Since water is kryptonite to the fuel systems on these engines, does it make sense to add an additional water separator? It wouldn't be that hard to add a filter head and water separator between the tank filter and the engine filter, right?

 

Honestly, if you buy fuel from a high volume station, truck stop or places like Wal Mart or Sams or etc, water doesn't seem to be an issue in the fuel is my experience. If you buy fuel from a low volume or mom & pop place, you might have concerns.

My reason for saying this is I have one of the Dieselsite fuel filter/water separators on my truck for the last 5 years and have yet to see any moisture in either the OEM water filter or the Dieselsite filter. I have approx 48K miles on my truck with no issues. I do use Stanadyne additives that help demulsify the water. I add the red label every other tank and the lubricity forumla in between fills. The red label boost the cetane a few points.

Others use different fuel additives and some use no fuel additives.

Most all of us save our receipts with the mileage written on it when we fill up should we have a water issue. We can then go back to that seller and request they file a claim for fuel system damage should their fuel have excessive water in it.

I am sure others will chime in on their experiences.

 

in the 12 years I have driven trucks with the HPFP I have never had an issue. I have filled up at a couple of stations that I wondered about and have drain the separator daily just In case without any issues.

I travel cross country and buy at truck stops.

 

Since the introduction of low sulfur fuel during 2006/2007 , the fuel system damage by water contamination phenomena has been around.

technical customers maintain that the problem is a failure by manufacturers to design a fuel pump that can operate with low sulfur fuel.

manufactures will contend that the root cuase of fuel system damage is water in fuel.


the dilemma is the question of emulsification vs de emulsification. The water separator does not work with emulsified water.....water that is broken down to microscopic components .

deisel fuel has additives both added by suppliers as well as added by customers. Many of these additives also emulsify water.

there is no evidence that emulsified water causes corrosion when suspended in traditional rust inhibiting medians such as diesel fuel.

 

Sorry fritz, I'm kind of a grammar ****. I just made a comment about this in the iDash thread. I have been using K100 since the truck has been new. It has no petroleum products in it. It is a multi use product. It increases cetane a few points, cleans the fuel system, contains an anti-microbe additive, contains a FBC (they call it a "combustion improver"), breaks down water and combines it with a combustible organic compound, adds lubricity and stabilizes the fuel. I'm not trying to sell the product, just explaining why I have been using it for most of my truck's 55k plus miles now. It is a locally made product not far me and has been around since the 1960s. I believe in the product.

I've seen many here say to use high volume stations to get quality fuel and I can understand that to a point. We all know that the 86ed CP4 pumps here are far and few between. There's no way to know how many have been affected by bad fuel/moisture problems because not every 6.7 PSD owner is on this or any other forum. But they are out there. IMHO, I feel better using an additive in the remote chance I get a bad batch of fuel. But that's just me. Some guys here use additives, the ones that do use different ones, we all have different opinions on this subject (it's like asking what's the best grade and brand of oil to use) and some guys don't use anything. The ULSD fuel is a hygroscopic fuel which means it easily absorbs water. I don't like crawling under the truck every month to empty the water separator and I haven't. That's how much I believe that the product works. If I have a failure, I'll be the first guy to come on here and admit it. The only times I've drained my DFCM (Diesel Fuel Conditioning Module aka the frame mounted primary pump/fuel filter/water separator) is three times for my fuel filter changes. YMMV.

For what it's worth, I know in the owner's manual it states not to use products with alcohol in them or emulsifiers. IMO, I think they are talking about the emergency use only additives which contain the alcohols methanol or isopropyl like in the "dry gas" used way back in the day in gas engines. I could see that as a concern as something like that doesn't contain any other additives such as for lubricity which would reduce the fuel's lubricity to result in bad things for the HPFP and injectors. I've seen the lab reports on the K100 treated fuel and it performed very well in the wear scar test. I am not affiliated with the company, I am just explaining why I use it and passing this on for informational purposes only. I have been accused of being a "paid shill" early on here in my membership and that is simply not the case.

Another thing some guys do is add a fuel/air separator on their trucks like a FASS or Air Dog. I finally settled on an AFE DFS780 Pro. I was going to go with a Air Dog as it required just cutting into the fuel fill tube and splicing in a "tee" fitting for the return fuel where the FASS was more complicated and would require dropping the fuel tank. The AFE is plug and play which I liked. For me, installing one of these is more for the removal of the air in fuel as a result of the tank being agitated by the movement of the truck. But having another fuel filter isn't bad either. My truck is a long term vehicle, so I'd like to make the fuel components last as long as possible. Good luck with your decision, @jollyrogr

 

Thanks guys. I’ll probably run Schaeffers carbontreat or dieseltreat additives. Maybe consider additional filtration after the warranty expires. And like was stated, I only buy diesel where semi’s fill up.