Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRob
Well I read there is a bug that grows in diesel when not used and churned up that causes moisture in the fuel. Hence the white smoke
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The ' bugs ' don't cause moisture in the fuel, this comes from condensation within the tank and water in the delivered fuel, poor fitting tank caps etc.the ' bugs' do however need water to survive and multiply.
One other thing unrelated to the above is that over time derv and petrol deteriorates and goes stale due to oxidation and some of the lighter fractions evaporating, noticeable in old petrol when it takes on a yellow tinge and smells more like turps.
My neighbour is a biochemist in one of the two larger oil companies and explained this to me quite a while ago, commonly termed the ' diesel bug ' it is one of or a combination of several organisms, from bacteria, to viruses, to fungi etc. that create a biomass, sludge.
They all need water, warmth and food, so live and thrive at the water / derv contact area at the bottom of the tank, so water in the derv is a starting point to promote their growth, some feed on the derv, others feed on the waste matter produced by the organisms they tend to live like a symbiotic community.
It's the same with jet fuel, and the reason the tanks and fuel are treated with a biocide.
A clue that it is a problem is that the derv will appear sometimes milky and sometimes have a deeper yellow tinge than fresh derv,the deposit in the bottom of the tank is usually a brown colour and slimy and odd one that can occasionally be seen are slimy rope like strands both in the derv and filters.
So yes, both water and the ' bug ' can cause multiple problems and damage to the fuel system, testing for water is simple but not the bug, one way to see if that's a cause is to drain the tank as best as can be done and re-fill with fersh fuel and change the filter.
But don't presume that this is the problem,the article that Roverbarmy put a link to is a good source of other causes.
If you want to read a bit more about the ' bug ' my neighbour sent me the following paper to read, she mentioned, at the time, that it is an interesting read for a nosey B like me.
http://www.hpcdfuel.com/pdf/DOWfuel_training.pdf