Hi,
I wonder if any of you exhibiting diesels are running them on EN590 Derv (road diesel) and if so have you actually suffered any degradation of the bio-content or actual problems with seals.
I ask because you chaps are the most likely to have been using white diesel afro several years and at the same time storing it for long periods. The inland boating community seems to be getting itself into a right tizzy over it so I am after real life experiences.
Many thanks
The boaty lot 'cause they are now having to use "white" instead of "red" diesel?
IMHO there is no difference between white or red diesel other than the different tracers, taxes and maybe the odd addative that a particular "brand" shoves into the same basic 35sec diesel fuel oil from the depot mass storage tanks when they load the delivery tankers.
There might be a difference between diesel now and few years ago in that I think they can no use up to 10% bio in diesel but the specification of fuels is pretty tight in relation to pH, viscosity, sulphur, water etc etc that I doubt that 10% bio makes any great difference. There are plenty of old diesel engine cars still driving about they get through far more fuel than a stationary engine on tickover at a demo a few times a year, thus far more likely to be sensistive to fuel that attacks seals etc.
I am afraid its the bio content where most of the problem may lie and even a large, international second line fuel blender/supplier has admitted problems in bulk tanks at Supermarkets. The major suppliers are also quoting worryingly short shelf lives for the bio content and it is that aspect I was hoping for help from this group. I accept you use hardly any fuel when compared with road vehicles but I also suspect that you tend to store it for far longer periods and it is experience of what actually happens to fuel six months or a year old that interests me.
At present all fuel suppliers are required to use at least 7% of bio across their range of road fuels but as bio-diesel is easier and cheaper to source than bio-ethanol it all gets loaded onto the diesel fuel so at present we must all assume a 7% bio content in the diesel. We will still be using red diesel but now it has to be low sulphur for off road use and the fuel companies have decided their interest is best served by supplying dyed EN590 B7 DERV rather than low sulphur gas oil. It is possible that many members of this group have been using gas oil so have not yet been supplied B7 diesel but I had hoped that ease or purchase would have lead a number to use DERV (white diesel) and its their experience that I had hoped to tap into.
Anyway, many thanks so far
Tony Brooks
I have a couple of small diesels which are only run very irregularly - the contents of the fuel tanks must be five or more years old. Still start and run ok (or did last time I tried), however the clear plastic fuel pipe on one did get very brittle to the extent that it split from end to end when disturbed to investigate a slight weep!
What is the bio component supposed to do over time? I've already resigned myself to the fact that I have to drain the whole fuel system of petrol engines before laying up for any length of time - I hope diesel is not going the same way.
NHH
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