Warning: this is long!
At work the filters and tanks on our fuel trucks and farm have a couple gallons drained every day and checked for water and/or other contaminants. Clean fuel is poured into a reclaim tank, dirty goes into a waste barrel. Due to the requirements of the Clean Water Act the containers have to be labeled with their contents, and we're limited as to how much we can store on the premises. So, the clean Jet A is put into barrels labeled "usable fuel (Jet A)" and dumped into our waste oil furnace. Mislabeled containers are a very serious violation if caught. The fuel is also available for our use in trucks, tractors, whatever, especially when the furnace tanks are full as they usually are in the summer. So, there's the background.
Friday night I was going to NH for the weekend, so when I saw a new barrel of "usable fuel (Jet A)" in our secondary containment area I was happy that I wouldn't be paying for any fuel that weekend. Both my tanks were at about 1/4, so after my shift I brought the truck into the shop and topped off both tanks. I drove out of the shop into the parking lot, and wasn't even all the way out of the perimeter fence when the engine bogged and died - maybe 10-15 seconds of running. I figured I'd been low enough in 1 tank to suck air so I cranked again. Nothing. That's when I started thinking "oh, S!" I grabbed a 1 pint fuel sample jar, drained half a pint from the filter, and it looked something like chicken broth. Just as a formality I took one of our hydro test kits (to check for dissolved/emulsified water in Jet A) and tested what I'd drained. After all, mixed hydraulic oil and Jet A would look something like what I had. Nope. The hydro test kit has a powder in the vial that turns the fuel pink in the presence of water, the pinker the more water. This stuff turned so pink it was almost red. Someone had put contaminated fuel in a "usable fuel (Jet A)" barrel so they wouldn't have to find and label a new barrel. So I got a ride home and would go back in the morning.
Next morning I started siphoning the tanks. When they were as empty as I could get them I put clean diesel in, drained the fuel filter and left the drain open, stuck my air nozzle in the filler neck and sealed it with a rag, and blew lightly till liquid came out of the drain. Once I got all diesel (slightly cloudy) I switched tanks and did it again. A pint of Prist (jet fuel biocide/water dispersant used in a 1000:1 ratio in jets) per tank, 3 crank cycles, and she started. She ran rough for a bit but soon smoothed out, and I let it run on the front tank for about 20 minutes. The WIF light was on after this time so I shut down and drained maybe 6oz of cloudy water & slime from the filter. I decided to head home, on the 12 mile drive I had to stop to drain water once, and the WIF light came on just before I got home too. I drained maybe 12oz of water the first time and 6-8 the second. Later I drove around for 15-20 minutes until the light came on, went home, and drained another 4-6oz. The next day I went to my parents' place about 30 miles away, I had to stop to drain halfway there and again when I got to their house. That night when I was going home I went the whole way without a WIF light, so on my way to work Monday morning I flipped to the rear tank for 5 seconds then back to the front. Within a minute the WIF light came on. I drained at work, and did it again on the way home, with similar results. This morning I had to change tanks for 2 5-seconds intervals to get a WIF light, and on my way home today I went 15 seconds in all without getting a light from rear tank fuel. Just now I ran it on the rear tank for 5 minutes without getting a light, and when I drained the filter afterward there were only small droplets of water in the jar. So I'm about to head out for another drive to see how long I can go, but I think I got the majority of the contaminants out of the tank. Come payday I'll be topping off again to further dilute whatever is left.
So this brings me to the second part of my thread title - "...why I like the very tolerant of stupidity DB2 injector pump!" I've seen Bosch, Lucas, and Delphi pumps damaged and need repair from less water than mine ran through it. If you're getting fuel from ANY place beside an actual fuel station, make sure you know what you're getting. I had absolutely no excuse for what happened to my truck, it would have taken a minute to draw a small sample from the "usable fuel (Jet A)" barrel and run a hydro test, which would have told me it was NOT "usable fuel (Jet A.)"
At work the filters and tanks on our fuel trucks and farm have a couple gallons drained every day and checked for water and/or other contaminants. Clean fuel is poured into a reclaim tank, dirty goes into a waste barrel. Due to the requirements of the Clean Water Act the containers have to be labeled with their contents, and we're limited as to how much we can store on the premises. So, the clean Jet A is put into barrels labeled "usable fuel (Jet A)" and dumped into our waste oil furnace. Mislabeled containers are a very serious violation if caught. The fuel is also available for our use in trucks, tractors, whatever, especially when the furnace tanks are full as they usually are in the summer. So, there's the background.
Friday night I was going to NH for the weekend, so when I saw a new barrel of "usable fuel (Jet A)" in our secondary containment area I was happy that I wouldn't be paying for any fuel that weekend. Both my tanks were at about 1/4, so after my shift I brought the truck into the shop and topped off both tanks. I drove out of the shop into the parking lot, and wasn't even all the way out of the perimeter fence when the engine bogged and died - maybe 10-15 seconds of running. I figured I'd been low enough in 1 tank to suck air so I cranked again. Nothing. That's when I started thinking "oh, S!" I grabbed a 1 pint fuel sample jar, drained half a pint from the filter, and it looked something like chicken broth. Just as a formality I took one of our hydro test kits (to check for dissolved/emulsified water in Jet A) and tested what I'd drained. After all, mixed hydraulic oil and Jet A would look something like what I had. Nope. The hydro test kit has a powder in the vial that turns the fuel pink in the presence of water, the pinker the more water. This stuff turned so pink it was almost red. Someone had put contaminated fuel in a "usable fuel (Jet A)" barrel so they wouldn't have to find and label a new barrel. So I got a ride home and would go back in the morning.
Next morning I started siphoning the tanks. When they were as empty as I could get them I put clean diesel in, drained the fuel filter and left the drain open, stuck my air nozzle in the filler neck and sealed it with a rag, and blew lightly till liquid came out of the drain. Once I got all diesel (slightly cloudy) I switched tanks and did it again. A pint of Prist (jet fuel biocide/water dispersant used in a 1000:1 ratio in jets) per tank, 3 crank cycles, and she started. She ran rough for a bit but soon smoothed out, and I let it run on the front tank for about 20 minutes. The WIF light was on after this time so I shut down and drained maybe 6oz of cloudy water & slime from the filter. I decided to head home, on the 12 mile drive I had to stop to drain water once, and the WIF light came on just before I got home too. I drained maybe 12oz of water the first time and 6-8 the second. Later I drove around for 15-20 minutes until the light came on, went home, and drained another 4-6oz. The next day I went to my parents' place about 30 miles away, I had to stop to drain halfway there and again when I got to their house. That night when I was going home I went the whole way without a WIF light, so on my way to work Monday morning I flipped to the rear tank for 5 seconds then back to the front. Within a minute the WIF light came on. I drained at work, and did it again on the way home, with similar results. This morning I had to change tanks for 2 5-seconds intervals to get a WIF light, and on my way home today I went 15 seconds in all without getting a light from rear tank fuel. Just now I ran it on the rear tank for 5 minutes without getting a light, and when I drained the filter afterward there were only small droplets of water in the jar. So I'm about to head out for another drive to see how long I can go, but I think I got the majority of the contaminants out of the tank. Come payday I'll be topping off again to further dilute whatever is left.
So this brings me to the second part of my thread title - "...why I like the very tolerant of stupidity DB2 injector pump!" I've seen Bosch, Lucas, and Delphi pumps damaged and need repair from less water than mine ran through it. If you're getting fuel from ANY place beside an actual fuel station, make sure you know what you're getting. I had absolutely no excuse for what happened to my truck, it would have taken a minute to draw a small sample from the "usable fuel (Jet A)" barrel and run a hydro test, which would have told me it was NOT "usable fuel (Jet A.)"