Diesel fuel Lifespan

Hi All,
Basically i have a large tank of diesel and I want to know if its safe to use it?

A site we have just taken control of has large and full diesel fuel tank, and I want to know if the contents are still useable.

The tank was filled with standard diesel (not red diesel) and is probably 6 - 8 years old.

It is being used to run the building generator without any problems.
But Ive drained a sample off and its a dark brown colour.

I have found a link to a local company who claims to clean (or polish) diesel (mostly for boats), but not sure if they give any guarantees.

So does diesel have a shelf life? has it been contaminated with bacteria? Should I use it mixed with new fuel?

Britmonkey

i'm not sure how long it will keep, but the dark brown color would scare me...

Google says that it has a shelf life of 3-6 months.

I'm not sure if that's before degradation takes place, or when degradation has taken place to a considerable degree though.

There are additives you can get but 6-8 years!, it wouldn't be going in my car.
You might find this helpful...
http://www.fueltechinc.com/Index.html

Quote:

Originally posted by britmonkey

Hi All,
Basically i have a large tank of diesel and I want to know if its safe to use it?

A site we have just taken control of has large and full diesel fuel tank, and I want to know if the contents are still useable.

The tank was filled with standard diesel (not red diesel) and is probably 6 - 8 years old.

It is being used to run the building generator without any problems.
But Ive drained a sample off and its a dark brown colour.

I have found a link to a local company who claims to clean (or polish) diesel (mostly for boats), but not sure if they give any guarantees.

So does diesel have a shelf life? has it been contaminated with bacteria? Should I use it mixed with new fuel?

Britmonkey

The only problem you might have, and im not sure if this is only in the USA or not, but the EPA has regulated all fuels to have lime? in them I think, to make it cleaner on the environment, if the gas has been sitting in the tank for 6-8 years it might not be ok to burn. You can use it but you won't be getting the best out of it, and I wouldn't use it in vehicles at all.

I would call your local environmental agency and let them test the fuel to make sure, because the fines are pretty stiff. If it's bad they might remove the tank for free