Diesel Fuel Contamination

Diesel fuel can become contaminated at every point in the supply chain. From the Refinery to your equipment there is always risk of contaminating your diesel. Diesel fuel contamination can be minor or it can bring your engine to complete stop.

With our cutting edge Fuel Analysis Program we can also help you troubleshoot operational issues so you aren’t guessing on which parts to replace.

Below we go through some common issues we have encountered that cause filter plugging.

1. Incorrect additive dose rate from refinery or distributor

2. Fuel Additive interaction

3. Bacterial growth

4. Engine oil

5. DEF

6. Particulate

Each of these can be tested for and by identifying what is plugging your filter you can start the process to fix the damage.

Testing

Fuel contamination is very difficult to diagnose by traditional fuel testing. Fuel that meets ASTM D975 specification for diesel fuel can plug a filter. Most fuel specifications out there have not kept up with the new high pressure common rail engines that require ultra high quality fuel. Thankfully the fuel filters have and that’s why they plug is because they are protecting your injectors for the contaminated fuel. This plugged fuel filter can give us insight into what is causing the plugging.

Analysis

This analysis is mainly designed for large fleets that have their own bulk tanks. It is not designed for personal vehicles that fill up at a gas station because its very difficult to diagnose issues when you have fuel from multiple service stations. Most customers who utilize this service have at least a 1,000 gallon bulk tank and are using high pressure common rail engines.

To diagnose a fuel filter plugging issue we need the following.

• 1 Quart of Diesel Fuel from the tank

• Fuel filter from engine

Cost

Our fuel and filter residue analysis starts at $1,750.00 and can go up from there.

What to expect

It can be difficult to pin point and exact additive or contaminant but we can give a broad sense of what’s plugging the fuel filter (IE Additive, Dirt, Sawdust, Insects etc).

If its a physical contaminant a lot of times its easy to resolve with breathers and better maintenance. If it is an additive plugging the filter it can be difficult to resolve because of the vast supply chain levels.

Timeframe

This process typically takes at least a month and sometimes can take longer to track down the problem.

If you are interested in getting started in the process please contact us today.