I puzzled for a long time about buying yet another thing for my tractor, and ran into a couple of questions I didn't find very good answers, so I'd be interested in other people's experiences and expertise.
The biocides are very toxic, not the sort of thing you want to either handle or have around the house unnecessarily.
1. When is it necessary? The things associated with algae and bacterial slime growth in the diesel fuel are biodiesel and water. How much does it take? Do you have to "catch" a starter algae contaminant first?
2. What kind of biocide should one use? Do any of them damage tractor parts?
It turns out that all the different companies have their own very different chemicals that they sell to kill the algae. Some of them are downright scary, e.g. 50% glutaraldehyde, something I have used in the lab and wouldn't handle without gloves and a fumehood. It is concentrated fixative or embalming fluid. It would crosslink and stiffen molecules in things like rubber and maybe plastic, so killing the algae might mess with other parts in the fuel delivery system. I asked Kubota if there were any biocides they recommended either for or against, but learned only that fuel filter blockage was VERY common, and that they didn't know if any of the biocides caused harm, there were too many kinds and they were chemically too different.
So we are on our own to figure out if any biocides damage fuel pumps or lines, especially the newer ones with the high pressure common rail systems.
The biocides are very toxic, not the sort of thing you want to either handle or have around the house unnecessarily.
1. When is it necessary? The things associated with algae and bacterial slime growth in the diesel fuel are biodiesel and water. How much does it take? Do you have to "catch" a starter algae contaminant first?
2. What kind of biocide should one use? Do any of them damage tractor parts?
It turns out that all the different companies have their own very different chemicals that they sell to kill the algae. Some of them are downright scary, e.g. 50% glutaraldehyde, something I have used in the lab and wouldn't handle without gloves and a fumehood. It is concentrated fixative or embalming fluid. It would crosslink and stiffen molecules in things like rubber and maybe plastic, so killing the algae might mess with other parts in the fuel delivery system. I asked Kubota if there were any biocides they recommended either for or against, but learned only that fuel filter blockage was VERY common, and that they didn't know if any of the biocides caused harm, there were too many kinds and they were chemically too different.
So we are on our own to figure out if any biocides damage fuel pumps or lines, especially the newer ones with the high pressure common rail systems.