fuel conditioner

[chappy1958]

gday all. does anyone have knowledge about fuel conditioners. do they actually work or a waste of money. i have 2.5 diesel d22. 2014

 

[Horatius]

I think it amounts to personal preference. There seems very few impartial studies and from memory the ones that I was able to find (a while ago now, not sure about recent studies) weren't all that comprehensive and didn't really indicate a benefit. There are all sorts of claims that amount to "The Ponds Institute" type of science (where "scientific studies" show that our wrinkle cream reduces the visible signs of aging) lol.

So to me, they are a waste of money. They make your car run better while it's in the tank (raise the cetane rating, possibly giving a slight increase in efficiency?) but that's about it. No lasting benefits I am aware of. I find things like the "diesel purge" and associated claims very dubious also.

At any rate I have had plenty of cars over the years that ran 400- 650 thousand kms on original injectors (regular filter changes of course) without components like injectors ever having been serviced. They ran fine and their eventual end had nothing to do with injectors.

Engines are designed to run on our fuel, do the designers and manufacturers recommend it? The dealers certainly do, in a similar way to "paint protection" and and any number of other extras they use to increase their profits.

That's only one opinion though, others will have completely different pov. As I say, it's up to yourself. Different brands of fuel already have additives (supposedly) designed to keep your engine clean. If we look for things that might back that claim we're back to the "Ponds Institute" again. If you believe they help, where's the harm I suppose, helps keep the economy ticking along.

ps. I really think the best thing you can do would be to change your filter regularly, to manufacturers recommendations at the very least.

 

[Old.Tony]

^^ Just like that.

 

[Billy54]

I add Fuel Doctor to my tank about once a month and before long trips. i think it works and the truck likes it. Horatius has a good point [Ponds] but i once got fuel sludge which caused problems.

 

[chappy1958]

thanks fellas. i do use it when i remember. but will keep the filters up to date. the conditioner is called flashlube. had a sticky valve used it and noise dissapeared. coincidence. i dont know.

 

[chappy1958]

I add Fuel Doctor to my tank about once a month and before long trips. i think it works and the truck likes it. Horatius has a good point [Ponds] but i once got fuel sludge which caused problems.

billy 54. when you say you got fuel sludge how do you mean.

 

[Billy54]

When Diesel fuel has been sitting in a storage tank for a long time it can develop sludge or getting to the bottom of the tank where water, dirt, sediment mix to make sludge. Never get fuel while a tanker is making his delivery. it stirs up the sludge if it is there. Remote service stations [few customers during covid] can be a problem. Try to look for sero's that do a high turnover of fuel. There has been talk on this forum about how to do a pre filter DIY while filling. Adding an extra inline filter might gum up the works. Fuel Doctor says it is used in storage tanks to stop sludge forming. I buy it at Super Creep when on special at half price 1lt bottle.
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