[weedkiller]

A friend with a 95E cat lost an injector and when Cat came out and pulled the injector, the O-ring was hard as a rock. Injector was fine. Fuel was leaking past the O-ring into the crankcase. Mechanic said he should be adding a lubricant to his diesel.

I run Hows anti-gel in the winter, but thats about all of the "conditioning" I do to my fuel. Should I be running extra additives? I've allways thought that they were all "snake oil" and thats partly to blame why I haven't used conditioners the other part is that there are so many conditioners to choose from its hard to pick. But with the cost of new machinery, I would use any additives that would truly prolong engine/drivetrain life. I do know of a few truckers that run Lucas Oil in their rigs and they swear by it.

This has probably been discussed earlier, but after a quick search I couldn't find the thread.

 

[nar]

Since the new fuel is all low sulfer, even the offroad, you should add something. The place we get our fuel started adding stuff to theirs when the fuel changed so the customers wouldn't be mad at them. The older engines especially were made assuming so much lubricity in the fuel, without it they are going to have problems like yours. You could run the how's stuff for summer, or stanadyne, or whatever you can find easily but you should run something.

And I know someone will say their off road is still high sulfer. Very unlikely. All the refineries changed over to low sulfer and the trucks fill out of the same tank. When they tell them it is destined for off road they just turn on the die injector. That's the only difference.

 

[ebertfarms]

but our diesel is low sulfur...ultra low sulfur isnt required yet until 2010 for offroad.

90% of the time it will be ultra low sulfer now a days though, instead of going to that crappy fuel, switch over to B11-B20 biodiesel, your gonna change fuel filters 3-4times in a season at first, but you retain lubricity; it's cheaper; and fuel filter life will go back to normal soon after.

 

[agcohesstongleaner]

On our farm we put conditioner in every tank of diesel we burn. Its called Stanadyne Lubricity Formula. Our neighbor was having troubles with his jd 9600 surging. he did the pump, injectors, all the wireing and nothing helped until i gave him a bottle and it worked perfect with it. he didnt add it to a tank and it started surging again.

 

[deeremanager]

ebertfarms,
Yes, biodiesel is a good choice. The only problem is storage. Biodiesel tends to attract moisture if stored for a long period of time. Yes it will also cleanout your tanks. Thats why the extra filter changes at first. I try to persuade all of my customers to use a conditioner year around. 2 to 3 pennies per gallon is pretty cheap insurance.

 

[Christian A. Herrnboeck]

Stanadyne Lubricity, is what we used to use. Now, we use Milligan Biotech canola additive.

Makes for a more efficient engine and more power!

 

[agcohesstongleaner]

We tried the milligan stuff because its made 30 miles away,we didnt really notice much difference, and if im not mistaken it cost as much or more then stanadyne, plus the milligan will go "bad" after a while

 

[Christian A. Herrnboeck]

Dunno, I think it has a lot to do with the engine you have... The Perkins LOVE the Milligan stuff - at least 2l/hr fuel efficiency increase.

 

[agcohesstongleaner]

oh k well we have a dodge 5.9 cummins, cheev 6.2 and they get about 3 mpg better, on our 100, 110 hp deutz tractors i can get 15 h instead of 13.5-14 h on a 25 gal. tank with the stanadyne

 

[Tom Turner]

Use of John Deere Premium Fuel Conditioner is recommended to help ensure fuel quality and peak engine performance. These proprietary blends provide a superior combination of system cleaning, performance improvement, stability, and all weather compatibility. John Deere offers a full line of fuel conditioners for use with all types of diesel fuel, including biodiesel, and in all types of climates.

John Deere FUELSAVER helps prevent microbial growth (bacteria and fungus) that can degrade fuel and plug fuel system components. This is strongly recommended when using any level of biodiesel or Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel, as these fuels are more susceptible to microbial growth.

See your local John Deere dealer for available fuel conditioners in your area.

Use of some non John Deere additives can be harmful to the engine. Additives with the following characteristics will likely lead to fuel system damage, performance/power loss, general system fouling, and/or unwarrantable failures:
>Ash forming materials
:Calcium based additives
"Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)
'Home heating oil

Never use engine oil or any other lubricating oil as a fuel additive.

Storage and Handling

Always be very careful when handling diesel fuel and never fill a fuel tank when the engine is running.

Diesel and biodiesel fuels degrade over time, so extended storage should be minimized. Straight diesel may begin to degrade after a year of storage. Biodiesel blends up to B20 must be used within 90 days of the date of biodiesel manufacture. Biodiesel blends from B21 to B100 must be used within 45 days of the date of biodiesel manufacture.

The following are recommendations for source/storage tanks:
- Fully functioning caps and vents.
- Keep tanks as full as practical to help prevent condensation and freezing.
- Allow 24 hours for a new batch of fuel to settle before pumping into another tank.
-- Should have a well serviced filter between the pump pick up and the nozzle, capturing any debris before entering a vehicle tank. Tank filters and elements are available at the local John Deere dealer.
--- If equipped, drain sediment and water using a drain valve on the bottom surface of the tank.
= Completely drain the tank at least annually. Rinse with diesel fuel.
+ Minimize direct sunlight and heat to aid fuel stability.
_ Treat with John Deere FUELSAVER antimicrobial additive. A shock treatment is recommended when microbial growth is suspected. A maintenance treatment is recommended with each fill up.

The following are recommendations for equipment tanks:
. Fully functioning caps and vents.
, Should be topped off at the end of each day to help prevent condensation and freezing.
; If equipped, drain sediment and water using a drain valve on the bottom surface of the tank.

 

[ebertfarms]

things deteriate over time, gas can start to varnish in as little as a month if sitting in your gas tank.

We run as little as possible (25gallons or so) and use a stabilizer so the diesel properties stay the same over the 4.5-5month storage period for the tractors and 10month storage period for the combine.

 

[Christian A. Herrnboeck]

One thing I don't get... We always keep the tanks as empty as possible over winter, drain what is there in spring, and then re-fill with fresh fuel... any reason why this isn't as good as filling the tank full, and leaving it sit in the shed for winter?

 

[wade4545]

Its better to fill them because then you'll know you have "cheap" fuel to use come spring!

No but i think its to stop condensation and moisture gettin into the tank and what not..

 

[Christian A. Herrnboeck]

This year, considering diesel is still $1/L... that may not be "cheap" fuel

Still, if you drain the tanks, aren't you draining the condensation too? :S

 

[Tom Turner]

I'm thinking the condensation is on the inside that the fuel will not touch and it drips off day and night as the temperature changes and humidly.

 

[deeremanager]

I think the point is not what you do to winterize your tractor, but that the days of using no fuel conditioner at all are over. In my opinion a full tank of petroleum based diesel fuel is the best way to store a tractor for the winter. As Tom stated, if you have a JD tractor, use the conditioner that he has listed. If you run anything else use what they reccomend. With the fuel that we are stuck with these days, you have to use something. Remember Bio-Diesel does not store well, and needs different properties in a conditioner. The old rule (buy clean fuel and keep it clean) still applies.