Diesel Additives

[Woodland Hills]

When I stop adding the Technol to my fuel the motors smoke on start up. When I use it they don’t. That’s good enough for me.

 

[catalinajack]

Perhaps. But anyone having a common rail diesel ought to think twice about the lubricity of the fuel being used.

Countless hours on marine diesels on commercial boats and recreational boats that use commercial fuel suppliers would suggest otherwise.

 

[backinblue]

It seems like ValvTech diesel is worth searching out. I think I will try to use that exclusively going forward and maybe only use an additive if ValvTech is not convenient.

 

[MichaelD]

Syanadyne. Fuel stabilizer and lubricity treatment. I believe it also processes small amounts of water. But if you go through your diesel fairly quickly, you need nothing. Diesel has a lot of additives these days already.

Careful with Biobor. It kills critters which isn't always a good thing. Dead critters clog filters.

I have zero data to back up, but I'd guess a lot (majority?) of clogged filters are caused by asphaltines from old fuel, not algae. Additives like Stanadyne and Stabil will help. Biobor will not.

Peter

do you mean Stanadyne? I don't find diesel additives under the Synadyne name.

 

[mvweebles]

do you mean Stanadyne? I don't find diesel additives under the Synadyne name.

Yes Stanadyne. Similar to StaBil. Dang cell phone!

 

[MichaelD]

"dang"? I have much stronger language to throw at mine.��

 

[Xsbank]

You don't need any fuel additives.

Aircraft use stuff to prevent fuel icing (Prist, usually) as there are extreme temperatures and fuel heaters. All fuel has some water in it right from the refinery, which is a big deal in an airplane and pointless in a normally-used boat.

No engine ever crapped out because of a lack of a fuel additive. I never used STP and never had a catastrophic engine failure but I did wear out a couple.

 

[backinblue]

You don't need any fuel additives.

Aircraft use stuff to prevent fuel icing (Prist, usually) as there are extreme temperatures and fuel heaters. All fuel has some water in it right from the refinery, which is a big deal in an airplane and pointless in a normally-used boat.

No engine ever crapped out because of a lack of a fuel additive. I never used STP and never had a catastrophic engine failure but I did wear out a couple.

I tend to agree that you don't "need" and additives and you won't ruin your engine w/o them. However, that doesn't mean that they have absolutely zero benefits. There are some who have replied here with real world examples of benefits they have seen. I wouldn't dismiss them completely.

 

[Andosan]

I tend to agree that you don't "need" and additives and you won't ruin your engine w/o them. However, that doesn't mean that they have absolutely zero benefits. There are some who have replied here with real world examples of benefits they have seen. I wouldn't dismiss them completely.

With respect, no one has provided any tangible benefits or measurable benefits.

 

[backinblue]

When I stop adding the Technol to my fuel the motors smoke on start up. When I use it they don’t. That’s good enough for me.

There's this....

 

[backinblue]

I use Technol 403 in my fuel whenever I fill up. We burn about 2000 gallons a year traveling between the Bahamas, Florida and the Chesapeake Bay and New England. Without the additive I would get light smoke on startup, with the Technol there is no smoke. I have a pair of 12-71’s with over 5000 hours.

BTW, the most successful additive for my diesels is Restore oil treatment! Adding it to my oil changes has completely stopped the need to add oil between 100hr changes in both my generators. I’m so impressed that I added it to the mains last oil change. So far it has cut consumption to nearly zero in my high time Detroits. For the record I have a 12kw Northern Lights with a 3-cyl Kubota and a 20kw 4-cyl Onan, both with over 3500hrs.

And this....

 

[backinblue]

I started using Diesel Klean years ago to solve a soot problem after long high speed runs. It worked great at almost eliminating the soot (fuel was $1/gallon then, I now run at hull speed).
After further learning, I found that Diesel Klean also raised the cetane level. My early Yanmars specified 44 cetance, and always ran better after taking on fuel in the Bahamas, which uses 44 cetane diesel. The US standard is 40. Seems the rest of the world specifies 44 cetane.


Dan

Passport
Palm City, Fl

and this...

 

[Xsbank]

Wonderful. That research really should impress me but as it is all anecdotal, not so much - ("I used to run at high speed and got soot, now I use this additive and run at hull speed and no more soot." really?) - very convincing.

How many manufacturer's manuals suggest additives? I kinda think that is the final authority.

If Yanmars are sold with a 44 cetane rating in a 40 market, you live with the slight drop in power. My old P-car is spec'd for 93 octane and in most of the country you can only get 91. It runs fine but the butt-dyno says it likes 94 when I can get it. The manufacturer still specifically prohibits using additives.

I really don't care how you spend your money so go crazy. People got very rich selling STP and I'll bet there are enough who buy into Marvel Mystery oil too. Its very patriotic to buy snake oil, the economy loves it.


And fixing old P-cars helps too.

 

[backinblue]

But why settle for a drop in power if you could fix it with an additive. Again, I don't disagree that you will likely be fine without them, but I still believe they offer some benefits. Why does Valvtech go to the trouble of producing a premium diesel fuel if it did nothing? If you go to the FuelOx website, there are testimonials from commercial and recreational users that have seen quantified results. I was never a fan of STP or most other gasoline additives either. Spending a few dollars more when buying a hundred gallons of diesel or more is a drop in the bucket.

 

[Woodland Hills]

Wonderful. That research really should impress me but as it is all anecdotal, not so much - ("I used to run at high speed and got soot, now I use this additive and run at hull speed and no more soot." really?) - very convincing.

How many manufacturer's manuals suggest additives? I kinda think that is the final authority.

If Yanmars are sold with a 44 cetane rating in a 40 market, you live with the slight drop in power. My old P-car is spec'd for 93 octane and in most of the country you can only get 91. It runs fine but the butt-dyno says it likes 94 when I can get it. The manufacturer still specifically prohibits using additives.

I really don't care how you spend your money so go crazy. People got very rich selling STP and I'll bet there are enough who buy into Marvel Mystery oil too. Its very patriotic to buy snake oil, the economy loves it.


And fixing old P-cars helps too.

The maker also recommends that you use only OEM parts, like oil and air filters, coolant, window de icing fluid, tires, etc. Is that what you do with your car, or do you decide what recommendations to follow to the letter and which to use common sense?

In the case of octane boosters, you are not really making an addition, but merely replacing something that is no longer in the gasoline. I wonder what the Porsche tech department would say if you asked what they preferred: running on lower octane fuel or using an octane booster?

The same with diesel cetane and lubricity boosters: you are replacing something that is no longer in the fuel to restore it to OEM specs. The fuel specs that were available when the engine was designed and built......

My engines were designed in the 1930’s and manufactured in the mid ‘80s for use with fuels and oils with specific properties that are no longer readily available. In the case of oil, I have to use special low ash 40wt and in the case of fuel, I have to use an additive. FWIW, I use NAPA low ash oil and Technol 403 as a fuel additive.