Diesel Fuel – The Forgotten Element of Maintenance

Diesel fuel is the lifeblood that powers the agricultural industry.

Today's modern diesel engines demand clean, contaminant free fuel to run as their manufacturers intended them to. Low quality diesel fuels see a whole host of problems come to light, including higher consumption, emissions, and premature costly component failure. 

In most cases, standard maintenance procedures fail to adequately monitor and manage fuel integrity, yet it is the fuel that is the root cause of most engine failure across the agricultural industry.

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The Hidden Dangers of Compromised Diesel Fuel

With a shelf life of as little as six months when subjected to contamination, such as water. As diesel naturally deteriorates over time, this makes it highly susceptible to microbial contamination. The resultant sludge and compromised fuel component integrity causes plugged filters, fuel system damage, and ultimately leading to engine failure.

Fuel cleanliness is especially crucial with new generation engines whose precision injectors and HPCR fuel systems demand clean quality fuel to operate as designed. Anything less is guaranteed to cause premature failure.

You can be sure that once contaminants accumulate in the tank, it will continue to contaminate any fuel that passes through it. Due to cost, waste factors and subsequent downtime, tanks and fuel were previously neglected maintenance items that were only attended to in extreme circumstances. Thankfully this is no longer the case.

Ensuring Clean Diesel Fuel

By monitoring diesel fuel as a routine step in maintenance programs, optimal performance is maximised and so is the reliability of machinery. It also helps avoid unnecessary repairs, which can be costly in terms of the repairs themselves and the downtime of machinery. 

Implementing diesel as part of your maintenance system starts at the source. Fuel is extracted from the bulk storage and machinery tanks and then sent off to be analysed. The analysis of fuel will identify the level of risk posed by diesel and the solution required to mitigate these issues. In most cases, tank cleaning and fuel remediation will solve this problem, and the regular monitoring of fuel conditions will identify any potential risks before they start to create issues.

Here are some examples of key products and services:

  • Definitive Fuel Sampling and Independent Laboratory Analysis – Offers the ability to accurately determine fuel quality and risk status.
  • Mobile Diesel Tank Cleaning and Fuel Remediation Service – Utilising unique fuel remediation and scavenging technology, which generates the least amount of diesel fuel waste (generally less than 1% of tank capacity, excluding water and debris). The service covers both critical requirements the cleaning of the tank and the comprehensive remediation of the fuel. The substantial savings on disposal and fuel replacement costs and the additional environmental impact in the reduction of fuel waste is considerable.
  • Supply and Installation and support of Smart Maintenance and Monitoring Systems – These systems serve a dual purpose, as a maintenance system that continually maintains and reports on fuel quality (GSM and/or BMS linked) in the tank. Secondly in the event that a leak develops or a fuel drop/supply is contaminated with high volumes of contaminant (a more frequent scenario that one would believe), the system will prompt an alert, giving you the opportunity of taking proactive remediation steps.

If you'd like to learn more about Diesel Fuel, contact your local Vater Machinery Branch.

Diesel fuel is the lifeblood that powers the agricultural industry.

Today's modern diesel engines demand clean, contaminant free fuel to run as their manufacturers intended them to. Low quality diesel fuels see a whole host of problems come to light, including higher consumption, emissions, and premature costly component failure. 

In most cases, standard maintenance procedures fail to adequately monitor and manage fuel integrity, yet it is the fuel that is the root cause of most engine failure across the agricultural industry.

Image

The Hidden Dangers of Compromised Diesel Fuel

With a shelf life of as little as six months when subjected to contamination, such as water. As diesel naturally deteriorates over time, this makes it highly susceptible to microbial contamination. The resultant sludge and compromised fuel component integrity causes plugged filters, fuel system damage, and ultimately leading to engine failure.

Fuel cleanliness is especially crucial with new generation engines whose precision injectors and HPCR fuel systems demand clean quality fuel to operate as designed. Anything less is guaranteed to cause premature failure.

You can be sure that once contaminants accumulate in the tank, it will continue to contaminate any fuel that passes through it. Due to cost, waste factors and subsequent downtime, tanks and fuel were previously neglected maintenance items that were only attended to in extreme circumstances. Thankfully this is no longer the case.

Ensuring Clean Diesel Fuel

By monitoring diesel fuel as a routine step in maintenance programs, optimal performance is maximised and so is the reliability of machinery. It also helps avoid unnecessary repairs, which can be costly in terms of the repairs themselves and the downtime of machinery. 

Implementing diesel as part of your maintenance system starts at the source. Fuel is extracted from the bulk storage and machinery tanks and then sent off to be analysed. The analysis of fuel will identify the level of risk posed by diesel and the solution required to mitigate these issues. In most cases, tank cleaning and fuel remediation will solve this problem, and the regular monitoring of fuel conditions will identify any potential risks before they start to create issues.

Here are some examples of key products and services:

  • Definitive Fuel Sampling and Independent Laboratory Analysis – Offers the ability to accurately determine fuel quality and risk status.
  • Mobile Diesel Tank Cleaning and Fuel Remediation Service – Utilising unique fuel remediation and scavenging technology, which generates the least amount of diesel fuel waste (generally less than 1% of tank capacity, excluding water and debris). The service covers both critical requirements the cleaning of the tank and the comprehensive remediation of the fuel. The substantial savings on disposal and fuel replacement costs and the additional environmental impact in the reduction of fuel waste is considerable.
  • Supply and Installation and support of Smart Maintenance and Monitoring Systems – These systems serve a dual purpose, as a maintenance system that continually maintains and reports on fuel quality (GSM and/or BMS linked) in the tank. Secondly in the event that a leak develops or a fuel drop/supply is contaminated with high volumes of contaminant (a more frequent scenario that one would believe), the system will prompt an alert, giving you the opportunity of taking proactive remediation steps.

If you'd like to learn more about Diesel Fuel, contact your local Vater Machinery Branch.

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