Fuel additives?

Bobdown · Guru

Fuel additives?

blaze · Guru

stop reading scary stuff, regular services (filter changes)and try to fill up at regular well used fuel supply places
cheers
blaze

Bow · Veteran Member

blaze wrote:
stop reading scary stuff, regular services (filter changes)and try to fill up at regular well used fuel supply places
cheers
blaze

I had a $19,600 repair bill fo a 200 series LC, paid for by the insurance company.

dabbler · Guru

I use Fuel Doctor every fill plus dose my jerry can. It's both an algacide and a water dispersant. The cost per fill is minimal. Fuel can be contaminated very easily and events do occur. Fit a secondary fuel filter too.

Phillipn · Guru

Yes, they do work. I have been using fuel diesel additives for over 30 years in 4 X4`s, tractors and headers. Pro-Ma diesel treatment is added @ 1 Ml to the liter to diesel.

Also use petrol treatment in cars, mowers and 2 stroke motors@ 20 Ml to 25 liters.

Additives keep injectors clean and gives a better fuel burn and breaks down water particles. Spark plugs are kept clean in petrol motors.

Fuel treatments are used at every fill.

-- Edited by Phillipn on Tuesday 2nd of April 2019 03:00:04 PM

daffyfrancis · Senior Member

I have used Wynns EDT diesel additive in our yachts 3cyl Yanmar for 21 years, it still has its original fuel filter & touch wood still runs perfectly, has had no repairs & only change oil & oil filter twice a year. Based on that I have also used it our Mercedes Sprinter Campervan for our 6 years of ownership - $38 to treat approx 750 lts
David

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Depends what additive ?I required?? For example our injection pump has a vision
sensor . It often cloudes up . After a treatment it comes good . These additives help in vehicles that maybe not driven for a few months . My recent fuel filter change was full of algae. Looks like carpet. The sheets in filter were full of it . There was a little water at the bottom of water separator. After use or few new tanks fills after some additive . Mind you it stopped at filter . It grows in tank .

Knight · Senior Member

I have a secondary diesel fuel filter installed in my Isuzu MU-X and I use Flashlube diesel conditioner regularly, one bottle for about 5 tanks of diesel.

There is a very slight improvement in fuel economy. I used Flashlube for many years with LPG systems.

Radar · Guru

Bobdown wrote:
Does anybody know whether they do any good or not?
I'm mainly concerned about water in diesel, I have a LC 200 series and although the fuel filter is quite good, I've read all the scary stuff in the magazines about injectors and moisture.
1. Do they work?
2. What is the best brand?
3. How often do you use them?
Thanks for any advice..........Bob

Bob hi, no I am not a user.

Answering your questions, have no real idea, read the propaganda on this subject you would be shy about taking the car out of the garage with out any of these products.

1 only for you if you don't have an event in a life time of use.

2 use the product with brightest add.

3 must use all the time to be fair.

My thoughts only after 54 years of owning cars, trucks, lawn mowers and a boat.

Whenarewethere · Guru

I have never used fuel additives & have had my previous 2 cars each for 18 years & each for 250k km. The last car I used 91 for the first half of its life. After extensive test with 98 I found 98 to be a whisker more economical than 91, longer range. The other benefit was there was no more fuel filter problems over the second half of the car's life. Also never had any idle issues when cold first thing in the morning.

Do a 10 tank run in one go with 98 compared with 10 tanks of 91 & try to drive consistently as best as possible throughout the test to get a reasonable comparison.

erad · Guru

I use CEM (Cost Effective Maintenance) fuel enhancer and FTC decarboniser. I have noticed a slight increase in economy, although I guess far from recovering the cost of the additives. However, one additive they must insert is the placebo additive. I reckon my Pajero diesel runs smoother and certainly much quieter. They also claim anti-wear, anti fouling properties etc as well, and this is the main reason I use them, but I am sure that the car runs better when I use the additives, so it must be the placebo they add. Incidentally, I don't think I get any more power from the car - it is just smoother and quieter.

-- Edited by erad on Wednesday 3rd of April 2019 10:53:44 AM

Stretch60 · Senior Member

Fuel Doctor or F10 for Diesels, I would rather lube my injectors than replace them and getting rid of water.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

G'day Bob,

Once a month I put the a measured amount of 'Flash Lube' Diesel Conditioner in the tank. The Collie seems to run smoother with it added too.

I also had a 'Fuel Manager' 100 series, filter fitted as a 'pre' filter. Just in case.

I get it and the Collie filter drained every service that I do at 10,000km not the listed 15,000km. Just had it all done last Friday along with new tyres fitted. Niiiice!

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

T1 Terry · Guru

We have just coped a bill for a bit over $3,000 to do the injectors and fuel pump for the Hino. It has a massive 135,000km on the clock. Would fuel additive avoided this, who knows, but I'll be running Pro-Mar diesel treatment from here on to avoid a repeat shock.
The symptoms, black smoke at lower engine speeds and as we left Perth, no power above 80km/h in top gear, change back a gear only made it slower. I sure don't want to repeat a trip like that either.
A word of warning, do not use fuel treatment designed for petrol engines in a diesel engine. The petrol treatment is designed to absorb any water and carry it through to the combustion chamber where it is boiled off as part of the combustion cycle. Diesel treatment is designed to separate the water from the diesel so it can be drained from the tank and filters. If the water goes through to direct injection type injectors, it will separate back out of the fuel, boil and blow the tip off GM type injectors or tear groves in the pintle of those type injectors.
The algae growth as well as waxing are very real diesel fuel problems, not some sort of make believe event and are most common in tanks that were filled during very hot weather and not used until the weather turned cold. The problem is not only water being absorbed into the fuel, but the actual make up of the fuel is different for high ambient temperatures than low ambient temperatures where additives reduce the waxing problems.

T1 Terry

Phillipn · Guru

T1 Terry wrote:
We have just coped a bill for a bit over $3,000 to do the injectors and fuel pump for the Hino. It has a massive 135,000km on the clock. Would fuel additive avoided this, who knows, but I'll be running Pro-Mar diesel treatment from here on to avoid a repeat shock.
The symptoms, black smoke at lower engine speeds and as we left Perth, no power above 80km/h in top gear, change back a gear only made it slower. I sure don't want to repeat a trip like that either.
A word of warning, do not use fuel treatment designed for petrol engines in a diesel engine. The petrol treatment is designed to absorb any water and carry it through to the combustion chamber where it is boiled off as part of the combustion cycle. Diesel treatment is designed to separate the water from the diesel so it can be drained from the tank and filters. If the water goes through to direct injection type injectors, it will separate back out of the fuel, boil and blow the tip off GM type injectors or tear groves in the pintle of those type injectors.
The algae growth as well as waxing are very real diesel fuel problems, not some sort of make believe event and are most common in tanks that were filled during very hot weather and not used until the weather turned cold. The problem is not only water being absorbed into the fuel, but the actual make up of the fuel is different for high ambient temperatures than low ambient temperatures where additives reduce the waxing problems.

T1 Terry

TERRY, I agree with your comments except for your comment regarding diesel treatment separating water from diesel. When I first found out about Pro-Ma products I was shown a demonstration with diesel. Diesel was placed in a tapered glass vessel and was let settle for a while to allow the water to settle in the bottom. Diesel treatment was added and mixed in. Diesel treatment breaks down the water particles and mixes with diesel and is burnt off with the diesel. The demo was performed by a person from Pro-Ma on the Gold Coast.

Read the section on water control.

Diesel Treatment.jpg

-- Edited by Phillipn on Thursday 4th of April 2019 04:32:57 PM

Radar · Guru

Back in the very early eighties I experienced problems starting my Volvo prime mover in the mornings ready to start work at 7 am in Albury. When I spoke with a industrial chemist about my problem he thoughts were to put a litre of methylated spirits in each tank of 300 litres each time I fueled on the run I was doing at the time. Not once did I have starting problems every again.

That was 2 litres of methylated spirits to 600 litres of diesel fuel.

explanation methylated spirits breaks water down, breaks congealing in diesel fuel down. I did this for about 200 trips between Sydney and Albury.

-- Edited by Radar on Friday 5th of April 2019 03:00:56 AM

Phillipn · Guru

Radar wrote:
Back in the very early eighties I experienced problems starting my Volvo prime mover in the mornings ready to start work 7 am. When I spoke with a industrial chemist about my problem he thoughts were to put a litre of merto in each tank of 300 litres every time I fueled on the run I was doing at the time. Not once did I have starting problems every again.
That was 2 litres of mertho to 600 litres of diesel fuel.
explanation mertho breaks water down, breaks congealing in fuel down. I did this for about 200 trips between Sydney and Albury.

It also strips the upper cylinder lubricant out causing wear.

oldbloke · Guru

Whats Mertho?

-- Edited by oldbloke on Thursday 4th of April 2019 10:51:34 PM

Radar · Guru

oldbloke wrote:
Whats Mertho?

-- Edited by oldbloke on Thursday 4th of April 2019 10:51:34 PM

Methylated spirits

Sorry about the confusion with the wrong spelling.

deverall11 · Guru

Mineral two stroke oil at the rate of 200:1 to 300:1

yobarr · Guru

deverall11 wrote:
Mineral two stroke oil at the rate of 200:1 to 300:1

Agreed.I use Castrol Activ 2 at 3ml/litre.(330:1 if you like)

swamp · Senior Member

hi
Passenger petrol and diesel only . If the car has regular manufacturers servicing schedule at min . This is good starting point .
Only doing 10,000km ---15,000kms per year I change diesel filter every year . Had trouble with doing 2-3 yrs in the Tojam B4.

Injector wear canbe put down to poor filtering but also poor quality injector tips . The D4D 3.0ltr Lux had different injectors around every 2 years 05 thru 016 . The set I have currently are diamond tipped to resist wear.

Always used the same group of fuel stations Ford Ranger PJ 70,00kms 300kms to the tank . Had pump and injectors tested . Injectors replaced .

If a vehicles sits around and does little mileage fuel additive is a good idea .

Injector cleaners in a workshop are far more powerful than retail cleaners .

Baz421 · Guru

For petrol engines I think I have used additives well,,, Old 3L Pajero 260,000 km,,, a bit sluggish twice in its life (1 was dirty fuel at Katherine),, freind had fuel injection business,, used his product from 44 gal drum.

Fixed problem.

Diesel,,,,, I'm not a big advocate over the years,,, however I think Toyota used it a couple of times when I serviced it. (Don't use Toyota now).

My 2 cents worth.

Brenda and Alan · Guru

I think the whole lot of you are just wasting money.

It is your money so go for it.

Alan

Noelpolar · Veteran Member

I strongly recommend keeping the receipt from your last fill up... just in case.

Noelpolar · Veteran Member

There are two different approaches to handling water in diesels.... one is to make it easier to pass through the motor..... the other is to make it easier for the water seperator to remove it.... quite different.... treatments use one or the other approch.

Craig1 · Guru

Most newer diesels are common rail, high pressure injection with fine to very fine tolerance. water is apparently the enemy, so dont dissolve it into fuel, it is still there. Pre filter seems to be the most popular way, as Chief toomany feathers. Also least likely to cause any warranty issues. As Noel , keep your receipts.

Phillipn · Guru

Craig1 wrote:
Most newer diesels are common rail, high pressure injection with fine to very fine tolerance. water is apparently the enemy, so dont dissolve it into fuel, it is still there. Pre filter seems to be the most popular way, as Chief toomany feathers. Also least likely to cause any warranty issues. As Noel , keep your receipts.

I had service on my BT50 in north Qld a few years ago. When I read the items on the account they had put in a diesel fuel additive.

I asked why was it added, their answer was that their was a problem with water in fuel in the north. I give them a serve as I had Pro-Ma diesel treatment in the fuel.

Jaahn · Guru

Hi smile

I am surprised that so many people say they use additives, but your money your choice. I do occasionally if I have a specific problem !

But to the water in fuel problem. Most people do not know that service station tanks and other vented tanks ALL HAVE WATER IN THE BOTTOM OF THEM. It is a normal fact of storing bulk fuel. If the fuel is pumped over a pipeline the various fuel types are seperated by water and 'pigs' to keep them from being mixed. When I was in a SS and we dipped the tanks every day we recorded the water volume as well as the fuel on the day sheets. As it got too high then they were pumped out occasionally. This is the management of a business, not leaving it to a casual on $5 an hour to look after. hmm

So the correct management is to keep the water well below the pump pickup and look out for other water ingress. But the water is always there in the bottom. It comes from the humidity in the air and the breathing of the tanks through the vents. A prefilter with a visual water trap is my preferred option for insurance or plus a warning too. And I keep the fuel dockets and record it in my log book. disbelief

Jaahn

Dick0 · Guru

I thought Caltex Vortex and BP Premium have the necessary additives in the fuel?