Biocides+fuel conditioner... magic mix

William1 · Nov 20, 2015

I bit the bullet and bought a bottle of fuel conditioner and a bottle of biocide.

I buy fuel in four gallon increments. Probably only use 16 gallons a year, at most. It is a real pain to measure of the treatment (these are slightly 'rich' amounts):
50Ml - 4 gallons - Conditioner
10Ml - 4 gallons - Algecide

I need to come up with a good method to combine the two in the proper ratio (and then add diesel) and then a way to easily measure it out. I was thinking a gallon+ bottle (128+ ounces) where I'd add an ounce of my 'brew' to a gallon of fuel, thereby making four gallon fills easy and less of a hassle trying to be precise.

Someone out there must have a better idea..........

sheepfarmer · Nov 20, 2015

Re: BX fuel tank cleaning surprise

William1 said:
I bit the bullet and bought a bottle of fuel conditioner and a bottle of biocide.

I buy fuel in four gallon increments. Probably only use 16 gallons a year, at most. It is a real pain to measure of the treatment (these are slightly 'rich' amounts):
50Ml - 4 gallons - Conditioner
10Ml - 4 gallons - Algecide

I need to come up with a good method to combine the two in the proper ratio (and then add diesel) and then a way to easily measure it out. I was thinking a gallon+ bottle (128+ ounces) where I'd add an ounce of my 'brew' to a gallon of fuel, thereby making four gallon fills easy and less of a hassle trying to be precise.

Someone out there must have a better idea..........

Part of the problem is that the biocides are toxic to us as well as the bacteria and algae they are targeting, and you don't want it on you or on any measuring devices that might be used for anything else. I buy diesel 3 gallons at a time and try to keep the tank full. So I calculated the dose of biocide needed for 12 gallons, my tank size, for the first dose, and measured that amount of WATER into a clean clear jelly jar with either measuring cup, syringe for ml, or measuring spoons for oz. Then mark the height of the water on the side of the jar with a permanent marker. Then empty and dry the jar and label so you have a disposable measuring device that you can put a lid on and keep in the barn. At the same time you can also measure and label the height for adding the right quantity for subsequent 3 or 4 gallon fills, eg 1/4 or 1/3 the original amount. I wasn't sure what the biocide would do to my water removal filter funnel, or how to easily mix in my fuel can, so I pour the dose into the tank directly and then pour the new fuel on top of it to get mixing in the tank.

For two additives, probably best to have two separate measuring jars.

William1 · Nov 20, 2015

Re: BX fuel tank cleaning surprise

sheepfarmer said:
Part of the problem is that the biocides are toxic to us as well as the bacteria and algae they are targeting, and you don't want it on you or on any measuring devices that might be used for anything else. I buy diesel 3 gallons at a time and try to keep the tank full. So I calculated the dose of biocide needed for 12 gallons, my tank size, for the first dose, and measured that amount of WATER into a clean clear jelly jar with either measuring cup, syringe for ml, or measuring spoons for oz. Then mark the height of the water on the side of the jar with a permanent marker. Then empty and dry the jar and label so you have a disposable measuring device that you can put a lid on and keep in the barn. At the same time you can also measure and label the height for adding the right quantity for subsequent 3 or 4 gallon fills, eg 1/4 or 1/3 the original amount. I wasn't sure what the biocide would do to my water removal filter funnel, or how to easily mix in my fuel can, so I pour the dose into the tank directly and then pour the new fuel on top of it to get mixing in the tank.

For two additives, probably best to have two separate measuring jars.

Yeah, that is kind of where I am. But measuring out 10 milliliters for a 4 gallons is a pain. I was hoping someone came up with a way to 'make a batch' and increase the volume of a dose to make doling it out easier.
I may just have to accept reality, use a couple of syringes and muddle through.
If I go a little heavy is that an issue? How about if I was light, would it still be effective?
Argh!

sheepfarmer · Nov 20, 2015

Re: BX fuel tank cleaning surprise

William1 said:
Yeah, that is kind of where I am. But measuring out 10 milliliters for a 4 gallons is a pain. I was hoping someone came up with a way to 'make a batch' and increase the volume of a dose to make doling it out easier.
I may just have to accept reality, use a couple of syringes and muddle through.
If I go a little heavy is that an issue? How about if I was light, would it still be effective?
Argh!

Ah I get it now. You want to make up for example a 10X stock solution containing both ingredients. Here are my calculations for one method if you have a clean one gallon container to store your mix in:
Desired final concentration is 50 ml/4 gal of conditioner and 10ml/4 gal biocide, so 1 gal of a 10 x solution would contain 50/4 times 10 = 125ml of conditioner and 10/4 times 10 =25 ml of the biocide. Measure out these quantities and put in the bottom of the clean 1 gal container and then add diesel up to the 1 gal mark. Mix well. Then take 0.4 gal and pour in the bottom of the fuel can that you take to the station, and then fill to 4 gal (add 3.6 gal).

0.4 gal = 6.4 cups. If this isn't a convenient amount to measure out, you could make 60X stock and measure out about 1 cup. (Somebody check my arithmetic here, this is a lab procedure we used to do all the time but since I retired brain is a little rusty.)

William1 · Nov 21, 2015

Re: BX fuel tank cleaning surprise

sheepfarmer said:
Ah I get it now. You want to make up for example a 10X stock solution containing both ingredients. Here are my calculations for one method if you have a clean one gallon container to store your mix in:
Desired final concentration is 50 ml/4 gal of conditioner and 10ml/4 gal biocide, so 1 gal of a 10 x solution would contain 50/4 times 10 = 125ml of conditioner and 10/4 times 10 =25 ml of the biocide. Measure out these quantities and put in the bottom of the clean 1 gal container and then add diesel up to the 1 gal mark. Mix well. Then take 0.4 gal and pour in the bottom of the fuel can that you take to the station, and then fill to 4 gal (add 3.6 gal).

0.4 gal = 6.4 cups. If this isn't a convenient amount to measure out, you could make 60X stock and measure out about 1 cup. (Somebody check my arithmetic here, this is a lab procedure we used to do all the time but since I retired brain is a little rusty.)

There we go, that is what I am thinking. Measuring out a cup or even just four ounces, a tiny bit more or less is not a issue where as 10ml, a single ml (the meniscus) is huge.

I'd like to get some real life confirmation that this works and does not create problems of its' own. Sometimes trying to stuff like this fails due to concentration levels. Molar levels in a solution for you all that recall chemistry.

sheepfarmer · Nov 25, 2015

Finding confirmation that the additives are stable once diluted and that they don't interact with each other in some horrible way is hard. The only thing I've found when looking up Soltron, the one NIW has used, is that the active ingredient (some proprietary organic molecule) is described as "stable" under ordinary use situations on the Material data safety sheet. So for something like that one it would seem relatively unlikely that you would run into problems, but I am hoping someone out there with a better chemistry background could chime in. There are a couple of brands that have a blend already, so those might be the safest. The problem is no two of these additives are alike and they are from wildly different chemical families...lots of ways to kill a biological organism

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Biocides+fuel conditioner... magic mix

William1

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sheepfarmer

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William1

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sheepfarmer

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William1

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sheepfarmer

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