How long does diesel fuel last?

[Cranky]

The fuel in my pickup is 8 months old. Filled up at the end of December and well, it'll go 500 miles on a tank but so far have only gone 175 miles....

 

[Don Frelier]

The fuel in my pickup is 8 months old. Filled up at the end of December and well, it'll go 500 miles on a tank but so far have only gone 175 miles....

It's good for years and years... one of the advantages of Diesel.

 

[Cranky]

It's good for years and years... one of the advantages of Diesel.

What Googlely search says sure ain't saying that lol

 

[Outlawd]

I got diesel in big generators that only excersize twice a year, some tanks have 10 year old diesel that burns just fine.

 

[Bold & Old]

The fuel in my pickup is 8 months old. Filled up at the end of December and well, it'll go 500 miles on a tank but so far have only gone 175 miles....

My 2001 Dodge diesel with 30 gallon tank lasts about 6 months or 400 miles on a tank @ little over 13 MPH.

You must have a newer truck....

 

[oldbee]

Personally, after 8months I’d add a little biocide to it. Bacteria starts growing after awhile. It WILL plug up fuel filters.

 

[Cranky]

My 2001 Dodge diesel with 30 gallon tank lasts about 6 months or 400 miles on a tank @ little over 13 MPH.

You must have a newer truck....

It's a 97....pretty much the last of the mechanical 12 valve 5.9's. I have clocked 25 mpg on the highway before with 17-19 in town. It'll do 19 in town if I'm really nice to it. It's been a great truck and well, I just don't have much use for it but it's paid for and is not rusty. The red paint sucks but it sucked when I bought it in late 2000 or so. I feel I got it much cheaper because of that and it was the best running used truck that I found during the full year of looking for one. It surprised the snot out of me that it ran so good but it was depressing that so many that I looked at ran so crappy. Also couldn't see any evidence that someone did any tuning on it...

 

[Cranky]

Personally, after 8months I’d add a little biocide to it. Bacteria starts growing after awhile. It WILL plug up fuel filters.

I'm past due on a filter change. Got one but just haven't done it.....and a biocide is something like 'Diesel Kleen'? Looks like there's also a product that says Bio Kleen too. I guess both products are different.

 

[oldbee]

Probably the Bio Kleen.
Back in the late ‘70’s we had 100k gallons of diesel stored in tanks in Cleveland in case of shortages.
Sat for at least 2yrs, started bringing it down on tankers; it plugged up the semi’s before they got out of Ohio!

 

[RemCharger]

And there's winter/summer blends. Up here at least.

 

[XS22J8R]

In the years I was pondering getting a 3/4 ton truck, a friend of mine who is a career diesel truck mechanic always told me not to get diesel, as unless I drove it a lot I'd get algae in the fuel tank. I never asked him how long it takes for that to happen. I assume it happens quicker in damp climates than dry climates.

 

[Cranky]

In the years I was pondering getting a 3/4 ton truck, a friend of mine who is a career diesel truck mechanic always told me not to get diesel, as unless I drove it a lot I'd get algae in the fuel tank. I never asked him how long it takes for that to happen. I assume it happens quicker in damp climates than dry climates.

Been a long while since reading up on 'algae' in diesel.....actually, algae needs light to grow so it's not algae but more of a fungus and bacteria. I forgot all about the harmful effects old diesel can have on the fuel system. I used to drive my truck fairly often but over the last couple of years, I haven't been driving it much. Here's a link about it. And your assumption is correct about damp climates.

How to Get Rid of and Prevent Algae in Diesel Fuel

All diesel users should be aware of the possibility of algae growth in their fuel tanks. This growing problem can be solved and prevented by …

crankfix.com

 

[Cranky]

Probably the Bio Kleen.
Back in the late ‘70’s we had 100k gallons of diesel stored in tanks in Cleveland in case of shortages.
Sat for at least 2yrs, started bringing it down on tankers; it plugged up the semi’s before they got out of Ohio!

Probably got water in it either from condensation or rain getting in. From what I've been reading, water is what gets the ball rolling. The article says that if the tank/tanks are 15 years old or older and hasn't been maintained, they most likely have algae in them. Thinking about drawing a sample from mine pretty soon or change the filter and pull the new one off and see what it looks like after a month. My last filter was pretty dark so I'm thinking there's most likely something going on inside it.

 

[gkent]

6 months or 400 miles on a tank @ little over 13 MPH.

Well at 13 MPH I can see how it would take 6 months to go 400 miles !!!

 

[oldbee]

Way back, we had 4 tanks in the ground, running thru 3 filters about 5’ tall & 24”dia.
Had to change them too,plugged up from the crap that came down from Cleveland.
You can’t do this with a medium duty Cummins, but; when it really got cold; we’d tell drivers to put 10-20gals of gas in each 100gal tank to stop the waxing up!

 

[Roger63]

It's a 97....pretty much the last of the mechanical 12 valve 5.9's. I have clocked 25 mpg on the highway before with 17-19 in town. It'll do 19 in town if I'm really nice to it. It's been a great truck and well, I just don't have much use for it but it's paid for and is not rusty. The red paint sucks but it sucked when I bought it in late 2000 or so. I feel I got it much cheaper because of that and it was the best running used truck that I found during the full year of looking for one. It surprised the snot out of me that it ran so good but it was depressing that so many that I looked at ran so crappy. Also couldn't see any evidence that someone did any tuning on it...

Tuning is what usually does them in. Some think that rolling coal is cool, I think it's a waste of energy.

 

[Roger63]

Been a long while since reading up on 'algae' in diesel.....actually, algae needs light to grow so it's not algae but more of a fungus and bacteria. I forgot all about the harmful effects old diesel can have on the fuel system. I used to drive my truck fairly often but over the last couple of years, I haven't been driving it much. Here's a link about it. And your assumption is correct about damp climates.

http://[URL]https://crankfix.com/algae-in-diesel-fuel/

[/URL]

I always put acetone in my tanks, did it for probably 20 years. Never had fungus or gelled up

 

[Triplegreen500]

The only additive I put in my diesels is some winter-time anti-gel. 278k miles on the Cummins (2001 24v), still starts like a gasser in all but below-freezing weather. They recommend against just about everything in my Ecodiesel Jeep, so I just...drive it. Pushbutton start, so it does it's own internal "wait to start" then kicks over just fine.

I do fuel filters every 20k on the Jeep; every time the fuel pressure starts to drop on the Cummins (I have a gauge on the pillar, showing pressure going into the injector pump - need to keep pressure there so it doesn't eat an $1800 pump!).

I've worked with RVs with diesel generators that sat for years (like, 5-10). Fresh fuel filter, oil change, and fired 'em up on the same ol' fuel that was in the tank.

 

[Don Frelier]

These old locomotives have been sitting for quite some time in Florida:

 

[Cranky]

These old locomotives have been sitting for quite some time in Florida:

The refinery where I worked had lots of nat gas (and byproducts added in) engines but no diesels. Some were pretty cool while others where a rpita and broke down a lot. In the mid 90's the move to electric was going on and by the time I retired in 06, all the recips were gone. Some engines were big enough for a small person (5') to sit on top of a piston cross legged.