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Ethanol Phase Separation – Fuel has changed!

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Due to environmental concerns and Canada’s attempt to lower emissions the petroleum industry has opened a Pandora’s box of new issues for gasoline fuel storage.
The old Veedor Root system probes will not detect Ethanol (E15) separation in gas storage tanks. The cost of a New Veedor Root system that will detect phase separation is costing more money.

Today over 90% of gas stations are blending their gasoline with ethanol. The old Veedor Root systems which detect water in fuel are not able to detect phase separation any longer.

What is Phase Separation? Phase separation occurs when enough water contaminates the gasoline, causing the ethanol to attach itself to the water molecules, leaving two distinct layers in the storage tank, a gasoline-only layer at the top and an ethanol/water “cocktail” along the bottom.

The density of Phase Separation is lower than water and the traditional Veedor Root floats or probes will not reliably detect the condition. A very good explanation of their new product that will detect Phase separation in fuel is just a click away. Click here to read about their new systems.

In the meantime, Fueltration Services will test the tank bottom and supply a report on Phase Separation in your fuel tank. We can remove the separation product plus clean the sludge off the bottom of your tanks.

Click to contact us via phone or email.

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Spring Is Just Around The Corner

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Hello everyone,

We do business in BC so we cannot come to you in WA or the USA or the REST OF CANADA – wherever you might be so there are some limitations that you need to be aware of.

It is a good deal though if you are cruising the BC Coast along the Inside Passage this summer and could save you lots of money. And it is always nice to feel safe.

We are equipped to meet you almost anywhere on the Coast if you are having fuel problems. We regularly service the mainland and anywhere on Vancouver Island including the Broughtons and Desolation Sound.

Losing power because your fuel tank is dirty is very scary. I know because we are boaters too and we have taken on bad fuel from time to time and got stuck out in the middle of the straight – we always keep extra filters onboard so that we can make it back to a dock!

Bad fuel in your tanks is not safe! Call or email now

 

Three Ways To Get Bad Fuel

Bad Fuel – how do I get it: Check the three ways you can get bad fuel:

  1. Water gets into your tank by a broken vent, a cap left off the fuel tank.
  2. You have bad fuel delivered – although this is rare it does happen – it gets compounded if you fill up at the end of the season and the fuel is in your tank all winter. By spring you have a real problem.
  3. You leave the boat with half-full tanks over the winter in a heated boathouse and one side of the tank is cold and the other side hot – this causes the tank to sweat again introducing water which breeds bacteria.

The common denominator in all bad fuel and bacterial-infected tanks is WATER! That is the main ingredient in a bacterial infestation. The bacteria will breathe the oxygen in the water and eat the paraffin wax in the fuel.

 

Call Us Now if you think you have bad fuel

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An Excerpt from the book “Marine Diesel Engines: Maintenance, Troubleshooting and Repair by Nigel Calder

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“A fuel injection pump is an incredibly precise piece of equipment. The plungers in a jerk pump are machined to within 0.00004” of the cylinder bores into which they fit. Unlike the pistons in the engine, no rings seal these plungers and while the pressures in the engine cylinders may reach 1000 psi, pressures in an injection pump are anywhere from 1500 to 5000 psi.

The accurate fit of the pump plungers in their cylinders is the only thing that prevents fuel from leaking past these plungers under extreme pressures. When you realize that the pump may be metering out only a few millionths of a gallon, you begin to understand how little leakage past the plungers it would take to completely destroy the smooth running and balance of the engine. If just one or two plunders are leaking by, then the other cylinders pick up more load, which leads to high temperatures, excessive wear of exhaust valves, and the danger of cracking the cylinder head or seizing a piston.

Imagine a tiny grain of sand or a little speck of metal finding its way into the pump. Even if this contamination passes through the pump without scratching the cylinder or piston, or doing any other kind of damage, it will now be on its way to an injector. Depending on engine size and type of injector nozzle (hole type or pintle) the holes in the tip of the nozzle through which the fuel sprays into the combustion chamber may no more than a few thousandths of an inch in diameter. It takes the merest piece of particulate from contaminated fuel to plug up an injector.

Water can be just as harmful to an fuel injection system. When the engine is shut down for  periods of time, as is the norm for most generators or boat engines, rusting of critical parts will occur, which rapidly destroys the effectiveness of the system. When the engine is running, the super heated air in the culinders under compression will instantly turn into steam. This steam can generate enough explosive force to blow the tip clean off the injector.

Nothing plays more havoc with generator engines or boat diesel engines than water contaminated, bacteria contaminated dirty fuel. If right from the start the owner gets rid of particulate and water in the fuel, then 90% of potential engine troubles will be avoided.

The damage done by dirty fuel is concentrated on all the most highly machined and therefore expensive pieces of equipment in the engine. Damage to fuel injection pumps and injectors cannot be repaired by the user.”

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Fuel Filtration – Water in Fuel

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Water is the most damaging contaminant found in fuel.
Water destroys the lubricating properties of fuel and can quickly scour or blow injector tips and pumps.
Water can freeze and stop fuel flow.
Water can be present in your fuel as free water and or emulsified water.

Free water gets into your fuel as storage tanks condensate while dispersing or receiving fuel. Dissolved water can turn to free water as the temperature changes.

Diesel fuel has a saturation point and as the temperature goes down the fuel will hold less dissolved water. Water will fall out as free water.

Emulsified water is what causes fuel to appear milky and will not allow fuel to look like apple juice.  Water, within limits, can be removed from fuel by absorption, coalescing or by stripping.

Types of Filtration

Absorption of water from fuel takes place when the media (usually corn paper) within the filter absorbs the water passing through it. If there is significant water contamination, the filter’s media will swell and block the fuel flow. The fuel delivery rate then slows or stops entirely. This will signal the user to change the filter. Typical uses for this type of filter would be on storage tanks for Aviation fuel, where you do not want any free water to pass from one tank to another during fuel transfer.

Coalescing is the method that uses gravity and low flow rates to let water droplets drop out of your fuel and collect at the bottom of the fuel filter.

Stripping uses a silicone-treated medium in the filter that limits the flow of water through it, while allowing free fuel flow through the filter and onto the injectors.

By using fuel filtration wisely on fuel tanks or any type of equipment and understanding the principles of filtration and how it removes water you will be able to prevent water in your fuel and equipment.

We can install pre-filtration to suit your needs after we clean your tank and your fuel.

Call or email to speak to a Fuel Tech today.

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Why should I clean my tanks and my fuel? We never did that 20 years ago!

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I often hear building property managers, engineers, mechanics, and others who manage fuel and have been involved with fuel storage over many years ask this question. Why do we need to fuel polish and clean tanks? We never did that 20 years ago!

There are many reasons and I will try to cover a few of the reasons we need to fuel polish and clean tanks today.

1. Contained Tanks – The fuel tanks today are double-walled and protect the environment from accidental spills of oil, gasoline and diesel fuels. If the inner tank fails the outer tank catches the product before it goes into the environment. 20 years ago single-walled tanks were common and a single-walled tank had a spigot or valve at the bottom of the tank to let the water, sludge, algae in diesel and bacteria collected on the bottom run out of the tank. Environmentally that wasn’t safe because if you forgot to close the lever all the fuel in the tank would run into the ground creating a spill. It was also a weak point in the tank.

Today the only way to access the tank to fuel polish and remove the water, algae in diesel, bacteria and sludge is to access the tank bottom from the top of the tank. This requires specialized equipment to clean fuel and that’s where a fuel polishing company like Fueltration Inc. comes in. We can take the contamination out of the tank and clean the fuel removing the algae in diesel, water and bacteria before it gets into your equipment.

2. Sulphur – Today in the interest of reducing pollution our diesel fuels are low in sulphur making them susceptible to bacteria, algae in diesel and other organisms. Bacteria, algae in diesel and fungi thrive in the low sulphur environment. There is more contamination with the sulphur removed as the bacteria create a friendly environment by darkening the fuel, causing more condensation and therefore more water to be removed.

3. Ethanol – Ethanol was introduced to lower emissions in gasoline. Billed as clean fuel one drawback to Ethanol is that it attracts water.  When you have water you have the chemicals ( that the refineries put in the gasoline) dropping out of the fuel and running around the bottom of the tank like a big black blob. This can foul filters. There is also a fungus in fuel today that wasn’t there 20 years ago. Fuel polishing is necessary to remove all of these new contaminants.

4. Bio Fuels – Biofuels are very attractive to living organisms like bacteria and algae in diesel. Biofuels are friendly to the environment and are a food source for bacteria. Add water and you have the makings of a healthy colony of algae in diesel and bacteria.

Call Today for a FREE Sampling of your tank and fuel.

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