Engine Manufacturer Warranty Denied for Fuel Additives?

Volvo judge their own ideas as to what is reasonable fuel.

Volvo warranty ....

... the use of lubricants or fuels which, in the reasonable judgment of Volvo Penta, are either incompatible with the Volvo Penta product or adversely affect its operation, performance, or durability.

That covers their ass in most respects.

I have had 1 manufacturer take a fuel sample when having to warranty a rebuild on a just rebuilt 12v71. The fuel sample and oil sample were requested to the dealer by the factory 1 1/2 weeks AFTER the rebuild was started. I think the sole purpose was to find a reason to deny warranty coverage, considering the oil pan had been dropped and cleaned a week prior. The fuel had Diesel Kleen additive in it. They didn't say anything about the fuel additive nor did they deny the claim.

I would take a hard look at the manufacturers warranty and what it says regarding fuel requirements. I think if the additive was approved by the right governing body (I forget the acronym for the fuel one), and wasn't Billy Bob's Backyard snake oil in a can, I don't think the manufacturer can have an issue about it.

Many of the common rail injectors do not tolerate additives. The molecules are larger than diesel fuel. Also any additive that "eliminates water" normally has a binding agent that lets the water pass to the engine past the racors. Water molecules do not compress. Pulling fuel, oil, and coolant samples is standard practice with a major warranty claim these days. A fuel sample is required for most major fuel system related claims.
Of course a high pressure pump and 16 injectors on a 2400 horsepower engine runs about $40,000.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Anyone try Stanadyne or Power Service?

I am pretty positive that most if not all engine manufactureres will have some sort of document that specifically details what is an approved Fluid (fuel/additive/coolant/cleaning agent) or Lubricant (oil), within the engine manufacturer's specifications, regardless of any governing body.

If it is not it the document, DO NOT put it in your engine until the warranty period expires, you will typically have no basis for a warranty claim thst can be attributed to the non-approved offendor.

After the Warranty Period, it is a wide open ball game, and will be up to your own discretion if you stick "by the book" or search other ingredients for your engine to "digest".

I have used the power service products and swear by them. The clear tank diesel product disintigrates the algae.

Algae does not grow in diesel fuel. Now back to the original topic.
Duke

Duke
Algae grows in the water that sits under the diesel fuel that sits in the tank....not nice to your racors.

What Grows In Fuel Tanks

What grows in fuel tanks is not algae, which requires light for photosynthesis.
Molds and fungi are the substances which grow in fuel tanks. They are mistakenly referred to as algae.

Ron

Won't quibble with that. Biocides are a major category of additives to diesel fuel. It s a shame if they void your warranty because they are sometimes necessary even with high fuel turn over. Those magnet things haven't convinced me they are a real alternative. BTW, good to hear your voice over here.

The Algae-x's are on one of the yachts I manage and maintain. They do a great job macerating the algae so that they pass right through the 10 micron primaries and clog up the 2 micron secondaries. If the boat didn't have metric fuel fittings I'd have to convert, I'd yank them off in a heartbeat.

CaptJ

So based on your experience, the maganets are too efficient? Have you ever heard that accepted additives can void your warrantty??

funny but my filters only seem to clog when i put additives in the tank.

I have dual racors and seem to do best with 10 microns on the first filter and 30 on the second....

when and if the 10 micron cloggs without notice i switch over to the 30 micron element and change and clean the 10 micron side asap.

this set up seems to keem my detroits happy and the primary and secondary on the engies clean and clear.

whenever my vaccume gague starts to show more that 6-10 i change the filter.

Like I said, i always seem to get more gunk in the filters when I use DK, i assume it is the gunk breaking up in the tank from the DK.

I do not use those magnets in the fuel, some of my friends swear by them and say it cuts down on the smoke also....

I am not sure if I follow the logic of having the finer mesh (10 micron) filter before the larger mesh (30 micron) filter on the dual Racor. You are now passing through larger elements to your on engine filters, which increases the risk of clogging?

Why not just have both at 10 micron?

I am assuming the 10 micron would be shut-off when the vacuum gauge hits the 6 - 10 range, and then they would be running on the 30 micron for however long, until the replacement of the dirty 10? Also. some fuel additives can attack the Racor element and render the micron rating useless. So not only do you need to be aware of the engine manufacture's approved Fuel Additives, but also the Fuel Filters' approved list - seems like a lot of trial and error for the boat operator.

I would still expect the filter progression to be something like 30-10-5-2?

MARMOT

i haven't figured out a lot of boat drivers yet and don't even try any more some things just don't make sence to me but i am old and dumb

travler