As stated in a previous issue, over 40% of all maintenance problems on diesel engines can be attributed to poor maintenance of the cooling system. Coolants allow for the raising of boiling temperature and/or improving resistance to frost. They prevent engines from freezing and overheating and protect components against corrosion.

Downtime reduction, time and money savings on spare parts and maintenance costs, keeping equipment in optimal operating condition are the most commonly quoted benefits of oil analysis, and for good reason.

Without proper monitoring, both bacteria and fungi will grow and spread rapidly throughout a fuel system, reduce performance and damage engines. They quickly plug fuel filters with a slime-like coating over the surface and dramatically reduce service life. How then is it possible to get rid of them?

Contaminated or poor quality fuel causes numerous adverse effects on engine performance, parts, components and supporting systems such as pumps and injection systems. The first and most obvious adverse effect of water on metal is corrosion, water being the ideal growth environment for bacteria, a prominent cause of filter plugging and poor engine performance.

In the September 2013 issue of this newsletter, we have seen that water, bacteria, sediment including other solids are the most frequent fuel contaminants. They seep into tanks when carried, transferred or mixed leaving left overs at the bottom of storage tanks.