Fuel Contamination

Diesel should appear clear and bright, but once contaminated with water, this can change. What you may not know is that water contamination in diesel fuel can appear differently by manifesting in a number of ways: free, suspended and emulsified water. So what is the difference?

• Free water – water you can see as a separate layer at the bottom of the tank. It is here that diesel bug often grows, which puts your equipment, vehicles and engines at risk.
• Suspended water – water bound to the fuel molecules making it appear cloudy. As the diesel becomes so full of water that it can hold no more, it starts dropping free water out to the bottom of the tank.
• Emulsified water - Under pressure changes, agitation and heavy cavitation, often experienced as the fuel passes through pumps and filters, the water content becomes fully emulsified with almost no separation between the fuel and water, making the fuel appear milky

Unlike other fuel tanks that get used daily, the fuel in generator back up tanks can sit for months or even years, allowing the water to settle and the diesel bugs to grow and create nasty sludge. This presents a greater risk of generator failure and results in expensive repairs and downtime. To prevent the fuel from going stagnated, generator back up tanks require proper maintenance, including regularly turning over and filtering the fuel to prevent the costly risks associated with water contamination. Our CTS Fuel Recirculation Unit does just that!

The CTS recirculation system turns over 1.5 times the tank capacity every 28 days and does not allow the “diesel bugs” in your fuel to fester. The system tackles the root cause issue, ensuring that the generator is free from the damage and downtime caused by fuel contamination.