Water In Fuel

[CIWS14]

I am looking to purchase a JCB 1400B soon. The feller I'm buying it from told me that you have to keep the deisel topped off at all times due to condensation. He says when you shut the machine down, the tank sweats on the inside and you get water in the lines and have to bleed them. Is this normal? Our trucks are hardly ever full all the time and we never have problems with water in the fuel. Don't these machines have a water seperator like the big rigs? Thanks.

 

[RonG]

I'll bet he sleeps with the light on too!!!:bouncegri Ron G

 

[rino1494]

Turn around and run away.

 

[Dozerboy]

Not that I have ever ran a JCB, but we always fuel at the end of the day for this reason.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

Could it be that his fuel supply is contaminated with water. Water causes all kinds of problems in diesel. I never heard of tank sweating enough to cause problems.

 

[itsgottobegreen]

That a new one on me. I run a JCB 1550 all the time for my friend. Never had that problem. It sits all winter out in the snow with barely any fuel in it. A shot of either and she fires right up and pushes snow for 12-14 hours straight no problem.

 

[Wulf]

Not that I have ever ran a JCB, but we always fuel at the end of the day for this reason.

Like Dozerboy says... keeping the fuel tank full is always good practice overnight for any fuel system because the water present in the volume of air above the fuel will cool, condense and settle in the tank. Sounds like the guy in question is either paranoid or is a meticulous owner/operator.

 

[TheIronpeddler]

If this machine is in Indiana, the humidity can't be as bad as it is in Florida, I have never seen nor heard of that problem with condensation in the fuel tank.

If you decide to purchase that machine, drain the entire fuel system, replace filters, and check the fuel cap for any breach in the seal. The only things I can think of is the fuel cap may have a broken seal and could be funneling water (from rain) into the tank, or his fuel source is contaminated. The seller being open and honest about this doesn't throw up any flags to me. Like WULF said, I think this guy may be meticulous and overly concerned. I'll have to research the machine to see if it has a water seperator. If it doesn't come stock with one, I see no reason why you can't put one on it fairly cheaply.

Good luck!!

 

[nobull1]

I have been following this thread to see what everyones opinion is. I was told in the winter to always keep the tank full due to frost forming on the inside of the tank . I did happen to look one day in someone elses backhoe and seen frost that made the inside exposed walls of the tank look white . Don't know if it is a issue but I always fill before putting away especially in the winter. By the way the backhoe I spoke of is never filled and I don't think it ever caused a problem:beatsme .

 

[mflah87]

iove heard of the tanks sweating in plastic tanks but not in metal ones. Use howes fuel improver it is a good diesel fuel improver to help clean the water out

 

[CEwriter]

Like Dozerboy says... keeping the fuel tank full is always good practice overnight for any fuel system because the water present in the volume of air above the fuel will cool, condense and settle in the tank. Sounds like the guy in question is either paranoid or is a meticulous owner/operator.

This is what I've heard from the OEMs. Doesn't matter what material the tank's made of. Amount of condensation the tank collects is related directly to the percentage humidity in the air, the volume of air in the fuel tank, and the difference in temperature from the day's high to the low.

L

 

[Alan Mesmer]

Out of habit I always fill my tanks at nights because of moisture and because I would rather jump in and start digging first thing after the fluid checks instead of fueling equipment. I know that from experience it is best to keep your tanks topped off when possible. One summer I had a 1/2 full - 5 gal. can of gas in a open sided shed and over about a 6 month period of non use the can gained about 1 cup of water in the can! I figured that during the day the heat was expanding air out of the cans vent and at night it was pulling cold moist air back into the can and condensating. I figure that if the "can" or tank is full at night then it has less area to pull moist air back into.:thumbsup

 

[CEwriter]

I figured that during the day the heat was expanding air out of the cans vent and at night it was pulling cold moist air back into the can and condensating. I figure that if the "can" or tank is full at night then it has less area to pull moist air back into.:thumbsup

What he said!

L