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Topic: Going down highway and white smoke coming out. (Read 2829 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #25 –
I filled up with a bad load of diesel out in the California desert years ago and quickly developed a severe diesel knock at all engine speeds. I kept the speed down and limped to a truck stop and dumped in a quart of additive. Within a few seconds, the knock was totally gone. Made a believer out of me.

John,

That article is good for choosing the most effective additive. Plus, think the "prince of darkness" probably migrated from electrical components to fuel additives.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #26 –
I use this stuff: http://www.k100fueltreatment.com/docs/D_brochure.pdf.  It is a local product for me.  All the local government highway departments (think snowplows and sanding trucks) use this stuff.  Really like it.
1994 U225
build #4514

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #27 –
Funny, when I was in SD they have pumps that you can pick your own blend from 100% #1 to 100% #2 and in 10% increments.  They just put # 2 in the summer but in april they still had both.  YEs you get less heat and therefore less power.  My engine was make to run and that is what I do with it. 
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #28 –
Water would( at least ) settle to the bottom of the tank where the engine pickup is,the generator pickup is at a higher level in the tank.
I would think that would be good fuel above any water.
Have you checked the fuel level in the tank with a stick?
It could be you didn't get a good (full) load of fuel last time and you may have run it down past the generator fuel pickup.
With fuel to low foaming might affect you main engine.
I think I would add 10 or 15 gallons of fuel and see if anything runs before I spent any money on a tow or a mechanic.
It sure wouldn't hurt even if that's not the problem, you'll have that fuel to use later.
John Duld
1995 U320C SE 40'

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #29 –
The difference between #1 and #2 diesel is only about 2000 btu. Not enough to be noticed. Bio-diesel takes the big hit at over 10,000 btu less or only about 3% more than pure gasoline. Don't think our gasoline mix here in California has 124K BTUs.

I ran out of diesel on a long voyage and had to start into the 5 gallon containers of kerosene I had strapped on deck. The evil Perkins didn't seem to notice the difference.

Here is a good energy comparison link: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/fuel_comparison_chart.pdf

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #30 –
Jerry  ----  I use "diesel fuel supplement" by power services.  I also add a quart of ATF at every fill up.  I usually fill up at around 100 gallons in a 150 gallon tank.  Engine runs very smoothly (even at idle) and has little emissions on start up if you let it warm up well before getting under way.  I entered this on this thread because the white smoke emissions may be water related and an additive is important in getting rid of it. 

David  ----  Hope you were able to get underway again without a major fix of some kind.

Have a great day  ----  Fritz
Fritz & Kathy Johnson
1991 36'

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #31 –
Update... Wrecker company was going to be delayed so we opted to leave and take care of the next day. Got the coach back to Birmingham and safe. Cummins dealer was closed for weekend so we will tow tomorrow. As soon as I find out what is going on I will report back..thanks for everyone's support.

David
David West
2001 U320 40'

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #32 –
Quote from: dwest –
Update... Wrecker company was going to be delayed so we opted to leave and take care of the next day. Got the coach back to Birmingham and safe. Cummins dealer was closed for weekend so we will tow tomorrow. As soon as I find out what is going on I will report back..thanks for everyone's support.

David
David, Glad to see you got off the road. Instead of towing you might try to find a mobile cummins mechanic to check things out. There should be a few in the Birmingham area. As others have said towing should be your last option, due to collateral damage.
Bruce, Linda, and Macy
Zoey RIP 1/20/19
1999 U295 40' build #5400
2017 silver Jeep Wrangler, 1260 watts of solar on top
Moving around the country

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #33 –
Quote from: Dave M –
Pierce,
Do love the chart you provided.
Not finding the #1 Data on the fuel list, but do enjoy the humor of rounding all #2 Data to cover the wall, 40-55 Cetane #2 ?
#2 @ 137.380 btu vs Bio @ 127,980 btu.
Not a surprise comparing Gasoline to Diesel, do wonder what end of the #2 scale they use for comparison.
Feels like a hair splittin subject.
Love data, can wonder about the FACTS, makes me wonder what is in it for the writer ?  :o
Dave M

Yes, especially since all sources don't come up with the same figure. I did look at another site and the #2 was about the same with #1 2100 BTUs more. Did a really quick search but before I have found gasoline about 113K and #2 diesel about 129K so the ratio is close to the same. I do wonder if the #6 diesel is the same as bunker fuel the ships run. Too bad we can't run that as it has about 155K BTUs/gallon. On the other hand, there must be a reason they are going to be required to change fuel within X miles from land.

California #2 diesel and #2 fuel oil are exactly the same with only the dye making a visible difference.

Here is a chart closer to what I have read before. The B20 bio diesel is close to #1 diesel in BTUs and cut emissions by a large margin. Ethanol or methanol don't do us any favors with energy/gallon do they? The gallon figures on the right are the amount of gallons it takes to be equivalent to a gallon of gasoline.

Gasoline Gallon Equivalents
Fuel Type   Unit of Measure   BTUs/Unit   Gallon Equivalent
Gasoline (regular)   gallon   114,100   1.00 gallon
Diesel #2                   gallon        129,500   0.88 gallons
Biodiesel (B100)           gallon   118,300   0.96 gallons
Biodiesel (B20)           gallon   127,250   0.90 gallons
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)   cubic foot   900   126.67 cu. ft.
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG)gallon   75,000   1.52 gallons
Propane (LPG)            gallon   84,300   1.35 gallons
Ethanol (E100)           gallon   76,100   1.50 gallons
Ethanol (E85)           gallon   81,800   1.39 gallons
Methanol (M100)   gallon   56,800   2.01 gallons
Methanol (M85)           gallon   65,400   1.74 gallons
Electricity   kilowatt hour (Kwh)   3,400   33.56 Kwhs


Don't know if you read the article about natural gas actually polluting more than diesel because of the methane release during fracking operations. Other states have come up with the same conclusion. Can't believe it would be that hard to seal up any loss (but expensive). New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/us/study-finds-methane-leaks-negate-climate-benefits-of-natural-gas.html?_r=0

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #34 –
David  ----  If you end up having to tow the rig and they have to disconnect the drive line (High probability), I would recommend that when the drive line gets reconnected that you use new universal joints.  Bad things can happen if you re-use the old ones unless they are very carefully handled and maintained.  Have a great day  ----  Fritz
Fritz & Kathy Johnson
1991 36'

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #35 –
David, thanks for the play by play on your tow.  Nice to know that some tow drivers do the right thing.

When only one axle is removed, the tire with the axle still in place must turn the differential spider gears way more than they would normally be rotated, which may have negative issues. I would think removing both axles is a safer way, especially if being towed fast or far.

We installed two eye-bolts near the center of our rear wide mud flap. Before lowering the coach rear during leveling, we wrap a lightweight chain with hooks at either end over the hitch to keep the mud flap horizontal to prevent it from being squished.

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #36 –
Thanks for the info guys. I have always worried about disconnecting the drive shaft in case of a tow. This sounds like a much better option to me, not to mention the fact that I would have questioned the axle pull if I was not familiar with it. I think that this should be included in the owners manual.
2002 U320 40Ft  MC # 15759
Coach # 5995
Previous coaches
2002 U320 coach  #5941
1996 U270 coach #4808

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #37 –
Ok.  I'm back with my embarrassed tail between my legs!  Everything stopped because I was low on fuel/out of fuel.  That is right. All of my calculations told me I still had fuel. I have another thread on the forum about fuel gauge accuracy. Two things happened. One, my old brain made a miscalculation on math.  Second, I would be interested in feed back here, the coach will quit with 25 gallons or so left in tank..

Let me explain. Since it was empty (?) I completely filled up. It would only hold 172 gallons. With a 194 gallon tank there must be a point at which it will not pick up fuel. Hence giving you a about 170 gallons before you stall. I guess if you had a 150 gallon tank you would stall at 125 gallons, etc. This is the part I would like clarity on. Also, I am never going below a 1/2 tank again!!!!

The issue with the generator was simply the byproduct of fuel tank being below the 1/4 tank threshold for safety cutoff. At the time, think I had plenty of fuel, this possibility was dismissed from the equation. Since I was not actually using the generator at the time when we first stalled, it became part of the symptoms since a few hours later when it became cold we turned on. It ran for about a minute or so and then quit. In hind site, I am guessing it quit when the fuel in the line was used up?

Anyway, I am very grateful for everyone's input.  I learned a lot about additives too.  Also, learned that running out fuel is another reason white smoke appears!!! 

Also, I have Good Sam Roadside assistance. They were very good through it all. I was pleased with everyone I spoke with. With the Cummins dealer closed for the weekend, they wanted to tow somewhere so the coach would be safe. Then, on Monday morning, they contracted with the wrecker company to come back and tow again. That is above and beyond in my book.

David
David West
2001 U320 40'

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #38 –
Chuck,

Missed your post and just read it. Count the number of bolts and then compare to the covers sold at Price List - Blank Title . Might be the MR8D-1 but best to count and compare.

David,

Easy to make that mistake. That's why I suggested dipping the tank for fuel especially with the symptoms you described. A tape measure works well. Just remove the fuel cap and extend it down to the bottom. There will be a line at a certain spot on the tape when you pull it back up. That's how I figure fuel mileage without even looking at the receipt or gauge, just the ODO.

About 1975, I bought a 220D in Germany to travel around in. It seemed to be getting good mileage and the gauge slowly crept down. It appeared to be getting even better mileage after it hit the quarter tank mark. Suddenly, the engine hesitated and then died while on the Autobahn. What was wrong with the engine? After all, I still had a quarter tank (for the last two hours). The Autobahn has far fewer exits than our highways but I was very fortunate to be heading slightly downhill and was able to coast to the next exit and fuel. Algae had collected on the sliding resistor sending unit in the tank and the gauge simply stopped at the quarter mark.

Glad you're back on the road. Your experience is a good lesson for all of us.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #39 –
Pierce,

The name Bunker Fuel comes from the days of coal bunkers on ships.  It is a generic term for fuel.  A ship refueling is still referred to as "taking bunkers" in many parts of the world.  #6 fuel is very thick and needs heating before it can be pumped.  Changing over from the heavy fuel oils to lighter fuels is required by emission control regulations as heavy fuels are very dirty especially in sulfur content.  Change over has a number of problems as older engines are not designed for easy change over leading to power being lost at in-opportune times.  Ships also change to lighter fuels as they approach port as lighter fuels allow for easier engine operation for maneuvering purposes.


Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159

Re: Going down highway and white smoke coming out.

Reply #40 –
David  ----  Glad to hear that you are underway again.  If it were me in this situation, I would drain/sample the fuel tank just to verify one way or the other that water is/is not present.  But, I'm kind of an overkill person, so that's just a suggestion from me.  Have a great day  ----  Fritz
Fritz & Kathy Johnson
1991 36'