Algae X

[sunchaser]

Does the Algae X fuel treatment system do anything for diesel fuel as claimed? IF so, is there a reputable web site or periodical that has done the evaluations one could peruse?

 

[bayview]

IMO the only function of these devices is separating the owner from his money.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

What Bruce said.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s9/lg-x-400-algae-x-magnetic-fuel-conditioner-3-8-port-22953.html

 

[Marlinmike]

I could kinda see how a very strong magnetic field could maybe break down certain components in diesel fuel, but not sure if that is really possible with static type magnets in the unit as sold.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Their claim used to be that the magnetic field would break apart the cells of the bacteria and kill it.

 

[boatpoker]

First of all there can be no such thing as algae living in diesel fuel, it's simply impossible. That the manufacturer does not know the difference between algae and the bacteria that may live at the diesel water interface is your first clue.

The only way these devices could kill bacteria is if you bashed each individual microbe in the head with the damn thing. Of course whether bacterial microbes actually have heads is a matter for another forum

 

[psneeld]

First of all there can be no such thing as algae living in diesel fuel, it's simply impossible. That the manufacturer does not know the difference between algae and the bacteria that may live at the diesel water interface is your first clue.

The only way these devices could kill bacteria is if you bashed each individual microbe in the head with the damn thing. Of course whether bacterial microbes actually have heads is a matter for another forum

Pretty harsh there...since keeping one in my breast pocket of my shirt I haven't had a cold in years....

 

[boatpoker]

Hey Psneeld .... spent last week at the Blue Rose Inn, Cape May. I am a huge fan of your home waters and will be passing through there end of next summer on the way south.

 

[psneeld]

Hey Psneeld .... spent last week at the Blue Rose Inn, Cape May. I am a huge fan of your home waters and will be passing through there end of next summer on the way south.

Be in Avalon, about 13 miles north again next summer...give a shout.

 

[oscar]

The only way these devices could kill bacteria is if you bashed each individual microbe in the head with the damn thing. Of course whether bacterial microbes actually have heads is a matter for another forum

OK, you got the laugh of the day award.

 

[Tom.B]

A group trying to prove they were a legit product, added a bunch of Algae-X units to the fleet on Coast Guard boats in NC. After a couple of years (?) of use, a friend of mine in the tank cleaning business here in Beaufort, NC asked the guy in charge of the fleet if it worked. I believe he quoted him saying something like, "Let me strap a magnet to your head and see if you get any smarter." Since then, I lost what little glimmer of hope that I had they did anything at all.

 

[Delfin]

Does the Algae X fuel treatment system do anything for diesel fuel as claimed? IF so, is there a reputable web site or periodical that has done the evaluations one could peruse?

Tom, on a 36' cutter we sailed for 20 years we were powered by a Sabb diesel that had no fuel return to the tank, just what the engine burned. After 10 years or so the Racor showed a lot of black body contamination. I installed a De-bug unit based on the same principal as the Algae X, and the system was cleaned up after a couple of tanks burned. That is purely anecdotal evidence I know, but that is why I installed the same units on Delfin. To date, and dealing with a couple thousand gallons of fuel that takes at least a year or two to burn, zero contamination. I never use a biocide, so again, just anecdotal experience but consistent with my experience on my sailboat.

 

[Marin]

I was told years ago by acquaintances in the auto industry in the UK that while the magnetic aspect of Algae-X is a total fantasy designed to sucker in buyers the filter the units can incorporate are actually quite good. Their point was that if one has a machine with an Algae-X unit with the filter on it it's not a total waste as the filter is worthwhile.

 

[boatpoker]

So why not buy a few donut magnets and pass your fuel line through them.
a helluva lot cheaper than $500 for a magnet in a cheap metal cyclinder.
You might also want to pass your fuel line through a Q-ray ionized copper wellness bracelet while your at it ...... your fuel will never again suffer from depression or anxiety

 

[oscar]

You might also want to pass your fuel line through a Q-ray ionized copper wellness bracelet while your at it ...... your fuel will never again suffer from depression or anxiety

If it only was that easy.....

 

[Capt.Bill11]

I looked at it this wsy, if the cells in your body don't blow apart in a MRI machine, then these puny magnets aren't likely to have any effect on the cell walks of a bacteria.

 

[Delfin]

So, just to summarize...one party who has actually used the product and found it efficacious, and a majority who have not used the product who have concluded it not to be efficacious.

Very, uh, illuminating.

 

[Capn Craig]

Delfin,

There you go, summed up perfectly the conclusions of this thread.



As for me, I believe if these were all that good John Deere would install them as standard equipment on every new half million dollar combine. Think of the warranty savings.

 

[CaptTPT]

Magnets cure cancer, reduce hypertension, eliminate Diabetes, and keep demons away! Why not a few bacteria?

 

[Liberty2015]

We have these units on Liberty and the Original owner had them installed from new and did over 40,000 nautical miles with them and swears by them. He found that he went very long periods without having to do the racers. I don't know whether they work or not but , I still have the same success , so I am keeping them. :::

Cheers Chris D Liberty Australia

 

[Marin]

Unfortunately I no longer have the magazine but I base my evaluation and opinion of the Algae-X on an extensive set of tests that were conducted in the UK, the results of which were written up in Land Rover Magazine to which I was a subscriber at the time. The tests were conducted on three types of fuel: gasoline, diesel, and Jet-A. This was long before we acquired our first cruising boat. Algae-X heavily promoted itself in automotive magazines at the time, hence my awareness of the product.

These were not anectotal experience tests but lab tests. The conclusion, supported by the lab test results, was that the magnetic aspect of the Algae-X is totally non-existent. The magnetic influence had zero effect on the fuel or anything in the fuel including bacteria and other organic substances.

I do not find the comments on this thread about having clean fuel filters over long periods of time to be particularly remarkable. We have gone as long as three years between changing the filter elements of the Racor 500s in our fuel system and regardless of the time interval the elements coming out look exactly like the elements going in other than the dark color of the old ones from the dye in the fuel.

I attribute this to the good quslity of the fuel sold at our harbor's fuel dock, the high turnover of the fuel in the dealer's tanks due to it being the only fuel dock in our 2,000-boat harbor, the design of the tanks in our boat that does not permit any fuel to remain in an empty tank and our fuel management scheme. From what I hear from other boating friends and acquaintences in the area our experience is the norm, not the exception.

One comment in the conclusion of the magazine article about the Algae-X tests was that if one has puchased and installed an Algae-X on their vehicle (or in this thread, boat), while there is absolutely no benefit there is no way it can hurt anything, either. As far as the fuel going to one's engine is concerned, the Algae-X isn't even there.

So other than the money spent there is no potential downside to installing one if one has become persuaded by the manufacturer's claims that the magnetic properties have a beneficial effect.

 

[FF]

"We have gone as long as three years between changing the filter elements of the Racor 500s in our fuel system and regardless of the time interval the elements coming out look exactly like the elements going in other than the dark color of the old ones from the dye in the fuel."

Yes but,,, if any bio fuel was taken aboard the glycerin in the fuel reduces the filters water catching ability , which would not be visible to inspection.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

So, just to summarize...one party who has actually used the product and found it efficacious, and a majority who have not used the product who have concluded it not to be efficacious.

Very, uh, illuminating.

Not exactly, I had De-Bugs on a boat back in the day. Can't say I could see where they were doing anything.

And is it any surprise that once someone has spent their money, bought them and installed them they then think they are working? Even with no quantifiable evidence that they do work. And even when there is strong evidence to the contrary.

 

[Autoteacher]

I know of no major manufacturer that requires, installs or recommends the use of Algae X, Sea Foam, Marvel Mystery Oil or any of the thousands of magic, pseudo science, one off inventions, or latest development that the manufacturer or Big Oil does not want you to know about. disclaimer: All this is my humble opinion of course, So my flame suit is on. There may be some that recommend stuff my ignorance does not know. In that case share please. But do it with facts please.
After 48+ years of smelling diesel, inhaling gas fumes, washing my eyes with brake fluid and seeing all sorts of these and other devices, elixirs, snake oil and actual manufacture recommended stuff. Most are added to correct a problem unsolved. 50 years ago GM sold a top oil that everyone got poured in the carb of the Buick, Cad or Chev for a valve cleaner. If you drove fast enough you never needed it. It looked, smelled and acted like MMO, or ATF depending on who you asked. The place I worked at would use ATF& H2O if we ran out of Top Oil. A few years ago I had pleasure of crewing on a 48 Hat fishing boat. It had twin Cats and Algae x on both engines. They stopped up one day 50 miles out. I took them apart. Full of tiny ferrous metal shavings. They had never been opened since install in late 70s. The Racors on the engines were always normal dirty or clean at regular change intervals. That boat burned a lot of fuel and went WOT on return trip always. Back at the dock we cleaned everything during a custom fuel polish. The Alga X was an open channel around a magnet with no filter on or in the unit. The owner had never opened them since purchase in late 80s. I would recommend that anyone contemplating one of these invest in a dual set of Racors or fuel polishing system instead. Buying clean fuel is the way to go but you may have no control (and I could tell you why most all fuel is dirty). Starting with a clean tank is another Must! Any time a customer wanted to add something to the engine of their car truck or boat I gave them my opinion and stepped back, I never interfere with another Man's religion. You like a particular brand of filter? Go for it. I can cut your filter and the better filters open and show you where the one I have is better. A person has done this already online and posted results of a scientific study. Few refuse to change because that's the filter Dad used! Good clean diesel is the best thing for your engine, burn it regularly and often. Most of us will never live long enough to wear out a well maintained diesel. Hope this helps!

 

[psneeld]

One thing to tout a product that works for you that there is some science behind it...another to think something is working for them but can't prove one way or another why their routine/product works.


Marin's point of internal filtration with Algae-X without the hoopla has merit...I can't say for sure because from the very beginning, all the science I read said magnets and bacteria in fuel probably won't do a thing...and I did say probably.


What I can say is that people who tout certain additives for fuel or oil that have no issues fall into the same category as people given a placebo in a blind test. While they have no problems....nothing substantiates their actual results.


The absolute verification of this to me is towing. I don't tow people who use nothing in their fuel, and those that use additives. I do tow people who do and don't use additives. Probably the bottom line is something else instead of the additive. So if you use one and believe in it...great....but the guy who jst filled up before or after you didn't and enjoyed boating without a tow just as much.

 

[boatpoker]

I have a friend, she is an an otherwise intelligent professor at a major university. Curiously she believes in voodoo and practices that "art ?". Her belief does not make it so.

 

[Portuguese]

...There you go! Believes are not based in Scientific research, other wise, the world would not have to worry about highly educated bomb men coming from extremist organizations.

 

[koliver]

A friend of mine, owner of a marine supply store at the time, was having a lot of trouble with his fuel system, so put in Algae-X. That was some 20 yrs ago. Since doing so he had his tanks "polished" and has tried other chemical additives. He has now sold the boat. Despite his struggles to get clean fuel to the engine, he never succeeded. For various reasons, his annual hours on the engine never amounted to much.
By contrast, in the same time frame, I have consistently put 150 hr a year on mine. The last time I changed filters in the Racor 500 primaries, my log told me it had been 4 years. At the same time, I changed secondaries, and my log told me it had been 12 years. I didn't buy the Algae-X.
Also, in the same time period, US EPA rules for fuel have mandated Low Sulphur diesel, so the quality of filtering before the fuel gets to the fuel barge has improved significantly. Add to that, in Vancouver we have lost 4 of the 5 fuel barges that lined the shore of Stanley park, so the Chevron barge now supplies most of the commercial craft in the city. Seaspan alone pumps millions of litres of diesel through that one barge annually, so there is no danger of fuel stagnating.
To find any effect of Algae-X in this environment without rigorous scientific testing would be impossible. OTOH, the quality of fuel has improved so much since A-X was introduced that its need has disappeared completely.

 

[Tom.B]

So, just to summarize...one party who has actually used the product and found it efficacious, and a majority who have not used the product who have concluded it not to be efficacious.

Very, uh, illuminating.

Not really... I had one on our previous boat and saw no measurable increase in fuel filter clogging when I removed it. I just neglected to mention it in my first post.

That said... These things have been around long enough that there should be SOMEONE that has done some kind of published study about their real effectiveness. Maybe I missed a link in a previous post. Still, I am in the camp that if they were really worth the savings, manufactures would be lining up to install them on their machinery. But that too, is not very scientific either.

 

[Capt Kangeroo]

I have these on my boat as well courtesy of the last owner. The question is not whether they work, it is how well they work and in our application I'm afraid to say, not well at all. Having spent a lifetime in the field of Microbiological and Biomedical Sciences, I can safely say in a generalized context that magnetic fields "can" kill microorganisms, or more specifically bacteria as is the use in this particular application. The trouble is that the survival rate directly correlates to the species of bacteria as well as the frequency and intensity of the magnetic field. Magnetic sterilization or reduction of microbial life while used in various commercial applications under highly controlled conditions, such as food processors, is still not well understood and is largely ineffectual compared to other methods. Bottom line is yes, magnetic fields can kill/reduce bacteria but in our application the effect, if any at all, would not justify the expense.

If you could run the fuel through constantly as in polishing, and you could identify what you wanted to kill and adjust the magnetic frequency and intensity accordingly, it could perhaps accomplish something measurable but filtering and a biocide would still be more effective and less costly.