Diesel Fuel… Are You Getting What You Paid For or Buying a Problem?
Diesel engine designs striving to increase engine performance have made great advancements in engine fuel delivery to the combustion chamber. Todays diesel engine is quieter, smoother, and more powerful. But todays diesel engine owners are overlooking one important factor. The quality of todays diesel fuel has not advanced at the same rate as the engine improvements.
Diesel fuel begins to deteriorate as soon as it is produced. Within 30 days of refining, all diesel fuel regardless of brand, goes through a natural process called re-polymerization and oxidation. This process forms varnishes and insoluble gums in the fuel by causing the molecules of the fuel to lengthen and bond together. These components now drop to the bottom of the fuel tank and form asphaltene also known as diesel sludge. The fuel begins to turn dark in color, smell bad, and in most cases causes engines to smoke. The engines smoke because some of these clusters in the early stages are small enough in size to pass through the engine filtration and into the combustion chamber. As these clusters increase in size, only part of...