3 min read
It seems futile to dream of a white Christmas here in Florida but that doesn't stop us from trying. We know we're more like to get a 70-degree one. This stands in contrast with much of the rest of the country that shivers in the grips of major cold...
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2 min read
In response to recommendations on checking underground storage tanks for water, you may say that you don’t have any water problems. You already check...
2 min read
When you think of diesel engine emissions, the two elements that come to mind are soot and sulfur oxides. Both of these have negative impacts on our...
2 min read
One thing that sets apart a good tank servicing or fuel polishing partner from a no-so-good one is their familiarity with fuel testing. The better...
4 min read
In 2006, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated the switch from Low Sulfur to Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD). This was a reduction of...
2 min read
Do you know where all the money in the cost of a gallon of gasoline goes? We've blogged about this before and the answers surprise a lot of people....
2 min read
No good fuel management program is complete without a robust testing element. Remember that best practice fuel management involves chemicals,...
2 min read
For trucking companies and fleets, diesel fuel is probably their biggest consumable expense, the biggest operating line item in their budget. It...
3 min read
Hospitals, utilities, diesel fleets, emergency management, telecom/data centers, facilities with backup generators - all places that rely on critical...
2 min read
The amount of diesel fuel storage for emergencies is pretty vast. While the exact amount of it is unknown (partially because that volume varies from...
2 min read
In the world of fleet management and transportation, diesel engines represent the backbone of efficiency and reliability. However, maintaining the...
3 min read
Though it's not as common as it used to be, sometimes you may be driving and you notice a big diesel truck belching black smoke. Any time you observe...
2 min read
Sludge formation in stored fuels has always been a problem to reckon with. Today's ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels make it even more of a problem. And...
3 min read
Everyone wants better mileage and better performance. What’s the most important element that determines that? Driver behavior, of course. But beyond...
3 min read
Auto parts stores have shelves lined with oil treatment bottles, each with promises of being liquid gold in a bottle. But you've got a diesel engine,...
2 min read
In business, a "wow fact" is something that seems unbelievable and makes people sit up and take notice. Often, someone making a case for doing...
5 min read
Back in 2017, Bell Performance did a webinar on an important issue that we thought was important to share it with our blog readers: corrosion in...
2 min read
Fuel injectors that are clean and functioning properly are THE key element to getting the best performance and fuel mileage from your diesel engine...
2 min read
A fuel inspector pops open your diesel tank and sees red diesel fuel inside. Are you in trouble? It depends on what you’re using it for. If it's...
2 min read
Continuing our discussion about diesel fuel quality, the issue of diesel fuel contamination is a constant bug in the ear of fuel handling...
6 min read
In situations where high operating temperatures mesh with a need for effective grease lubrication, choosing the right grease is a critical decision...
2 min read
When considering diesel fuel contamination by microbes, 'the devil is in the details'.
3 min read
For fuel storage on farms, some kinds of storage tanks are better than others. The color, design, and tank material can all play a role in protecting...
2 min read
How many fuel storage tanks are registered in the United States? Just counting diesel tanks, that number pushes more than one million. And that’s...
1 min read
Ultra-low sulfur diesel’s tendency to form sludge at faster rates than in the past is forcing the marketplace to adjust in ways not anticipated in...
5 min read
Testing is only as good as the sample. It’s impossible to get reliable or accurate fuel testing information without a good fuel sample. You might...
2 min read
Octane and cetane are often talked about in similar terms, as equivalent properties for gasoline and diesel fuel, respectively. In the past, the Bell...
2 min read
The "old-timers" always talk about how things just aren't the way they used to be. Those of us who work with stored diesel fuel realize that this is...
3 min read
It's that time of year, when the national agencies issue their predictions for the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season (and update any predictions...
3 min read
With all the changes to today's fuels, microbial contamination is fast trending towards being the #1 most common problem with stored fuel. The market...
3 min read
Everyone wants more power for their engine, whether it's a gas or diesel engine. Most of the ways to meaningfully improve diesel power involve...
4 min read
Today's advanced common rail diesel engines rely on their diesel fuel filtration system to make sure they can do their job to their peak performance....
13 min read
Taking care of today's problematic stored fuels is best done with the three-pronged Hybrid Approach - the right chemicals, the right mechanical...
9 min read
One of our most popular webinars from the past dealt with such an important issue - Diesel Fuel Storage Tank Corrosion - that we thought it was...
3 min read
Today's diesel engines perform better while being 99% cleaner than engines from just a decade or two ago. What’s the biggest difference between the...
3 min read
Carbon buildup in diesel engines is a prime cause of the black smoke that diesel engines have a reputation for generating. Excessive idling by diesel...
2 min read
The idea of preventive maintenance is, that you do a little work on the front end to save a lot more work and expense on the back end. We're all...
2 min read
Imagine a scenario where a hospital faces a power outage but finds its backup generators faltering due to poor fuel quality. Such a situation...
2 min read
Anyone who stores or distributes fuel, including your local gas station, has “issues” with controlling and preventing the growth of bacteria and...
3 min read
The best solution for fixing problematic stored fuel involves both chemical fuel treatment and “mechanical processing”. The chemical fuel treatment...
2 min read
Clogged diesel fuel filters are one of those canary-in-the-coal-mine problems. Filters don't clog by themselves. On a simple level, if the fuel...
4 min read
Summarizing what they know thus far... They recovered the ship’s “voyage data recorder” (VDR), sometimes referred to as the black box because of its...
3 min read
For fuel professionals, the amount of information out there on the internet can feel like an overload at times. Especially when it comes to things...
3 min read
One of the nation’s worst infrastructure disasters now threatens to put a major snarl in our country’s complex web of shipping. On Tuesday, the...
2 min read
Contamination of fuel – the presence of something that’s not supposed to be there – accounts for more than half of fuel-related problems. This...
2 min read
The finished engine oils you buy aren't just petroleum oil pulled out of the ground and slapped into a bottle. They are an engineered combination of...
3 min read
Having the right cetane value in your diesel fuel can be the difference between a good driving experience and a poor one. But even some of the best...
3 min read
Diesel engines gained a reputation over the decades of the 20th century for being dirty and making lots of black smoke. That’s one of the dominant...
4 min read
It’s well known that gas mileage goes down in winter, partly because they change the composition of winter gas to make it more volatile and burn...
3 min read
When the weather gets frigid, water isn’t the only thing freezing. In winter weather, drivers and fuel management professionals also need to be aware...
2 min read
Maintaining today's stored backup fuels is a bigger job than it used to be. With the way fuels have changed, you're much more likely to encounter...
3 min read
Grease compatibility is a key consideration when selecting a lubricating grease for an application. This is especially important in business and...
2 min read
The last decade, since 2014 when the complete transition of all off-road diesel fuel to ULSD was completed, has seen a dramatic rise across the...
3 min read
Back when fuel prices went sky high with no sign of coming down long term, fleets and fuel-using entities (like city governments) were forced to...
6 min read
Selecting the best grease for an important job requires knowing some important things. All lubricant applications are the same and not all grease...
3 min read
Figuring out that you have algae in your fuel is one thing. But getting rid of it and keeping it away is a whole other ball game. A game you've got...
3 min read
The days when you could take diesel fuel, put it in a storage tank, and "set it and forget it" for months or years are long in the past. And they're...
1 min read
Diesel fuel gels in cold weather because its paraffin wax components get less and less soluble as the temperatures drop. As more of it "drops out" of...
3 min read
In the course of running a business or managing facilities, there’s often a tension between meeting regulatory requirements and pursuing the extra...
2 min read
With the modern advances in diesel engine technology, there should be no reason to ever see smoke coming from a diesel engine. You might see a small...
3 min read
Microbes in fuel are a fact of life for people who store fuel for any amount of time. Today's ULSD fuels are more prone to contamination than fuels...
3 min read
You have a diesel engine and it just doesn’t seem to be running right. Maybe it’s a little rough. It could be noisier than usual. It doesn’t seem to...
2 min read
It's a real shame when a storage tank fuel of expensive fuel "degrades" and starts to lose its quality. Whether it's from oxidation, hydrolysis, or...
2 min read
“Dirty diesel” vs. “clean diesel”. You hear about the term “clean diesel” sometimes. What are they talking about? If you don’t think you have “clean...
5 min read
Anyone who works with diesel fuel, stored or otherwise, knows that water comes with the fuel territory. Water in fuel can cause problems all year...
3 min read
As winter beckons, a prudent eye turns towards the fuel tanks and the specter of cold flow problems that lurk in the colder months. Understanding...
3 min read
Heading into the winter, we’ve been reminded of the problems that local and private groups (city and county governments, small to medium businesses)...
2 min read
Fuel storage and maintenance is a topic of great significance, especially for industries relying heavily on fuel-based operations. A recent episode...
1 min read
When you’re lining up plans for cold flow treatment of diesel fuel, there are two key variables you need to have a handle on. When can you expect to...
4 min read
The podcast episode, “Hot Summer Cold Winter,” astutely unveils the nuances of extreme climates, and provides insights into the living conditions and...
3 min read
In an era of erratic weather patterns and escalating climate concerns, it is essential to be prepared for hurricane season. The podcast episode...
2 min read
The world of fuel standards can be a maze of information, and navigating through it can be daunting. One of the most common misconceptions in this...
2 min read
When talking about aviation fuel quality, it's impossible to have a full discussion without dealing water and microbial growth.
1 min read
Microbiological contamination of aviation fuel is a serious issue that the aviation industry is just now coming to terms with. Not only can it...
1 min read
In any system used for fuel distribution or fuel storage, you are most likely to find microbes living on physical surfaces (like tank walls) and at...
1 min read
Central to the proper functioning of any aircraft is the Fuel Quantity Indicator System (FQIS), the series of fuel tank probes that provide fuel...
2 min read
The world of fuel management is more complex than ever, ensuring fuel quality is paramount to maintaining both the continued health and optimal...
2 min read
Fuel management is a critical aspect of various industries, including transportation, construction, and agriculture. To ensure optimal performance...
3 min read
In recent years, we've seen more attention paid to the topic of electric vehicles (EVs) - their positive environmental impact and the claims of how...
3 min read
The use of oxygenates in gasoline has been a contentious issue for decades. One oxygenate commonly used in the United States gasoline was methyl...
2 min read
Gasoline is a crucial part of modern life - the fuel that powers our cars and trucks. However, burning gasoline releases harmful pollutants into the...
2 min read
Protecting Quality and Performance In Stored Fuels Stored fuels are mostly diesel and/or biodiesel blends stored in large and small tanks for use in...
1 min read
We’ve Never Had To Do Fuel Testing Before, So Why Now? Because fuels have changed and are not what they used to be. That's the simple answer. You...
4 min read
How ASTM Is Critical To Best Practice Fuel Care Sometimes, to better understand the scope and value of the kind of fuel testing necessary for best...
2 min read
Water is the enemy of stored fuel, the tanks it’s stored in, and the equipment that uses it. Fuel storage rules that used to allow for “allowable”...
2 min read
You are concerned your fuel has degraded and doesn't meet its essential standards. You need to know what to do next. This is where talking with an...
6 min read
A new case being taken on by the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) could have a big impact on numerous areas of our professional and personal lives, especially...
2 min read
Microbial growth in fuel storage tanks can lead to various problems, from corrosion and fuel filter blockages to decreased fuel quality and even...
3 min read
I had a friend who moved to North Dakota and she would post updates on what the temperature is like on a given day once she got there. She's been...
2 min read
Cold flow improvers - also known as anti-gels - are the treatment of choice to keep diesel fuel from gelling. Some parties like to dilute with...
5 min read
All summer long, we’ve heard the big story of inflation being at a forty (?) year high. We've probably said the word ‘inflation’ more in the last 5...
2 min read
If you run a business in the fuels industry, the problems of your customers are, really, your problems. When your customers think about the ethanol...
6 min read
All the changes in fuels over the last ten to fifteen years have created a situation where there is a multitude of costly problems for the clients of...
4 min read
If you run a business in the fuels industry, the problems of your customers are, really, your problems. When your customers think about the ethanol...
4 min read
These are the times that try meteorologists' souls…..not really, but hurricane season started on June 1st and so this is the time we talk about what...
3 min read
The start of the holiday season looks a little different this year than in years before. Everything isn’t shut down but we are going into our first...
5 min read
2020 was a year unlike any other, for reasons we don't need to spell out. Hospitals have been under perhaps the greatest stress they’ve ever dealt...
4 min read
Whether you're talking about a farm fuel tank or any other kind (even home heating oil), it’s safe to say that any time you find “sludge” or biomass,...
4 min read
With the differences between farm fuels of today and the past, fuel biocides are an essential and necessary part of the arsenal employed by...
2 min read
Farms rely on fuel that is clean and free from contaminants. Certainly, it starts out that way when they buy it from, for example, their local co-op....
2 min read
If you fail to eat a healthy, balanced diet, your body isn't going to receive the nutrients that it needs to thrive - hence the old cliché saying...
4 min read
This is the time of year when people on the coast and in the Southeast start thinking about hurricane season. The season starts on June 1st and lasts...
2 min read
For many years, no matter what industry you were in, microbial fuel contamination was a guessing game. We all know microbes are out there, and it’s...
2 min read
We’re all looking forward to the year 2020 finally being over – witness the abundance of memes on social media about how we can’t wait for it to end....
2 min read
Almost every sector in our economy that uses fuel has had to grapple with a hard truth - things aren’t what they used to be with their fuel. But this...
1 min read
Fuel contamination of gas, diesel, ethanol or biodiesel is no laughing matter when it reaches the consumer. Recall back in August of 2012, the giant...
2 min read
Reigning in fuel costs is always a primary goal for fleet managers trying to keep their collective heads above the fiscal waterline. It’s in the best...
1 min read
Up until recently, if you had diesel fuel for your boat or generator or any kind of “off-road” engine, you didn’t have to worry about sulfur.
2 min read
No matter if you use fuel in an ambulance or a backup generator, if the fuel quality is not up to par, then the vehicle or engine is not going to run...
2 min read
Oil is the life blood of every vehicle and every engine - gasoline and diesel. An essential part of any good rigorous fleet maintenance program is...
2 min read
If you have a problem with your stored fuel, the last thing you need is to be hooked up with someone who doesn’t have your best interests in mind....
3 min read
The nature of fuel problems are such that it’s difficult to predict when they will arise. The key is to take preventive measures to ensure that your...
3 min read
If you manage a business or administer a budget for a government agency on the state or local level, how much is your fuel budget? Do you ever have...
3 min read
Over time, all stored fuels will develop microbes in them. We mistakenly oversimplify microbial problems, underestimating the vast richness and...
3 min read
This blog post isn't about quite what you might think. We're talking about microbial testing. Today's stored fuels require a lot more upkeep than the...
5 min read
The coronavirus pandemic has put a lot of things on the back burner, including the fact that, surprise!, we’re coming up on hurricane season. It...
2 min read
We’re living in unique times with oil at twenty year lows and fuel prices reminding us of pre-9/11 days. If you use gas or diesel, you may be...
3 min read
Given that today’s fuels have changed markedly over the last decade, the issue of fuel contamination (and what to do about it) is an essential one...
1 min read
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on areas that may need a higher level of preparedness than previously imagined. Anyone with emergency fuel may...
3 min read
As the business landscape of the nation changes in 2020, we’re finding that we have to change the way we do a few things. For one, paying attention...
3 min read
Much of this information is taken from the helpful document ASTM D1655 – The Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuels. Among the many...
2 min read
Two years ago, it was Hurricane Irma, the largest storm Florida and the Atlantic had seen in almost 15 years, and the eventual record holder for the...
7 min read
As a service to our customers, dealers and friends, Bell Performance hosts quarterly webinars on fuel topics of interest to their friends and their...
6 min read
As a service to our customers, dealers and friends, Bell Performance hosts quarterly webinars on fuel topics of interest to their friends and their...
9 min read
As a service to our customers, dealers, and friends, Bell Performance hosts quarterly webinars on fuel topics of interest to their friends and their...
3 min read
Predictions for the coming Atlantic hurricane seasons come out at the end of May, for the coming hurricane season that lasts from June 1 to Nov 30....
3 min read
We're continuing our blog series on testing for microbes in stored fuel and the issues/considerations that affect what those results may mean and...
3 min read
Can you know for sure if you’ll have a problem if you have a high microbe count in your fuel? In our last two posts, we talked about ways to test for...
3 min read
In a recent post, we were talking about considerations that come from asking the question of ‘what’s the real significance of these microbial test...
4 min read
Up to this point at the Bell blog, we’ve written no small share of analysis of the available kinds of tests for measuring or detecting microbial...
3 min read
In the years we’ve written about diesel fuel maintenance, typical topics would include microbial contamination control and prevention and diesel fuel...
5 min read
Successfully managing stored fuel entails a lot of considerations, bringing with the territory lots of people giving advice and guidelines and best...
2 min read
These days, people are trying to quantify everything, to come up with a number that tells them in simple terms what they think they need to know. It...
4 min read
What are the requirements for diesel fuel? What properties does it need to have? On one level, there’s ASTM D-975 which lists off the specifications...
3 min read
Earlier this year, we conducted a couple of webinars on the crucial elements of condition monitoring and condition sampling for stored fuels. To put...
2 min read
The more you know about the nationwide problems of microbial contamination in stored fuel, the less it should surprise you to ever find microbial...
2 min read
An essential pare of proper care of stored fuel is monitoring its condition to pay attention to any changes that might hint at a problem developing....
3 min read
We’re heading toward two decades out from the big change in diesel fuel specifications of 2006 – the lowering of the on-road sulfur limit from 500...
2 min read
When we think of diesel fuel contamination, we consider different broad categories of contaminants. Sludge and biomass are considered soft...
7 min read
This summer we hosted a webinar called Condition Monitoring for Stored Fuels. During the webinar we explained what condition monitoring is and the...
10 min read
This summer we hosted a webinar called Condition Monitoring for Stored Fuels. During the webinar we explained what condition monitoring is and the...
8 min read
This summer we hosted a webinar called Condition Monitoring for Stored Fuels. During the webinar we explained what condition monitoring is and the...
10 min read
This summer we hosted a webinar called Condition Monitoring for Stored Fuels. During the webinar we explained what condition monitoring is and the...
8 min read
This summer we hosted a webinar called Condition Monitoring for Stored Fuels. During the webinar we explained what condition monitoring is and the...
4 min read
The rumor is that when the famous philosopher Socrates was on his death bed, he uttered the immortal words (which we’ll paraphrase) the more I know,...
3 min read
There are two hurricane seasons every year – the Pacific season and the Atlantic season. Since the Pacific Ocean is so large, meteorologists divide...
Fuel is not what it used to be, no matter what kind of fuel you're looking at. Extra refinery processing to produce cleaner-burning fuel,...
3 min read
