in the diesel fluid sets up the conditions to get it started. I have owned a Diesel MH for 12 years now without any problems, but have a water separater and have never seen any water accumulate in it. Changing your fuel filters on schedule and having them inspected for water accumulation is probably a worthwhile practice. The additives are quite cheap, but getting them into your fuel tank can be a pain because of he fuel filler restrictor. I found a small flexible funnel at Auto Zone for a couple bucks, but you need something to store it in since it will leak some fluid after used. I inspect both my fuel and oil filters for contaminants when I change them by cutting them open and examining the filter material. I would not do it with a gasoline filter though because of the fire risk. There are always a bunch of metal particles in the first oil filter for a new vehicle... Chuck
Combating uncontrolled growth in fuel tanks LIQUI MOLY additives awarded second place in test by German sailing magazine. There is a whole series of additives on the market, claiming to keep marine diesel germ-free and engines clean. The editors of specialist magazine Segeln wanted to know which products actually keep their promise. Two products from Ulm-based additive specialist LIQUI MOLY were also on board. The Marine Diesel Additive and Anti-Bacterial Diesel Additive were awarded an outstanding joint second place. When diesel becomes contaminated with water, it makes a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, yeasts, algae and fungi. This can lead to blocked filters and malfunctioning engines - a very likely outcome since the diesel in fuel pumps is never pure. The fuel is far more likely to become contaminated with water while being kept in storage tanks or transferred from tank to tank. Biodiesel additives and condensation in on-board tanks supply a constant food source for germs. To find out what really beats the diesel menace, the editors put seven bacteria killers that are available on the market and one prototype under the microscope as blank tests to investigate their microbe-destroying properties in the microbiology lab of manufacturer Schülke und Mayr. The results were disillusioning: The specialist magazine wrote three products off as "total failures". The test candidates from Ulm performed far better. "The results for the two LIQUI MOLY products were much more satisfying. The shock dose worked perfectly; nothing survived the chemical attack," wrote the sailing magazine, which hoisted the Marine Diesel Additive and Anti-Bacterial Diesel Additive onto the second step of the podium. Grotamar 71 was awarded first place. The test was performed as follows: The laboratory ran two test series with the additives: One diesel sample was given a preventive dose of the respective test candidate, while the other was given a shock dose recommended for contaminated diesel.
