"Diesel Bug"

[frank rabbets]

You have to have water in the diesel for this to start. Not the water naturally dissolved in all diesel but separate water which has an interface with the diesel. If the water is not pure, which is likely and contaminated with mould, the mould grows in the water taking vital nutrients from the diesel. A lot of mould means it can clog pick up pipe filters etc. If you use diesel from a forecourt you won't get the mould 99.9%. If diesel is from another source you must use a filter funnel to stop any water or mould etc etc passing in to your tank. Filter funnels were designed for this purpose and are a common sight on farms and building sites.
It's easy for motorists and boaters to just use cans for conveying diesel and assume everything is OK.

 

[IRLGW]

Frank do you have a problem with Diesel Bug? Actually the problem has been exasperated in recent years with introduction of Bio Diesel which has even more bacteria. There are fuel additives that you can get to add to the tank which breaks it up but doesn't actually remove it. Sometimes, putting pure alcohol in can absorb the water molecules and then it gets burnt off in the engine and methylated spirits can also attract the water but it usually ends up clumped and has to be removed some otherway. I read somewhere that copper fuel lines can also add to the problem in how the bacteria forms there first.

Now that red Diesel is virtually the same price for leisure use many boats with small diesel plants get refilled with white bio Diesel from the petrol station. Marina Diesel tanks generally don't have a large turnover in the winter months and if you begin mixing contaminated red with bio Diesel then you will have a problem. So if you have a truck that's stood for a while then I would put fuel additive in, run it dry and then change the filter, assuming it doesn't clog first.

 

[frank rabbets]

No I've never had a problem and I've checked my 80 tank and pick up strainer as a precaution and it was like literally brand new inside.

I know when labouring on a farm when I left school how important it was to always use the filter funnel.

Perhaps the "bug" needs less volume of separated water to survive if in contact with bio diesel.

My 100 only goes to MOT and back once a year for last 2 years and isn't buggered yet.

 

[SafariTecPeter]

The "bug" You refer to is a fungee. The fungee is introduced through water & feeds off the diesel. Which chemial part I`d have to look up.
This type of contamination can turn Your tank contents into a jelly like "mass" in turn clogging up Your filter(s) fuel line & possibly wore pumps & injectors if allowed to stay put for enough time
The fungee will promote corrosion in these bits. Not what You want to hear in Your feed pump or injectors.

The problem is widely known espesially in the marine enviromnet / business.
A number of addetives are available to cure (if introducd in time) or even dissolve fungee / bacterial growth.
If detected a shock treatment is in order & thereafter a steady treatment is advisable.
Keep Your tanks all topped up with diesel from a trusted source if You are not consuming it regularely is a good preventive as anything else.

If allowd to spread, the fungee can become a very expensive nightmare :-(