Hospitals - give your fuel a health check
By their very nature, hospital generators have diesel fuel stored for long periods of time. Thanks to recent legislation and changes to fuel specs, diesel fuel kept in long term storage is prone to becoming tainted and contaminated.
Dirty fuel can cause a loss of standby power, impact service provisions or worse cause patient harm or loss of life.
Why is contamination an issue for my hospital generators?
Current diesel engine technology that drives generators is particularly vulnerable to fuel contamination. Even low levels can cause excessive wear or blockage of sensitive fuel systems. If contamination is allowed to continually build up in your fuel storage, this will have serious consequences should the mains power fail:
- Loss of standby power.
- Impact upon normal service provision.
- Patient harm or loss of life.
- Damaged equipment and standby generator downtime.
- Environmental and financial cost of disposing of bad fuel.
Why is the fuel in my hospital generators becoming contaminated?
Your diesel fuel can suffer from the following 3 contaminants:
The latest specifications of diesel fuel are prone to contamination and spoilage from a number of sources. Your fuel could now contain up to 7% FAME, the most common form of bio-diesel. Whilst this may have environmental benefits, FAME absorbs water from the surrounding atmosphere. When water finds its way into your fuel it can lead to the growth of microbes, known as diesel bug. Not only does the diesel bug produce bio-mass that can block your engine filters, it also forms damaging acids and resins in your fuel.
Whilst diesel bug is a risk to your hospital generators, the most common form of diesel contamination is the build up of particles in the storage tank. Often these are rust particles from a corroded fuel tank or a simple accumulation of dirt and grit.
How can I combat fuel contamination?
IPU’s four-part Fuel Conditioning Programme presents the simplest and most economical route to clean, dry, reliable fuel.
IPU’s comprehensive four-step fuel conditioning programme means you won’t need to liaise with 4 different suppliers
This 4 step programme includes:
- DieselCheck Fuel Testing.
- ClearTank Fuel Cleaning.
- Diesel Defence Fuel Polishing.
- ADV Fuel Stabilisation.
The entire process can be completed without taking a drop of fuel offsite. This is vital – if there is a power failure during the process, the tank is still completely online and will be able to fuel your generators.
Our service is completed entirely in unmarked vans – this avoids potentially unsettling patients
To explain this issue further and to understand why it warrants your attention we’ve produced two short animations.
VIDEO: Understanding fuel contamination
The first video explains why fuel becomes contaminated and what can happen if the issue is ignored.
VIDEO: Protection against fuel contamination
The second video explains what can be done to protect a client’s fuel against the threat of water, diesel bug and solid particulates.