ULSD - Its sooner than you think!

fwebster

fwebster

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Oct 6, 2006
12,153
Middle Tennessee ; Panama City Beach, FL
Boat Info
1996 450DA
Engines
3116 Caterpillars
It appears that ultra low sulpher diesel ULSD is here now which is a lot sooner than most of us thought.

I spent some time with a friend who ownes a diesel service company yesterday. They are a mid-range Cummins dealer and an authorized re manufacturer for Stanadyne, Bosch, Nippodenso, Caterpillar, Cummins, John Deere, etc. pumps and injectors, and they repair all types of diesel engines in addition to fuel system repairs and rebuilding.

They began seeing ULSD as early as last August and saw the first fuel related problems on equipment in for repair in October '06. In this area, all over the road fuel sold is now ULSD and very soon all the off-road fuel will be changed over as well. By spring, the fuel we buy for our boats is, in all likelihood going to be ULSD.

The mechanical problems discovered thus far have had to do with reduced cetane levels (poor performance/economy) and from lower lubricity in the fuel (injection pump and injector failures on high mileage vehicles first, but some with as low as 50,000 miles). The process where the refiners remove the sulpher to EPA mandated ULSD levels also reduces the fuels naturally occurring ability to lubricate as well as reducing cetane, which is loosely the equivalent of octane in gasoline.

Since the internal moving parts of injection pumps and injectors are lubricated by the fuel passing through them, it is mandatory that we begin using a fuel additive to replace the lost lubricity in ULSD. Since efficiency is important to all of us, you should select a fuel additive that improves cetane as well.

The guys I spoke to sell Stanadyne products and they recommend this:


http://www.stanadyne.com/new/ppt/ppt_dfa.asp

Click on publication number 99727 for a tech. sheet on Performance Formula.

Here is another very good fuel additive:

http://www.powerservice.com/

Click on products, by industry, then marine and finally, click on Diesel Kleen+Cetane Boost.
 
Frank:


I will read what I can about ULSD, however, my real plan is to wait for a post from you that says something like....." I use brand X in each tank of fuel "...and then brand X will be what I use.... :grin:
 
From Wikipedia:

United States
Ultra-low sulfur diesel was proposed by EPA as a new standard for the sulfur content in on-road diesel fuel sold in the United States since October 15, 2006, except for the state of California, which required it since September 1, 2006. This new regulation applies to all diesel fuel, diesel fuel additives and distillate fuels blended with diesel for on-road use, such as kerosene, however, it does not yet apply to train locomotives, marine, or off road uses. The EPA is also mandating the use of ULSD fuel in model year 2007 and newer diesel fuel engines designed for on-highway use. The EPA rule goes into effect for non-road, locomotive, and marine (NRLM) diesel fuel on June 1st, 2007

So...it looks like June 1 for the boats....great ....I sell my gas boat and don't have to worry about ethanaol and now this.... :smt021
 
As I understand it, the later date for off road compliance was to appease the oil refining companies and give them a market to use up remaining LSD supplies as the change over to ULSD takes place. No matter how you cut it, we still have only one diesel distribution or supply chain in the USl. All the fuel is the same up to the point at the distributor where he loads a tanker to deliver fuel to an off road load of fuel. The distributor puts the red dye in at that point and off road fuel is distributed thru a separate fuel pump at a lower price to account for highway taxes than on-road fuel......but it is the same fuel.

The problem I see is that there is no way for you and I to know if the fuel we are buying is LSD or ULSD. I'm not taking chances and haven't since we went from the old diesel to LSD.......I've been adding fuel treatment to all my fuel for several years, so this isn't a change for me.
 
If they have LSD or ULSD at the dock, make sure you have spare fuel filters. This stuff is like bio, it cleans tanks and lines and causes filter issues.

I have a Dodge Cummins, and use PowerServices in the gray bottle every 3 or 4 fill-ups. I have lost 2 injector pumps, but that was due to not having enough fuel pressure from bigger injectors and fueling boxes. It's nice to have a 600hp quad cab dullie! :grin:
 
Frank,

There was an article in todays Wall Street Journal about all the problems school districts are having across the country with down time the new fuel is causing in the bus fleets especially in the extreame cold much of the country has been having the last few weeks.

I made a business trip visit to Cat's engine development center in Peoria, IL in 2004 for my former employer. I remember speaking to an engineer there who told me that when they began the project to meet the next level of EPA emissions requirements they discoverd that the ambient air inside the engine lab was too dirty to meet the spec.... even before it went through an engine. They purchased and air purfication system to clean up the air in the lab just to begin the development work. He told me that the EPA has basically mandated that a 80,000 over the road truck must become a mobile air purfication machine, what comes out of the stacks will be cleaner that what goes in the air filter.

I am still holding our for my next boat, the hydrogen powered Sea Ray with fuel cells and electric pod drives. It should convert sea water using reverse osmosis into hydrogen and then into electricity. Until then I will stick with my carburated 454's!
 
600HP Cummins?????

H20nut, have you had that tested on a Dyno, where is your information on your truck coming from, I know you said you have bigger injectors, I'm just wondering where the 600hp is coming from.....
 
OK, not 600, it was 589 on the dyno. :smt021

The head has been fire ringed, monster single turbo, 200 HP injectors, and a TST fueling box.

I have down graded to about 425 now, more streetable.

There is a guy in PA that had just shy of 900hp a few months back.

The 6.0 Fords and the Duramax are no slouches either!
 
I buy the diesel kleen at walmart as turned on by Frank W, 13-15 bucks per 96 oz bottle. I now use 2 bottles per 200 gal fill up, roughly adds .15 per gal. and well worth it. I use the Diesel 911 once a year also per Frank W and of course the biocide.
 
No sweat Jon. Hey its 20 degrees here, my wife sais it will be 80 degrees next week in Ft.L, I cant wait to get there :cool:
 
Stanadyne is a large maker of fuel systems for diesel engines and their products are usually sold through diesel service companies.

Power Service products are more generally available in agricultural, industrial and automotive stores. Around here TSC, Walmart, NAPA, Carquest, and the local farmer's Co-op all handle the line.
 
Before you start adding stuff to your fuel you really should step back and talk to your engine manufacturer.

I spoke with MAN this afternoon regarding my common rail engines (V-8 900 CRM) and did a bit of research on published documents by MAN and others.

MAN actually recommends ULSD or sulphur-free diesel for these engines. They also say that any fuel used must meet ASTM D 975 for lubricity. (sulphur = lubricity, so if they take out the sulphur they have to add something to increase lubricity)

ULSD is less than or equal to 15 parts per million (ppm) sulphur. This is what is already being sold for on road use in the US. By June 1, 2007 marine fuel is required to be less than or equal to 500 ppm sulphur. (check dates and specs. for California and Canada.) They aren't required to sell marine fuel at <15 ppm until 2014.

Now, the good part:

ALL DIESEL SOLD IN THE US ALREADY MEETS THE ASTM D 975 SPECIFICATION regardless of the sulphur content.

This means that, aside from verifying the spec. with fuel suppliers, I have no worries about using the ULSD.

Please just talk to your engine supplier and find out what they require for your particular engine. For mine this is a non issue.
 
I would assume that each engine manufacturer would put out a bulletin on this to let people know what to do? I can't find anything on the Cummins web sight but I am curious to know what their stand is on this.
 
Gary,

I have Cats so I never tried to find anything about Cummins marine engines, and my Cummins engines are older industrial engines. However, the guy I talked to about this is a Cummins dealer and he recommends using the Stanadyne fuel conditioner in every diesel. Cummins dealers apparently have access to information us common folks don't have, so you may need to call the dealer who services your engines.
 
I guess I'll call the cummins service guys here and ask. I have to get my valve lash adjusted this spring and want to get the aftercoolers/heat exchangers looked at and probably cleaned. I have about 600 hours on these engines now. I know the QSM-11 engines are basically an updated (electronic and common rail) version of the old Cummins M-11 industrial diesels that are in agriculture equipment and dump trucks and such so I doubt when these things where originally designed, they thought much about ULSD but who knows. Knock on wood but these things have been exremely reliable so far and I would like to think that ULSD doesn't get in the way of a long and wonderful life.
 
Gary,
I am meeting with Cummins on 14 March to get some routine, but above my DIY level, maintenance done on my C series. I intend to ask about ULSD fuel implications while the technician is aboard. I will post whatever I find out. My plan right now is to continue to use maintenance doses of biocide at every fill up and add a fuel lubricity enhancer as Frank alludes to above. More to follow.

Skip
 
At the pumps there are stickers on unleaded gas stating "ethanol". Is there are will there, or are there already stickers indicating the ULSD?
 
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