DIY Fuel Analysis

[Wotname]

I came across this gem when casually reading an older Yanmar engine manual (YSM). I had never seen it before and thought it might be of benefit to some readers of CF.

Chapter 13, para 1-1.4 Simple Methods of Identifying Fuel Properties.

1. Fuel that is extremely odorous and smokey contains a large amount of volatile components and impurities.
2. Fuel that emits little smoke when used in a lamp is of good quality.
3. Fuel that emits a crackling sound when soaked in paper and ignited contains a high water content.
4. If a transparent film of diesel is squeezed between two pieces of glass, the water content and impurities can be determined.
5. If the fuel contains resin or carbon black particles and impurities will appear when fuel and sulphuric acid are mixed in equal parts.
6. Discolouration of litmus test paper indicates the presence of acids.

It seems to me that Parts 3 and 6 are good things to know and although this was written 40+ years ago, it may still be relevant, especially when sourcing diesel in remote areas!

[Jim Cate]

Good stuff, Wottie! Seems that Yanmar was more in tune with cruiser-type users back then. Their marketing folks would have a fit if they published that sort of thing nowadays.

(Hope the wx improves down there!)

Jim

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Wotname

I came across this gem when casually reading an older Yanmar engine manual (YSM). I had never seen it before and thought it might be of benefit to some readers of CF.

Chapter 13, para 1-1.4 Simple Methods of Identifying Fuel Properties.

1. Fuel that is extremely odorous and smokey contains a large amount of volatile components and impurities.
2. Fuel that emits little smoke when used in a lamp is of good quality.
3. Fuel that emits a crackling sound when soaked in paper and ignited contains a high water content.
4. If a transparent film of diesel is squeezed between two pieces of glass, the water content and impurities can be determined.
5. If the fuel contains resin or carbon black particles and impurities will appear when fuel and sulfuric acid are mixed in equal parts.
6. Discoloration of litmus test paper indicates the presence of acids.

It seems to me that Parts 3 and 6 are good things to know and although this was written 40+ years ago, it may still be relevant, especially when sourcing diesel in remote areas!

After many decades in the fuel testing business, a few thoughts.


3. It would need to be quite high, probably about 5% for this to be obvious.
4. The appearance of what look like really tiny bubbles that don't pop when dripped on the side of a glass bottle is a good indicator (the bubbles are water drops).
5. Low pH (less than 5) often indicates bacterial contamination.That's where the acid is coming from.


Also clarity; you should be able to read a paper through the bottle.


I like this sort of rules of thumb. Often such simple visual clues square well with results, with practice.

[a64pilot]

How about if it don’t look and smell right, it’s not likely right

When I bought our Boat we had a Pro Capt come along as I had never sat foot on a sailboat before, but I did have enough sense to bring along a few cans of extra fuel.
Well when I started pouring it in, he had a fit, got real anxious, kept saying it wasn’t Diesel.
Just didn’t understand that on road Diesel wasn’t red, only off road, tax free Diesel is red.
I don’t think he ever did believe me.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

How about if it don’t look and smell right, it’s not likely right

When I bought our Boat we had a Pro Capt come along as I had never sat foot on a sailboat before, but I did have enough sense to bring along a few cans of extra fuel.
Well when I started pouring it in, he had a fit, got real anxious, kept saying it wasn’t Diesel.
Just didn’t understand that on road Diesel wasn’t red, only off road, tax free Diesel is red.
I don’t think he ever did believe me.

i had a "pro" captain do that with our dinghy fuel after i told him it did not smell like petrol.......and no outboards will not run on kerosene and petrol mix

[model 10]

There is something like this for oil filter analysis. You can ID the different materials with some simple tests. Iron and steel are picked up by a magnet, bearing material melts with the tip of a solder gun, copper/bronze from bearings looks like copper. Steel shavings are from gears, flecks are from bearing surfaces. Rust looks like rust and is magnetic. You can ID just about everything you find in an oil filter.

[Helia 44]

Hello Friends, here is an update to the Lubricity issue if you are using Ultra Low Sulpher Diesel. ( There is a major problem: Lack of lubrication for injection systems and top end of engine.)

Fuel injection pumps are showing too much wear. Keep in mind our ULSD in Australia is even "Drier" with less Sulpher in PPM at 11 PPM. Sulphur is the Lubricant, and the old diesel was around 500 PPM Sulphur and gold coloured. It is now clear as water and only 11 PPM Exclamation If you love your motor better research the Lubricant additives range... Idea

Take it seriously, and I would use an additive as there is good evidence our ULSD is lacking in proper Lubricity (lubrication ability).
Further, I got interested because of my experience and I offer my personal evidence with fuel injection pumps and injectors just not going the hours they should have.

You can Google is as there is Lab testing of the top most common Diesel Lubricant additives... The only Independent Lab Testing I have ever seen of the top 20... The Green Band is all lubricity added in the test, white is a non event and the red band actually hurt the lubricity of the fuel... In the U.S. Standyne is a standard people use, and the report shows it tested neutral, as in no advantage.

CONCLUSIONS:
Products 1 through 4 were able to improve the fuel to an HFRR score of 460 or better. This meets the most strict requirements requested by the Engine Manufacturers Association.
Products 1 through 9 were able to improve the fuel to an HFRR score of 520 or better, meeting the U.S. diesel fuel requirements for maximum wear scar in a commercially available diesel fuel.
Products 16 through 19 were found to cause the fuel/additive blend to perform worse than the baseline fuel. The cause for this is speculative. This is not unprecedented in HFRR testing and can be caused by alcohol or other components in the additives.
Amsoil Diesel Concentrate is number 9. I have used it, expensive but I think it does work..

TC-W3 the Synthetic Outboard Motor oil, is number 7 at 200:1 ratio HOWEVER, IT CANNOT BE USED IN DPF SYSTEMS like in autos and trucks, ONLY OLDER STYLE DIESELS like our Marine Diesels. It will plug up the DPF, so no good.... This TC-W3 is cheap, full synthetic, and readily available, I have run it for about 10 years and it seems to slow wear down to near nil. It is the sole lubricant in high horsepower 2-stroke racing engines, and it works very well in diesels..

Now there is a new Player available widely in Australia: I have seen a Caltex report on the HFRR testing on "Fuel Doctor", and the wear test came in with a score of 301. That would put it in the top 4 for least wear on the fuel injection system at around the 250:1 range. I have been using in all of my trucks for about two years now. It is supposed to actually aid in the DPF cleaning, and most of all beside the normal sludge and algae it kills off, it puts some added lubricity (lubrication) back into the diesel. I am currently continuing to use this additive, and might suggest that it is a bit of added insurance if you wanted to keep your tow vehicle long term. It not only will keep your tank and system clean, but it also adds some sorely needed lubrication to the common rail diesels.

Research the additives, you can double the life of your diesel and keep the tank clean. I use TC-W3 at a ration of 200-250 to one, and about 8 ml of Fuel Doctor per gallon, (2 ml per litre) The squeeze measure is on the side of the Fuel Doctor litre bottles if you can get here in Oz.

Helia 44, now on a Saba 50....

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by thinwater

After many decades in the fuel testing business, a few thoughts.


3. It would need to be quite high, probably about 5% for this to be obvious.
4. The appearance of what look like really tiny bubbles that don't pop when dripped on the side of a glass bottle is a good indicator (the bubbles are water drops).
5. Low pH (less than 5) often indicates bacterial contamination.That's where the acid is coming from.


Also clarity; you should be able to read a paper through the bottle.


I like this sort of rules of thumb. Often such simple visual clues square well with results, with practice.

I did wonder what the word "high" might mean in practice, thanks for this input - as well as your other points.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Helia 44

............
Now there is a new Player available widely in Australia: I have seen a Caltex report on the HFRR testing on "Fuel Doctor", and the wear test came in with a score of 301. That would put it in the top 4 for least wear on the fuel injection system at around the 250:1 range. I have been using in all of my trucks for about two years now. It is supposed to actually aid in the DPF cleaning, and most of all beside the normal sludge and algae it kills off, it puts some added lubricity (lubrication) back into the diesel. I am currently continuing to use this additive, and might suggest that it is a bit of added insurance if you wanted to keep your tow vehicle long term. It not only will keep your tank and system clean, but it also adds some sorely needed lubrication to the common rail diesels.
................

AFAIK, Fuel Doctor was formulated by a couple of private blokes (fuel chemists?) in Sydney and had such a strong following that Caltex got interested. After much testing, they bought the company and kept the same formula.

Thanks also for your other thoughts!

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Good stuff, Wottie! Seems that Yanmar was more in tune with cruiser-type users back then. Their marketing folks would have a fit if they published that sort of thing nowadays.

(Hope the wx improves down there!)

Jim

Getting a couple of fine days right now

[a64pilot]

Although it has other qualities that may make it not so good for Marine use, BioDiesel is quite good lubricity wise.