Fuel Hygiene
Road diesel and gas oil now contain a percentage of bio-fuel (up to 7%). This provides an ideal breeding ground for diesel and gas oil bugs.
Equipment failure can be down to bugs in these modern fuels. Problems with contaminated fuel inside storage tanks can cause pumps and vehicle filters to block, and in severe cases, vehicles can stop working, causing downtime and hefty repair bills.
These issues are caused by microbial contamination, often known as diesel bugs which are micro-organisms that grow on water present in fuel. This problem has been known but contained for years until the age of the latest fuels.
Fuel Testing for Microbes
Testing for microbial contamination in diesel and gas oil gives people who store fuel a warning signal. This helps you to prevent microbial contamination from reaching dangerous levels. Dangerous levels of microbial contamination will cause problems to the fuel itself as well as the storage equipment. Therefore, testing before it happens will help prevent vehicle and equipment downtime and expensive repair bills.
Our test measures the total quantity of microbiological activity through a single analysis within minutes. The test report gives you a traffic light warning sequence:
- Green = Low contamination, no preventive action is required < 10pg/ml
- Amber = Medium contamination, preventative action is required 10 < 100pg/ml
- Red = High contamination, preventive/remedial action is required > 100 pg/ml
A few simple tips for maintaining fuel hygiene include:
- Regularly check for the presence of water
- Inspect your tank, checking for points of water ingress
- Bottom out your tank to remove any free water and sludge
- Have your fuel tested regularly for microbes
- Fit a fuel conditioner to your suction or vehicle fuel lines
- Fit a water and particle filter to your storage tank (fitted to the delivery side of pumps)
- Use tank dryers in fuel stores and vehicle tanks when not in use
Let Us Help with Fuel Hygiene & Testing
We have the experience, tools and knowledge to advise you correctly on fuel storage. Over time, this could save you a lot of money, so get in touch and let us guide you.