Avoiding Contaminated Fuel

The diesel bug is often mistaken as the major cause of failure in injection systems, but is it a a real threat to the highly expensive injection systems in our modern tow vehicles? Diesel and water easily separate from each other, with water always ending up on the bottom of a fuel tank or collection bowl in a fuel filter. It’s in this water that as many as a few dozen strains of bacteria can grow and multiply. What seems like a miniscule droplet of water can seem like a lake to a tiny microbe like the diesel bug. It enters your fuel system via the usual culprit; poor hygiene in the tank or at the bowser. In the right temperatures dormant bacteria can suddenly grow to clog an entire diesel filter system. 

So what can you do about this? Firstly, thoroughly inspect or research where you buy your fuel – a clean service station is a start. Unfortunately, the cleanliness of a fuel station is  generally out of our hands, so it comes back to reliable diesel filtration systems. The Original Diesel filtration system in our tow vehicles is often blamed as being pretty poor, whilst in reality, regular filter changing (about every 10,000km) is the key to keeping the diesel bug from taking over. Adding a correctly designed diesel pre-filter is another way of adding extra insurance. This filter should be chosen for a number of reasons, however a visible water bowl is key. Where there is water there is bacteria. So if you can gather any water into a clear bowl you will usually see the contamination of bacteria before it gets to an unmanageable stage. Remember to seek out your diesel expert when doing research on the diesel bug and find out how even the simplest steps can help you avoid big costs.

Andrew Leimroth
Berrima Diesel – The Diesel Experts