Fuel Additives - Transmission Fluid

[Capt.Bill11]

It was just a joke.

Can someone enlighten me as to where this idea of sucking diesel from boat tanks from a tube that comes down from the top, comes from..? Thereby guaranteeing the goop that forms when some fuel sediment and water, which sinks to the bottom, slops around long enough to emulsify into a nasty sludge that can then block filters if enough gets stirred up, then sucked up. Capt Bill will probably have an answer, I guess. But will it be a good answer..?

Well let's see, the fuel pick up comes off of the top of the tank on most boats for a safety reason. To prevent a catastrophe loss of fuel in the event a feed valve/fitting located at the bottom of a tank was to be damaged or broken off.

The tube in a top feed tank should not go all the way to the bottom of the tank. But stop several inches from the bottom.

A property designed tank should have a stripping port located at the very bottom of the tank, preferably at a low pint sump, where you can drain out any water and check for contamination.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Getting back to the OP’s original concerns. Dirty tanks, biocide and costs.

Starting with costs (source quick and dirty Google search)

A quart of Mobile ATF $5.97, treats 300 gals for a cost of 2 cents per gal
A 16 oz bottle of Biobor JF costs $20.00, treats 1280 gals for a cost of 1.6 cents per gal

There is no good reason not to use a properly formulated biocide

Dirty tanks
There is a natural accumulation of gunk at the bottom of a fuel tank. But a tank designed / built without a clean out hatch and a way to strip from the low point is poorly designed / built probably in the interest of saving a few bucks at build time. The gunk comes most likely from bad fuel. It happens. That’s why clean out hatch and stripping piping / pump are important.

Biocide
ATF or formulated biocide is best used regularly at each fill up. If you try to use heavy doses of anything to clean out accumulated gunk you are in for a filter changing marathon. Too often that shows up in rough weather when the last place you want to be is in the engine compartment messing with fuel oil.

 

[CPseudonym]

My contention is putting that $6 quart of atf in a tank feeding a tier II or III diesel engine will cost you significantly more than the cost of proper preventive maintenance and professional tank cleaning. But your point is well made P_B.

 

[kapnd]

After 34 years of running twin diesels it was necessary to have my tanks cleaned. An access port was cut in the top of the black steel tanks. Baffels were cut away and 5 gallons of goop was removed. Baffels were reattached and inspection panels attached and sealed.

An old sea salt advised that a quart of transmission fluid added to a 300 gallon fill makes a good biocide. Has anyone tried this?

Now that your fuel tanks are back to ground zero, it's a good time to upgrade your fuel filtration process.
Any gunk you take on or grow in your tanks needs to be immediately removed by the filters, not allowed to stagnate in the tanks, so your filtration system needs to be up to the task. (a good place to apply lots of overkill!)
There is plenty of good reading on the subject available on boatdiesel.com, and sbmar.com.
Drawing fuel off the bottom of the tanks, especially from a sump is frowned upon, probably some ABYC silliness that yachte surveyors have chosen to take seriously, yet it is the only way that a fuel tank can stay really clean.
If ATF were the magic potion that keeps your motor happy, don't you think the manufacturers would recommend it, and diesel fuel would already have it blended in?

 

[Lepke]

I have steel tanks that were made in 1942 and together hold 2000 gallons. I've been in my tanks and walked around checking the bottoms. I have no 5 gallons of goo. In fact my tanks are clean.
When I bought the boat I used Algae-X and switched to Archoil 6200 about 3 years ago. I started using Archoil because it solves an injector problem in Ford truck diesels. Since using it in the boat on Detroit Diesels, I get 10-15% better mileage and easier cold weather starts. It costs about 7¢ a gallon the way I mix it.
My tanks were never cleaned. There were no access ports when I bought it.

 

[what_barnacles]

My contention is putting that $6 quart of atf in a tank feeding a tier II or III diesel engine will cost you significantly more than the cost of proper preventive maintenance and professional tank cleaning. But your point is well made P_B.

How? Wouldnt the atf just simply dilute?

Ive read that 10 gallons of gasoline in 200 gallons of diesel will kill and prevent diesel bugs. Dunno though.

 

[FlyWright]

If your concerns are cost and effectiveness, there's no good reason to use products not intended for the purpose. Another +1 for BioborJF, the same stuff used in jet fuel for the same purpose. It just doesn't make financial or logical sense to use anything less effective or unproven, especially if it's not intended for the job you need accomplished.

OTOH, if you're feeling smarter than the pros or very lucky, then have at it and please report back with your proven and documented results.

 

[psneeld]

A highly regarded marine engineer and pilot passed to me that Biobor JF was developed for jet engines....thus the JF.

 

[FlyWright]

A highly regarded marine engineer and pilot passed to me that Biobor JF was developed for jet engines....thus the JF.

That's true. We used it in our Saberliners, King Airs and Learjets.

 

[psneeld]

That's true. We used it in our Saberliners, King Airs and Learjets.

I remember it along with "Prist" from back in the 1970s.

Either you bought fuel with it added or added every fill up. We carried a couple cans in the helo.


My sailboat fuel tanks in Miami got overgrown with biologicals back then due to my ignorance of the multi layer decision tree of maintaining diesel in the tropics. After cleaning the tanks and engine, use of Biobor kept things running.

 

[FlyWright]

Yes, and Prist also had a ice inhibitor in addition to the bio prevention.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

I started using Archoil because it solves an injector problem in Ford truck diesels. Since using it in the boat on Detroit Diesels, I get 10-15% better mileage and easier cold weather starts. It costs about 7¢ a gallon the way I mix it.

10-15% better mileage!?

That's some powerful magic mouse juice!

 

[gaston]

10-15% better mileage!?

That's some powerful magic mouse juice!

One could get 10-15% better mileage if the snake oil did happen to clean the injectors . But I'm sticking to gun oil it gives me better speed at the same RPMs .

 

[kapnd]

One could get 10-15% better mileage if the snake oil did happen to clean the injectors . But I'm sticking to gun oil it gives me better speed at the same RPMs .

You must drink the stuff to believe that!

 

[Lou_tribal]

You should try to add militec in your tank it will make your engine produce more energy than it consumes.
Ok ok I am gone

 

[Art]

Soltron: Soltron - The enzyme fuel treatment for diesel and petrol engines

 

[rwidman]

Sorry to offend you. I was only asking for information on the viability of tranny fluid as an additive. I thought that was the purpose of posting, to get information from others. I do not need unsolicited opinions about my finances.

You did post that actual purpose made fuel additives were "too expensive".

 

[twistedtree]

For the past 100 years I have pissed in my tank after each fill up. It's a biocide, and makes the engine run smoother. Best of all, it's free. Go ahead, try it

 

[Art]

For the past 100 years I have pissed in my tank after each fill up. It's a biocide, and makes the engine run smoother. Best of all, it's free. Go ahead, try it

Operative word:"twisted"

 

[Edelweiss]

For the past 100 years I have pissed in my tank after each fill up. It's a biocide, and makes the engine run smoother. Best of all, it's free. Go ahead, try it

Hmm
I don't know if I could beat this one. An "old Salt" must have figured that one out, right?. Besides my boats only 40 years old, so not even half your experience.
But my additive of choice for diesel has always been more diesel. Never used an additive of any kind. Fortunately, all my boating is in the PNW, so no problems with algae growth here.

I have noticed that in recent years my filters stay cleaner longer and I would guess that, in part, is a result of better supplier storage and handling methods, as well as regulations which require better tanks and monitoring devices.

When I started with Union Oil Co, many years ago, I worked as a rep with dealers, at the service station level. One of my challenges was to ensure that the dealers weren't adding water to their tanks. (They all believed their tanks leaked and they were losing product out of the tank bottoms. Before double and triple wall tanks that may have been true.) Another problem was dealers buying "tail end loads" from unscrupulous individuals which was often old or contaminated fuel. I believe that most of that is gone now and any fuel bought from a reputable dealer, barring an accident, is going to be good quality.

Excluding temperature extremes and marine growth, the fuel you purchase needs no further "enhancement" or additives, unless "mandated" by the engine manufacture.

 

[FlyWright]

For the past 100 years I have pissed in my tank after each fill up. It's a biocide, and makes the engine run smoother. Best of all, it's free. Go ahead, try it

I'd love to, Peter! When do you fill up next?

 

[Art]

I'd love to, Peter! When do you fill up next?

That's called a - "Got Cha"!

 

[twistedtree]

I'd love to, Peter! When do you fill up next?

Damn, busted.

 

[twistedtree]

But my additive of choice for diesel has always been more diesel.

That's the best serious answer.

 

[rwidman]

My boat's engine is a 1999 Volvo. In the instruction book is a page on fuel additives where Volvo states that no additives are needed. The next paragraph goes on to say that with "the new" low sulfur fuels, fuel additives might be needed and they list two that they recommend.

One is Stanadyne (if I remember correctly) and there was another.

They did not mention gasoline or transmission fluid.

 

[kapnd]

For the past 100 years I have pissed in my tank after each fill up. It's a biocide, and makes the engine run smoother. Best of all, it's free. Go ahead, try it

I've been pissing in your tank too, and I'm sure its mine, not yours, that makes your motor run so good! I heard that Geritol totally nullifies the benefits of urine in diesel fuel, however pizza and beer on a regular basis can make your pee so potent that you will have to increase the pitch on your propeller to handle the additional power.