longevity of diesel fuel?

[jbs]

Hi all,

I tend to spend a lot of time away over seas and have been considering how long will the diesel fuel last for in my 90-as I'm away from my truck for up to 2 to 3 months at a time when working at the mo and so far I've not had any problems with any of the fuel system, but this is my DD I'd like to be able to have one less thing to have to deal with-as and when I arrive back home to the UK, and If I'm away as I was before when I worked In Afghanistan for up to 4-1/2 months before coming back home again-Could I get any problems with my fuel system?, I usually have a bit of time on my hands at the mo being on board a ship and do a fair bit of thinking about different things-this being one of my thoughts, I've done a bit of googling and have read that diesel can be stored for up to 10 years, some people and other info say only up to 6 months before it starts breaking down-I.e:. gelling up and also water getting mixed into the pot along with biological problems such as algae?,

I've also read somewhere about the storage of it and wondered(another google moment this morning)If I was to store some as i do In a gallon can in the rear of my truck then is It' better to keep the fuel in a steel jerry can rather than plastic as the can will become porous as time goes on and then leak

Does anyone have any info or first hand knowledge of how long they've been able to store diesel for before using it for they're particular L/R product, and did it have any effect on the engine or fuel system?

I've searched the forum and couldn't find anything on here-just to see If anyone else had asked the same or similar question as I have above nd didn't find anything as such hence why I've put a bit of a log winded question on here

Many thanks for any answers given

John

[TheRecklessEngineer]

I started a vehicle after 5 years with the same diesel that was still in it. And then drove it to an MOT, in which it passed the emissions.

The problems with fuel storage are really for petrol, which can degrade over time. Not so much of a problem for diesel.

I wouldn't bother taking any special precautions, however if you're paranoid, leave the tank either full or empty to reduce the chances of condensation and dieselbug. Preferably the latter as if something starts leaking you don't loose the lot!

[CwazyWabbit]

My cousin pulled an old Fordson Major out of a ditch where it had lived for many many years, drained about a gallon of water out of the fuel tank till diesel started to come out and she started after a quick drag. OK a Fordson Major isn't exactly a performance vehicle but it ran fine on the diesel that had been in the tank.

[Anderzander]

That's a great story !

[jbs]

My cousin pulled an old Fordson Major out of a ditch where it had lived for many many years, drained about a gallon of water out of the fuel tank till diesel started to come out and she started after a quick drag. OK a Fordson Major isn't exactly a performance vehicle but it ran fine on the diesel that had been in the tank.

That's a great story !

Thats an excellent story Barry, Thank you to both of you for contributing to the question rattling around my head at daft o'clock this morning, I wonder If anyone else has anything to have input too on the subject?

John

[Bowie69]

I know modern petrol will lose it's bite, but personally I have pulled a couple of cars out from the bushes before now, and with a fresh battery have started on the petrol in the tanks, 3 years old at least,

I wouldn't worry at all.... If it becomes a problem then fix it then.

[Tanuki]

Proper commercial/industrial dinosaur-diesel is OK for several years: one of my clients has 50,000 litres of the stuff in an underground tank for their emergency generators; they only use a few hundred litres a year for the obligatory loss-of-power-to-site tests.

Biodiesel/veggie-oil is a different matter. Stored for long periods the various sterols and esters and such can separate out. Also, it's much more susceptible to having fungussy *things* start to live- and grow in it, specially if there's any water contamination. These bugs generate acids - which can be a real horrorshow when they meet aluminium-alloy components.

[De Ranged]

As a contractor with diesel plant, the only issue I've had is with diesel bug, at one stage I was using 20L oil drums to carry fuel these got the bug from sitting empty in the sun, been told it has to do with the hot and cold and condensation build up in the drums, this provides a good environment for the growth

end result it ended up in the fuel tank of the digger and started blocking fuel filters a couple of treatments to kill it and kept the fuel tank full, less air less condensation didn't have any problems from that point on, depending on contracts I've had gear sit idle for up to 2 yrs and run without issue

Some advice that I stuck too

Buy your fuel from the big truck stops... its cycled quickly and if there are issues like bug it is picked up quickly and delt with

Keep your tanks full as said above I found that one out the hard way lol

just for the books with petrol its got more to do with the shelf life of the lubricating additives than the fuel, the old lead additive could last a few yrs with out issue the new stuff I've had issues with its performance in high performance motors (chainsaws) when its older than a month

My father found a couple of 200L drums of old leaded fuel that my grandfather had bought to run his tractor.... dad found he could run it in an old carb'd car the new car didn't like it at all, but lower compression and carb with a little tune ran with little issue ..... the petrol was 8yrs old! lol

[CwazyWabbit]

Nice one, I'd love the chance of finding a few hundred litres of petrol