Long Term Storage Stability of Bio-Blended Diesel B5 B10

[Beerslayer]

I would like to keep some fuel on hand for my generator, and don't plan on turning the fuel over very frequently.

I found a cheap source of B100 biodiesel then learned that it is not stable in long term storage. It oxidizes.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, bio blends are now mandated by law. The only exceptions are for trains, marine use, and heating oil.

I called three oil jobbers that deliver fuel and was told that they can't get unblended heating oil. It is all B5.

All the information I can find on B5 points to a 6 month storage life before it oxidizes.

I researched fuel additives to see if there are any that can stabilize the bio blends and couldn't find any that specifically state that they can prevent oxidation.

There are plenty of biocides and cetane boosters but non that are specific to stabilizing biodiesel for long term storage.

Can anyone else visualize what a train wreck this is going to be for standby generators and home heating oil users?

The oil jobbers agreed that this was going to be a real money maker for furnace and generator repair companies.

Does anyone have any information about long term storage of biofuel blends?

Thanks!

 

[ken]

Do a test with a five gallon can and a additive like STA-BIL. Fill the can as much as you can to keep as little as air possable in the container. Then store it in a shaded area to keep it from expanding and leaking in the heat of the day.
But with as little as 5% bio i think you should be ok. If this is for you emergency supply. Id make a road trip outta state to get what you need. That's if you cant get it at all in your home state. Mabye try looking for a Marine fuel oil suppiler near the coast. You will want #4 light fuel oil. Its very close to road diesel but has a few more BTU's per gallon. I have used this fuel many times and it works great. Just keep it above 20 deg F

 

[rosco]

I think it will depend on what you are running the stuff in too. Some of our Iron is pretty old, and not too sophisticated. When the fuel oxidizes, what happens to it? Will the engine care? What part of the engine?

Here are a couple of situations that I have direct experience with:
I have an "over the road" highway truck. that I had parked in the shed for 8 years. It has 400 gallon fuel capacity, with 300 gallons on board. It has an 8V92TT engine (475 HP). I recently checked her out and made several trips to the lower 48. No way, I would dump 300 gallons of fuel.
I have an M37 that is driven daily - my ranch service truck. Inadvertently, my Dad added to the gas tank, 5 gallons jerry can of diesel fuel (that he swears was gas), because the gas guage doesn't work. It probably had 12 gallons of gas in it. It not only started and ran, but it was hard to breath around it, for the blue/grey fumes, for the next few days.

My point is, that with some of the old engines, if the fuel is just close, it probably won't make much difference. I'm thnking of my MEP 10 KW. That has probably 75 gallons in it/standby. That won't get swaped out anytime soon, unless I run it out.

I don't doubt that milage/performance might suffer, but it will run. They are always playing with the fuel formula here too. The most important factors are to keep the fuel clean and dry - No water in it. I just rely on stock filters for that - no additives.

So with the world full of doom and gloom, what is it to look for, when the fuel becomes unstable?

 

[cranetruck]

I have used homemade (unwashed) biodiesel in my deuce that's several years old without a problem. The fuel is kept in a cool basement.

 

[Welder Sam]

Good question. Ive wondered the samething abt the locally available diesel

 

[Augdog1964]

Be sure!

We have a lot of mil vehicles here that get run, but never enough to completely use all the fuel.

BE SURE if you are storing Bio Diesel, to not only stabilize, but add a anti-bacterial agent as well. Don't depend on the stabilizer to do that!

Black Sludge is the worst of all results of not storing bio diesel correctly. It is a long laborious cleaning and recleaning / disinfecting procedure to get this stuff out of your fuel system. It will stop your vehicle dead in its tracks.

We had a BMP-1 come down with it... had to drain and burn 100 gals of fuel, totally clean all fuel filters and lines. Run antibacterial through the system, and continue to have to clean filters as the dead black sludge moves through.

Anti-bacterials are needed. Also stabilizers must be occasionally re-added to the fuel...

 

[Beerslayer]

Does anyone have experience with Power Service Products?

I have been looking at their biocide and Clear-Diesel fuel treatments.

 

[cranetruck]

For long term storage of biofuels, perhaps the individual ingredients for making biodiesel will last longer. I have WVO that's going on 5 years that's still not rancid and still good to use as is or for biodiesel. Not aware of long term storage problem for methanol or sodium hydroxide.

 

[Bill W]

I made a living cleaning non blended diesel fuel on MotorYachts and had great results with Power Service "Diesel Kleen" for stabilizing fuel for long term storage. Diesel ( and gas ) will last indefinitely in a oxygen free enviroment which is why the fuller the tank the longer fuel will keep, you could also purge out the remaining air in your storage tank with CO2 before sealing it up., If you don't have access to a co2 tank then you could drop in a chunk of dried ice ( my publix supermarket carries it ) which is nothing more than frozen/liquid CO2, it will evaporate in the fuel and the ( co2) gas will purge out remainig air ( then seal up the tank ). Now with that being said, the oldest untreated fuel I ever had tested at the Dept of AG lab was 7 years old and it met the viscosity and flash point minimums for #2 diesel however that does not mean you would not have smoke or gumming problems burning it so I made sure the owner of the boat the fuel came off of mixed the old fuel 50/50 with new ( cheap chit did not want to get rid of the fuel ) he then took that boat from So.Fla to Alaska and had no problems burning that first load of old mixed ( 700gals ) fuel

 

[frodobaggins]

It can't oxidize if you keep the oxygen out...

 

[Beerslayer]

It can't oxidize if you keep the oxygen out...

Great point. Concise.

had great results with Power Service "Diesel Kleen" for stabilizing fuel for long term storage. Diesel ( and gas ) will last indefinitely in a oxygen free enviroment which is why the fuller the tank the longer fuel will keep, you could also purge out the remaining air in your storage tank with CO2 before sealing it up

Fantastic idea. Love it. Take tank off of mig welder. Purge fuel tank with CO2. No oxidation.

Best fuel storage idea of the year

 

[andytk5]

I made a living cleaning non blended diesel fuel on MotorYachts and had great results with Power Service "Diesel Kleen" for stabilizing fuel for long term storage. Diesel ( and gas ) will last indefinitely in a oxygen free enviroment which is why the fuller the tank the longer fuel will keep, you could also purge out the remaining air in your storage tank with CO2 before sealing it up., If you don't have access to a co2 tank then you could drop in a chunk of dried ice ( my publix supermarket carries it ) which is nothing more than frozen/liquid CO2, it will evaporate in the fuel and the ( co2) gas will purge out remainig air ( then seal up the tank ). Now with that being said, the oldest untreated fuel I ever had tested at the Dept of AG lab was 7 years old and it met the viscosity and flash point minimums for #2 diesel however that does not mean you would not have smoke or gumming problems burning it so I made sure the owner of the boat the fuel came off of mixed the old fuel 50/50 with new ( cheap chit did not want to get rid of the fuel ) he then took that boat from So.Fla to Alaska and had no problems burning that first load of old mixed ( 700gals ) fuel

Could you just store the WVO that you have filtered to a point to get out the water adn crap and just store that until you are ready to make a batch of biodiesel?

Would that be a better plan?

 

[F18hornetM]

Say Bio-Diesel and I cringe. The Co I work for tried B20 a couple years ago and we replaced 12 F550 fuel tanks, eat the lining right out of them. Since then we have switched to B10 and no animal fat Bio, so far ok. Sorry comment not about storage, but just bio- brought back nightmares.

 

[andytk5]

Say Bio-Diesel and I cringe. The Co I work for tried B20 a couple years ago and we replaced 12 F550 fuel tanks, eat the lining right out of them. Since then we have switched to B10 and no animal fat Bio, so far ok. Sorry comment not about storage, but just bio- brought back nightmares.

I have never heard of that before. I know the solvent effect plays **** on older systems and brings the dino doodoo all to the filters but these sounds like never trucks. Must be something specific to that "lining". Maybe some kind of aftermarket tank would be an option?

 

[kipman]

I am using the last of 600 gallons of home heating oil I was given, it is 27 years old, works great in the deuce, my 1009, and my generators.

 

[F18hornetM]

I have never heard of that before. I know the solvent effect plays **** on older systems and brings the dino doodoo all to the filters but these sounds like never trucks. Must be something specific to that "lining". Maybe some kind of aftermarket tank would be an option?

They were newer trucks, well..2002-2005 [its been a couple years ago now]We replaced them with factory tanks, and switched to B10, havent had any problems since. Inside the tank it looked like a coating came off, almost like a paint. Interesting this happened all in one of our districts. All the trucks getting fuelf rom the same tank. In other districts, also using B20 at the time, only had one or two with issues.

 

[3dAngus]

I wrote a thread on this for new buyers of MVs where there is a govt. mandate to use biodiesel. The local Robins AFB mechanics say the biodiesel that sits for prolonged periods of time turns to sludge. Further research indicated it actually has cleaning power if used regularly and is fresh.
What the problem is, is where biodiesel has more water in it then diesel. It interreacts with the metals in your tank, where different metals cause different colors of sludge buildup if the MV sits for prolonged periods of time, sometimes turning, brown, sometimes yellow, depending on if the tank is steel, or aluminum, or whatever.

One solution that will help is to store in plastic tanks, suitable for fuel storage. There is less oxidation and interreaction to the biodiesel properties that sit for prolonged periods, or over several months, whether in your tank or in storage. The fuel that sits in a fuel tank for a couple of years unused is going to wreak havoc on your filters and fuel system, and is a considerable effort to purge out the system.

Again, if used regularly with fresh fuel and a clean tank, it has cleaning properties, and does just the opposite of the fuel that has been stored or sit in a fuel tank for a prolonged period.

 

[3dAngus]

edit: deleting duplicate entry due to SS error code generated during first one...

 

[andytk5]

They were newer trucks, well..2002-2005 [its been a couple years ago now]We replaced them with factory tanks, and switched to B10, havent had any problems since. Inside the tank it looked like a coating came off, almost like a paint. Interesting this happened all in one of our districts. All the trucks getting fuelf rom the same tank. In other districts, also using B20 at the time, only had one or two with issues.

Really strange. Not sure if the difference of using sodium hydroxide vs potasium hydroxide in the biodiesel process would create this issue? All being from the same source is weird as well.