instead of fuel polishing?

This product is touted by a source I trust.

Anyone try it? NOT for aluminum tanks read the reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/Fuel-Right-Diesel-Tank-Treament/dp/B004Z1CC60

I hate to be critical but after 40 years in and around the auto business, working with gasoline and diesel, any product like this is snake oil until proven otherwise. However I am always willing to listen as I like quick fixes as much as the next guy. Just my 2 cents.

Think I would rather remove the impurities through polishing than try to treat them away. Didn't see anything in the blurb about treating or removing water.

Ted

Whether you do it yourself or hire a fuel polishing company, cleaning the fuel/tank is two parts. One is a fuel treatment and the other pumping the fuel, many times, thru a Racor like filter that traps water and debris.
Treatment alone will not work unless you have an engine like Detroits that circulate much more fuel than they burn. Or add a fuel pump to circulate fuel thru your filter. For example, my Detroit mains pump 35 gallons/hr but burn 4 each. So 70 gallons/hr are filtered and 60+ gallons/hr returned to the tank.

I've used many fuel conditioners. The best is Archoil AR6200. I use it in my Ford truck and the injectors are at nearly double the expected life. It's also recommended by Jay Leno's garage. A side benefit is better mileage. In my Detroits I get about 4-6% better mileage, quicker starts, easier starts in very cold weather, etc. And my tanks are always clean.

There are a number of additives that claim to reduce fuel consumption by 5% or more. I found that by using 20 of them, I had to stop every couple of days and pump the excess fuel out of the tank or it would overflow.

DDW said:

There are a number of additives that claim to reduce fuel consumption by 5% or more. I found that by using 20 of them, I had to stop every couple of days and pump the excess fuel out of the tank or it would overflow.

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On a serious note, I have used "sludge breakers" in my home heating oil tank, and it DID work to some degree. Some were better than others.
I used to "dip" the tank because the gauge didn't work, and I could feel the difference.

Greetings,
Mr. FF. Seriously? I mean SERIOUSLY? Surely a man of your experience already knows the answer. I've been reading your posts for over 10 years now and you're the LAST person I would have ever thought might consider such an "elixir". NO sarcasm.
Other than something like Bio-Bor your mantra has always been filter, filter, filter. What gives?

I immediately think "Snake Oil" but one day there will be one that truly works as well as advertised.

I once was in Mississippi and the local Lagoons (where sewage goes) had turned over and all the sewage had risen to the top preventing sun from treating the lagoon. Nearly lost. We brought in a chemist with his magic elixir. I saw him drop one single drop into a jug from the lagoon and it was 100% clear. Hired immediately and he took drums of it and poured them into the lagoon and saved it. Amazing to see.

I have no doubt that chemicals can be developed to remove impurities from fuel. However, the trick is to do so without changing the makeup of the fuel itself. Still waiting on that solution.

This sounds about right. It was the second review of three product on Amazon:

I ordered this Diesel treatment to clean up the tank and to prevent corrosion of my aluminum tanks. After ordering, I decided to do some investigating about it. One very interesting review of fuel additives by Practical Sailor, which does not accept advertisements reported "While the product has its supporters, it was the only product tested that made corrosion worse than the control, and it was the only product that induced pitting in the aluminum sample" Naturally, I'm not going to add this to my tanks... incidentally I have ordered many items from Amazon over the years, had to return a few of them, after all this is mail order, NEVER having to pay return postage. Well that seems to be a thing of the past on Amazon. I was required to pay the return postage. Three things I've learned from this...
1- Always investigate BEFORE ordering.
2 From now an READ the return policy for every item ordered, this is mail order, sometimes the product is not what it seems.
3- I will definitely be re-assessing my trust in ordering things on Amazon.com.
P.S. I am a Prime Amazon customer.

Gordon J said:

2 From now an READ the return policy for every item ordered, this is mail order, sometimes the product is not what it seems.
3- I will definitely be re-assessing my trust in ordering things on Amazon.com.
P.S. I am a Prime Amazon customer.

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Note that the product didn't come from Amazon. That's why the reviewer had to pay postage.

As a side not, this customer clearly likes to return items. Amazon has a return rate between 5 and 15% on most products. However, that rate is nearly 30% on clothing, shoes and jewelry. Unfortunately, customers expect everyone to allow you to return anything. Brick and Mortar is more like 2-3% returns. Returns are a huge threat to profitability of online business.

"Other than something like Bio-Bor your mantra has always been filter, filter, filter. What gives?"

With a 6-71 DD that pumps 20gph and burns 3gph , and monel tanks with a low point drain , changing filters on time works for me.

I read of folks that have dirty fuel in the tank , with contaminated side walls that add bug bodies as the boat moves.

I know of one fellow with bad TT tanks that simply emptied all the diesel and poured in a few gallons of cleaner (Zep ?) from home depot waited a week pumped it all out , flushed with water and has had no further fuel problems.

The cleaner & water actually cleaned the tank!

My thinking with this stuff is house fuel is filthy compared to diesel , so perhaps this product breaks the gunk into chunks.

Chunks are really easy for any filter to block , a house furnace uses small, usually cotton filter, that seems to work for a year .Thousand or more gallons.

For a fellow with a marginal , usually un cleanable , box of fuel , the low cost of the product might be all that's needed to slowly clear the bug bodies from the tank.

Sure beats paying a dock walker a buck a tank gallon to swish the fuel around with a pump and filter that might clean some fuel, but do almost nothing to clean the tank.

Not a panacea , maybe it wont work , but it should do no harm and the price is right.

My alternative to fuel polishing:
Use the engines and change the filters once in a while.

Not sure there is an "instead" for fuel polishing if your tanks are large enough, but in terms of additives that actually seem to work, Optilube stands out. In the only objective wear test I've seen, it came out at the top of the additive list. And, if Amazon reviews are a metric, people using it seem to agree. I can't tell you whether it does what it says it does or not, anymore than I can tell you whether Rotella is better or worse than Mobil1 other than by looking at empirical testing. Based on that, Optilube seems to work.

https://www.amazon.com/Opti-Lube-XP...00FOSSQJU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/76.../177728-lubricity-additive-study-results.html

Westiculo said:

My alternative to fuel polishing:
Use the engines and change the filters once in a while.

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I shouldn't publish such an uninformative post.
I added biobor and fuel stabilizer when I bought the boat. The biobor caused a lot of **** to break up and clogged stuff up. A few filter changes and a tank later, my fuel system is pristine and has been every since.

I continue to add them every time I fill up. I figure the engine only uses about a quarter of the fuel it pulls from the tanks, the rest is returned to the tank nice and clean.

That stuff does not say it can "polish" your fuel.
They are not mutually exclusive.
I put Stabil in the tank when I refuel, if I am not going to use that fuel in the coming weeks, but I still polish my fuel.

Caterpillar tech told me not to add anything to my fuel, period.

hmason said:

Caterpillar tech told me not to add anything to my fuel, period.

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That's really smart. If your fuel sets for any length of time, you'll be breeding organisms in your tank. Probably gaining water, too. The diesel of today is crap. It has almost none of the lubrication properties older diesel formulas had. Many of the additives in older diesel are no longer legal. Additives that slowed pump and injector wear, fuel stability and others. I always use an additive when fueling. In 60 years on the water I've never had a diesel fuel problem. But it seems like, a couple times a year, someone is posting about a totally preventable fuel problem.
I know some of you are tired of my posts about Archoil products. But they work. I recently received a link to a video from powerstrokehelp.com. That shop specializes in Ford Powerstroke diesel repair. I found them looking for help in solving injector problems in my Ford diesel. They recommended Archoil. And that did solve the injector problems, increased my mileage and made cold winter starts easier. Something that stood out in the video was the shop owners statement that since turning his customers on to Archoil, their injector sales dropped 80%. It can be bought from him, Archoil.com, Amazon, and probably ebay.
If you're interested in the video it's here: Also Jay Leno's Garage has a video on Archoil. The work truck he's standing in front of went almost 800,000 miles on the original diesel engine.

"I continue to add them every time I fill up."

Practical Sailor suggests changing bug killers at times as the bugs can evolve to live with different biocides.


Darwin in your fuel tank!

hmason said:

Caterpillar tech told me not to add anything to my fuel, period.

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And is this tech an expert in fuel science?

BandB said:

Note that the product didn't come from Amazon. That's why the reviewer had to pay postage.

As a side not, this customer clearly likes to return items. Amazon has a return rate between 5 and 15% on most products. However, that rate is nearly 30% on clothing, shoes and jewelry. Unfortunately, customers expect everyone to allow you to return anything. Brick and Mortar is more like 2-3% returns. Returns are a huge threat to profitability of online business.

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Good, then bricks and mortar businesses will be better able to compete.

Woodland Hills said:

Good, then bricks and mortar businesses will be better able to compete.

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We believe that a combination is ultimately going to be the best working solution. Walmart is juggling a balance to find the right combination and augment the brick and mortar sales. In apparel, we have customers who order online but typically they've already shopped with us and when you do order online the order goes to a sales person in the store who pulls your order and communicates with you by email or phone. The convenience of online and the service of a store.

Amazon was built on service, but they just can't provide it anymore. Their answer is, if you complain, give you a $20 credit or something. They're working very hard on brick and mortar concepts.

Some products are perfect for online. Books were, CD's are. Staples like laundry detergent and paper towels are but the shipping is expensive to deal with. Grocery shopping online works well, but no one has figured out how to absorb the cost or charge for it. We want things for free and don't want to pay for added services. Free Shipping is the mind boggling trend. We know it's not free. Amazon Prime charges the annual fee plus has higher prices, but then they'll ship it free. Now it's pay me $14.99 per month and I'll deliver all your groceries for free....well, almost...you should still tip.

I think apparel is a lousy online product. Clothes don't look the same on you as they did in a picture. They often don't fit. What percentage of people shoe shopping, love the first and only pair they try on? I've tried to order shoes online because of my size not being widely stocked, but I returned two out of four pairs and not really thrilled with a third pair. Furniture sales online surprise me. Then one product I was completely wrong on. I thought by now all phones would be sold online. I think Sprint, Verizon and AT&T thought that at times. However, phone stores remain extremely successful. People want to buy, get it set up, and walk out with it working.

I believe in brick and mortar but it must adapt. Also, businesses must examine and question what they're doing carefully. Now that Signet Jewelers own Kays, Jareds, Zales, Peoples, and more they're concluding that many malls no longer make sense and that stand alone Jewelry stores work well. People go to buy jewelry, don't purchase it on impulse because they see it when walking by. Ross, TJ Maxx and Marshalls figured out early that they could be across the street from the mall at half the cost and do very well. While Location, Location, Location has always been preached, companies are redefining what it means. I'd say roughly 40-50% of the malls are worth paying their rent. Now, the malls looking good today are working hard to create an experience by adding entertainment and amenities.

There's also a lot of turmoil that the manufacturers are going through right now. Sell on Amazon or not? If so, how to price? If you discount it online to a rate stores can't afford to sell, they you won't keep store business.

Amazon's profits are not coming from things they're selling today. Coming from Prime, coming from what they charge third party sellers, coming from their Cloud.

Hey guys CURE the problem instead of trying rectifying it with snake oil additives.
Clean your fuel tanks, if you've got a drain plug then put a tap/valve on it, hold a clear glass jar/bottle below it and 'crack' the (open the valve slightly) valve until clean fuel runs out. Do this once a month and you'll have no trouble.
No drain valve ? Get yourself a wet & dry vacuum cleaner, remove the fuel level gauge sender, insert the long extension vacuum pipe right down to the bottom of the tank and suck up any dirt/water, problem solved.

"Clean your fuel tanks, if you've got a drain plug then put a tap/valve on it, hold a clear glass jar/bottle below it and 'crack' the (open the valve slightly) valve until clean fuel runs out. Do this once a month and you'll have no trouble."

We have folks with dead batts because they did not did not bother to add water, from month to month, or year to year!

While its true draining some gunk from the bottom of box for fuel would improve fuel quality in the tank , what percentage of folks might bother ?

Some might, when re commissioning a winter stored boat , the rest may just hope new filters will solve the problem.

FF Its beyond me to understand why someone would invest money and buy a boat, (or anything else) and not bother with simple maintenance. I guess their money comes too easy.
Maybe I'm too particular but to my way of thinking if you have a problem fix the root cause of the problem instead of wasting money constantly fixing symptoms.

"to my way of thinking if you have a problem fix the root cause of the problem instead of wasting money constantly fixing symptoms."

Agree , but most boats come with a box for fuel, instead of a functioning marine fuel tank.

WAY too many boat bucks to actually cure , so the search is on for what will work , a total boat rebuild is usually out.

The need --clean fuel--is usually good enough.

How common is it that vessels are dead in the water because they don't have a dedicated "polisher" nor use a magic elixir? I don't see them.

Half a century ago when fuel was really bad, two and three stage filtering became common. Then fuel got better due to sulfur dropping more than 100 fold. Now with really clean fuel marketing and paranoia are at work it would seem trying to convince us the world is ending.

Me thinks IR rambler is dead on about cleaning tanks. if your boat is older you likely got some very high sulfur and asphaltine laden fuel. My sources say tank cleaning on newer vessels show little crap in comparison to a few decades ago.

By all means throw in a filter or two when your transferring fuel. If you want to call it polishing that is OK too. But watch the tanks for crap and clean accordingly

Without water in a fuel tank you can have no biological life (usually bacteria). A simple means of extracting water, a well with a drain, or a stripper tube, the latter can be added after the fact, I've installed them on many tanks, will eliminate the need for a biocide. No water no biological life, no biological life means no biocides are needed.

I wouldn't dream if using an additive that attacked aluminum. Among other things, primary and secondary fuel filter housings and injection pump bodies are aluminum.

My advice is to use additives to target specific issues, and choose additives based on what they can do. Those that claim to do everything, including clean a dirty tank, are suspect at best. I've cleaned or supervised the cleaning of scores of diesel tanks, the accumulated crud on tank bottoms almost always has to be scooped or shoveled out, see the photos in the article link below. Additives simply cannot remove this material.

Lubricity additives make sense because these are often added at the fuel distribution rack, and errors occur. Stabilizers and cetane boosters also make sense. However, I remain deeply skeptical of the one stop fixes it all solutions.

Two part article additives: https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/diesel-fuel-additives-part-i/ and https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/diesel-fuel-additives-part-ii/

Tank cleaning: https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/cleaning-diesel-tanks/

A properly designed and installed polishing system with sufficient volume can keep fuel and a tank clean. A polishing system can't clean a tank with years of accumulated debris, nor can dockside fuel cleaning services unless they access all baffled chambers of a tank. Otherwise they are simply filtering the fuel, which has value in its own right, just don't expect it to clean the tank too, again unless the tank is fully accessed.

Had a friend that got a load of Bio(soy) Diesel when up in the midwest. Evidently it that dissolved all the sludge in his tank while underway but he went thru a case of Primary Bulk head filters

Hi one and all,

Polishing - a subject i have written about many times, so may I add my twp cents-worth?

Remember that your engines are probably the best polishing systems and are already on board. Excess fuel drawn by the engine fuel pumps will have already been filtered before being returned to the tanks.

Real polishing is where any water, diesel bug and debris that's settled on the bottom of a tank is removed. This takes knowledgeable pipe installation and powerful pumping to stir everything up before being drawn off, filtered and returned, polished. BTW, a centrifuge filter is by far the best but many use Racor filters.

Hence, the method of piping and the power of the pump are absolutely crucial and often overlooked by the sellers and installers of polishing systems.

To be effective, you want the outflow from the polisher to be powerful and aimed at the bottom of the tank to create a real stir. The draw should be about halfway up the tank.

Given time, all the muck your engines and common polishing systems you can buy cannot reach, will have been polished.