CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL

Article 1 -Tech Tips
Article 2 - Biofuel Blends – The Risks and the Repairs!

Article 3 - 5 Reasons

TECH TIPS   

Have you ever tried to grease a joint but couldn't?

Many times I begrudgingly took the time to service my equipment and ended up frustrated. First you have to find the grease gun and when you do, it’s always empty. After you fill it, you carefully clean off each grease fitting and cautiously, with great anticipation, you attempt to grease the joint.

As you try to push grease into the fitting, grease pools around the head, but doesn’t go into the fitting. You change angles over and over again and it still doesn't work. You then ask someone else to pump while you use both hands to hold the grease coupler to the fitting. If you're really determined, you can find and replace the zerk fitting, but that doesn't work either. Finally you take out the zerk fitting and fish in a wire; in the end, nothing seems to work.

Does this sound familiar? Anyone who works with machinery and uses a grease gun has been in this position before, but they don’t know why the fitting won’t take the grease. In my case, I was working on a 650G Dozer and decided to take off the blade to get to the bottom of this mysterious problem.

After several hours and examining every problematic joint, I found the culprit—hardened grease and dirt in the relief slots of the bushings. Because of heat and dirt, the old grease dried up and wouldn’t allow new grease to take its place. No amount of pressure I put on the zerk fitting, with any grease gun, would push the new grease into the bad joint. That’s when I invented the Grease Joint Rejuvenator®.

Using the tool is easy—just follow a few simple steps.

Fill the tool with light penetrating oil such as WD 40, CRC or Diesel oil.

1. Bleed the air out of the tool.
2. Attach its coupler to the grease fitting and gently tap with a hammer.

3. After a few taps on the piston, light oil is pushed into the dry joint and when the piston is down in the tool body all the way; the job is done.

Biofuel Blends –
The Risks and the Repairs!

Anyone who has ever run a diesel knows what dirty fuel means to an engine and everybody can agree that the only fuel to use is clean fuel. But times have changed and fleets are at risk of contamination. Maintaining diesel oil has always been a science, but with the advent of commercially prepared biodiesels, a new head has arisen from the depths of your fuel tank in the form of Algae, sludge and other contaminants. While most fleets pay for routine maintenance of their storage tanks, contamination remains prevalent. But why is that? This article aims to better explain the risks and most importantly the proper solutions!

What is a Bio Diesel Blend and how is it Made?

The common commercial biodiesel blends available are rated from B2 to B20 biodiesel which indicates the percentage of biofuel blended with standard diesel fuel. For example, B10 biodiesel fuel is 10% bio-to-diesel blend and B20 is 20% bio-to-diesel blend.

The "bio" part of biodiesel is made from renewable feedstock sources such as plant matter or animal. In either case, the biomass used to produce the fuel must be properly processed. Chemically, biomass fuels are made up of triglycerides or fatty acids (the same stuff that clogs your arteries) and not something we want running through a diesel injection system.

Biofuel contamination:
Due to the nature of the fuel, biodiesel changes over time and can become like poison to a vehicle. Biofuel contamination occurs when organic compounds are left clinging to the sides of a fuel tank eventually evolving into an algae-like colony growth. Each time fuel runs low in a tank, the biomass begins to grow a ‘beard.’ In time, the continuous die-off alone will accumulate in your filters and injectors eventually causing engine problems and equipment downtime. Even the finest micron filters will leave behind particles suspended in oil. Even after passing through the finest filters the particle that make it past the filter will being to grow again. Problems with suspended particles are not limited to recycled fryer oil, but are especially dangerous from this source. Restaurants use fryer oil to fry meats, vegetables and grain products. The more the oil used, the higher the bio-contaminant’s solution range. The worst of these is hydrocarbons; the building blocks of diamonds and the hardest material known to man.

Risks and Damages:
With hydrocarbon, particles settle when the fuel is not in use and the hydrocarbon molecules attach their bonds making larger and larger molecules: carbon is the base element that goes into making diamonds, the hardest substance known to man. Over time, and especially in cold weather, these clumps of carbon will find their way throughout the fuel system resulting in
• Clogged fuel filters
• Water contamination
• Build-up of contaminates in injector nozzles

Once the fuel makes its way to the combustion chamber, the tiny particles that do not burn will imbed themselves into the valve seats, guides and piston tops. Eventually, the buildup will reduce a diesel engine’s life.

The eventual accumulation of fatty deposits can cause fuel system failures including:
• Misfire issues
• Clogged filters, pumps and injectors
• Storage temperatures, water and oxygen influence the assent rate of oxidation
• Low temperature coagulation

Dangers of 100% Biofuel:
Actual failure of components in 100% blends of biodiesel that meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D-6751 standard for fuel quality will fall below the requirements of free glycerin and total glycerin content (0.020 free glycerin or 0.240 total glycerin expressed as a percentage of total fuel mass). Excess glycerin content can cause deposit formation, leading to fuel system clogging and contributing to poor cold weather running and starting issues. In short, the colder the temperatures, the more problems will arise.

The situation becomes even more severe if an unprocessed biodiesel fuel such as vegetable oils/fryer grease or mixtures of processed biodiesel fuels (those distilled in a non-commercial process) in excess of the manufacturer's mixture recommendation is used.

Most automotive manufacturers recommend biodiesel blends of 5 percent or less (B5 biodiesel) and the biofuel used to create this blend must adhere to the (ASTM) D-6751 standard of fuel quality. There are many risks associated with running a diesel engine on biodiesel fuels that exceed the manufacturer's specified fuel blend requirements. The risk of running a vehicle on improperly processed biodiesel fuel is even greater – especially when there is money to be made. Manufactures will take shortcuts and since there is no one overseeing the cleaning and mixing of additives, who is to say what really makes it into your tank?

The Secret About Fuel Additives:
Fuel additives are typically used to accomplish the following:
• Kill existing bio-growth such as algae
• Remove water
• Stabilize fuel by preventing future growth of contaminants

For example, the inherent problem with only using a fuel additive in a truck’s tank is that you are counting on the fuel filter to remove the dead contaminants. When algae is killed or dies, it drops to the bottom of the fuel tank. It stays at the bottom of the tank until it is pulled through the fuel lines and filtered by the engine’s filter, resulting in an inevitable loss of fuel economy, engine performance and possible roadside breakdown. Any good fuel additive company will advise that within 48 hours of the additive being blended with fuel, the fuel tank should be cleaned; otherwise what was once living algae will be dead algae with the same filter clogging, injector clogging and engine damaging capabilities as it had when it was alive. Yes it is important to use fuel additives to stop future growth and stabilize fuel, but it is just as important to remove the contaminants once they are killed.

Aftermarket Biodiesel Usage:
Technicians encounter diesel vehicles that have a biodiesel fuel system retrofit kit installed with separate fuel tanks and valves allowing the use of either bio or regular diesel fuel at the flip of a switch. They also encounter customers who simply pour biodiesel directly into the vehicle’s fuel tank. As long as those customers are using properly prepared and blended biodiesel, there should be no problems, right? Wrong. In theory, proper filtering of fryer oil may reduce these particles, but over time they attach to each other recreating the suspended solution awaiting your combustion chamber.

Fuel Storage and Stationary Tanks:
Another part of this equation, often overlooked, is long-time fuel storage. Most fleets have fuel storage facilities in the form of stationary tanks. Each time the fuel tank is filled, the heavier particles drop to the bottom of the tank. One day a fleet may run their tank down to the point where the heavy solution of contaminates reside. Once that solution makes its way into the trucks fuel system it’s too late. The cost of repairs will quickly outpace any savings the use of the biofuel may have created.

Routine Maintenance:
Since there is no way to be certain how your biodiesel oil was cleaned and prepared and the government (such as Canada’s Federal Renewable Fuel Standard) is making it mandatory to add these bio-fuels to fleet fuel, fleets must focus on prevention and maintenance. Several forms of maintenance are available and should be used including fuel additives, routine engine filter changing, storage tank cleaning and truck fuel tank cleaning also known as sweeping and polishing. The best methods only require a few minutes of service in regular intervals.

Below are some tips on how to get the most from your biodiesel while keeping your engine and storage tank healthy.
• Use a 10 micron fuel filter on the fuel delivery tank and in the truck.
• Use fuel additives - Use a tank sweeping system to blend fuel and additives.
• Tank cleaning
o - Clean tank walls with a high-pressure fuel blast from the Tank Sweeper™.
o - Polish Fuel using the Tank Sweeper™ with 10 micron water blocking filter.

Input and Output hoses go in same tank.
• Remove water by cleaning fuel from bottom of tank and running through water separating filters. The Tank Sweeper™ can also be used here.
• Change fuel filters more often

IPA® offers a variety of compact and portable Fuel Tank Transfer and Fuel Filtration Systems that include input and output hoses; special attachments for accessing saddle tanks on fleet trucks and 55 gallon drums. Engineered orifice reduction creates extremely high vacuum and discharge stream capable of blasting most contaminates from their hold on the fuel tank walls.

5 REASONS...

Why Every Truck Repair Shop Needs
a SUPER MUTT® Trailer Tester

1. Operate air brakes with wireless remote

2. Identify problems before they happen on the road

3. Proven to reduce citations and road side service calls

4. True one man testing capability

5. Eliminates guesswork and saves time

ABOUT IPA®
IPA® is an OE manufacturer of innovative hand tools and diagnostic equipment servicing various markets including, Automotive, Industrial, MRO, Ag and Construction. IPA private labels products for warehouse distributors and OEM accounts world-wide. In addition to the products in our catalog, IPA builds custom equipment for various OEM accounts.

For additional information or any special requests, please write us information@ipatools.com or call 888-786-7899.

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