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What is Microbial Contamination? |
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There are at least 27 separate species of microbes - bacteria,
yeast and fungus that can exist in and feed on crude oil (and it's
products).
These oil eating micro-organisms have a natural affinity with
petroleum based products because they actually produced crude
oil by decomposing billions of tons of ancient forests
and animals. Subsequently when crude oil is extracted from the
ground it has a resident
microbial population - fortunately this is killed off during the refining
process.
However, just as they did millions of years ago, oil eating microbes exist
abundantly in our environment today. Their spores travel
freely in the air and water and readily re-enter petroleum
products at any point in the petroleum supply chain and your
fuel tanks - through breather caps and filler ports.
Then with the right conditions - a temperature range between 15o
and 44oC and a little free standing water and a
single cell weighing virtually nothing can rapidly grow, divide
in two and so on, to become a slimy biomass weighing 10
kilograms (22 pounds) in 24 hours - It does happen!
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What
are the
effects of Microbial Contamination? |
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Dependant on the species present - microbes either form matting,
slime, sludge, organic acids and sulphides. In combination/
consortium oil bugs are extremely corrosive with the ability to
degrade any metal and many types of rubber.
The matting, slime and sludge they create in abundance enters the
fuel lines to block filters, injectors and in severe cases, the fuel lines themselves.
The slime, visible on tank walls and fuel system components, is a
protective layer that effectively shields against poisonous
chemicals ~ biocides/ can be called additives.
The organic acids degrade protective coatings such as paints,
rubber, some plastics and metal oxide films as well as destroy or
inactivate chemical corrosion inhibitors and cause hydrogen
embrittlement of metals. Black deposits on copper or copper
containing alloys in pipe work and bearings as well as pitting are
evidence of microbial induced corrosion.
Engines rely on high quality fuel that has been properly filtered
and separated (from water), with no flow restrictions, to achieve
proper atomization, combustion, engine performance and fuel
efficiency. Fuel that is infected with bacteria is not reliable
and there are many and varied consequences of using contaminated
fuel.
These include:
1. encouraging growth of further contamination
2. fuel filter clogging and blockage
3. coalesce malfunctions
4. engine wear due to variations in fuel flow
5. corrosion of the fuel system
6. corrosion of engine fuel injectors
7. damage to in-line instruments
Engine fuel injection equipment and fuel pumps are most susceptible to the
effects of microbial contamination resulting in corrosive damage
Ultimately, performance suffers and fuel consumption and
maintenance costs increase, but perhaps the most critical
concern is the real potential for blockages in the fuel system
which cause engine failure while underway - with potentially
devastating consequences.
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How do De-Bug
Clean Fuel Units work? |
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De-Bug Units
are static magnetic inline device that create an optimum magnetic
flux field directly responsible for destruction of the cell
membrane. Exposing the microbes to a strong, changing magnetic
field will ensure maximum destruction of the cells. The debris
stays randomly suspended in the fuel and due to their sub-micron
size easily pass through engine components and burned with the
fuel.
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Other systems use a single magnet and claim similar success.
What makes De-Bug Units using a three magnet stack better? |
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De-Bug Units are One of a Kind. When the inventors in knowing
how good this system is, patented the De-Bug system worldwide.
Single magnet systems are sub-par of the De-Bug System
Why De-Bug Tri Mag & Multi Mag compared to single magnet units. In the development stage the inventors of De-Bug Units used single
magnets Units and found them to be partially effective.
That could be Ok, as there was nothing better on offer in the
market, however after further testing using different combinations of magnets, gauss strengths
and configurations they concluded the triple & multi magnet
systems were substantially better for eliminating microbial
contamination than the single magnets.
A risky decision had to be made; to produce the single magnet
system that was cheaper & easier to
manufacture or to develop the triple &
multi magnet systems that worked incredibly well but would require
far more design work, a greater manufacturing process and large capital investment.
After consistently achieving excellent results from field testing
the inventors chose the triple & multi mag systems and patented
them as De-Bug -Tri-Mag & Multi-Mag.
Twenty years on, De-Bug Units have achieved fantastic results,
have been further proven in ICI Laboratories, by Shell New
Zealand, The Singapore Port Authority, The Dutch Fishing Fleet and
University of Wellington. No single magnet Unit
has proven these results.
De-Bug Units have proven themselves ten of
thousands of time and proof is they authentically endorsed by significant number of end users
that had a persistent bug problem, then by fitting a De-Bug Unit;
the bug problem solved permanently!
Further more De-Bug Units have a bowl, these catch inorganic
materials and some water before they reach the filters, further
helping fuel filters last normal service intervals - it's a lot
easier and cost effective to clean a bowl than to be constantly
changing filters.
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Are De-Bug
Units a Filter?
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No. The De-Bug
Units are not a filter, they are a treatment Unit that requires no
chemicals, replaceable items or wires.
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How cost
effective is it?
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De-Bug is a cost effective, one time, permanent installation, with
no moving parts, no electrical hook-up, and maintenance that may
require only an occasional cleaning. And unlike chemical biocides,
micro-organisms which have been destroyed by the De-Bug unit do
not collect at the bottom of fuel tanks. Instead, the debris stays
randomly suspended in the fuel and due to their sub-micron size
easily pass through engine components. They are then burned with
the fuel, there is no build-up of microbial sludge in tanks.
Consider that if you have to clean your fuel tanks once, you will
most likely pay more than installing a De-Bug.
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What about
pressure drop? |
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Through careful design, De-Bug units show no pressure drop across the recommended unit for specified flow rate.
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Will the fitting of a De-Bug unit save on fuel costs? |
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In Independent tests
conducted by major Companies prove
De-Bug Units reduce fuel consumption.
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Will the fitting
of a De-Bug unit reduce engine smoke emissions? |
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Yes, by removing microbial contamination combustion improves -
reducing engine smoke emissions.
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What is the
maximum temperature in which a De-Bug unit will operate? |
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A. Rubber 'O'
Ring - maximum 107 degrees Celsius.
B. PVC
internal washers - maximum 80 degrees Celsius.
C. Magnet
Spacers - maximum 170 degrees Celsius.
D. Ceramic
magnets will tolerate up to 100 degrees Celsius.
We do not recommend our units to be used in any situation where fluid is heated beyond
the maximum tolerance level of the PVC internal washers. To
protect the integrity of the De-Bug unit, fluid temperature at 10%
below the maximum tolerance level would be a safe figure to use.
Say 70 degrees Celsius maximum temperature.
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Biocides are frequently used to treat severe contamination,
however nearly all, if not all are hazardous chemicals that require
at least careful
handling. Although some are marketed as being "environmentally
friendly", but in my opinion I can't understand how that can
be.
Biocides kill living cells, which happen make up just about
everything in our environment. For instance we are made of
living cells and inconsequence biocides require careful handling
- avoid breathing in the fumes they emit, avoid contact with the
skin and then there's issues of the changes they create in the
exhaust emissions and what happens to bugs they kill - which are
full of poison.
Adding biocides to the fuel system may kill many of the microbes
but this creates another problem - The dead cells collect on the
bottom of the fuel tank and forms sludge. Nasty stuff - this
sludge is toxic because of the toxicity of the biocides
used requiring removal to EPA standards. This thick inert
sludge is sucked up into the fuel system to block fuel
filters - causing reduced power and eventual damage to the fuel
pump.
Alternatively there is no build up of bug sludge in the tanks when De-Bug
Clean Fuel Units are used - De-Bug Clean Fuel Units eliminate
microbes by an aggressive process that tears them to a sub-micron size
which easily passes through
fuel filters and injectors to be burnt with the fuel.
It is commonly found that microbes develop immunity to biocides.
Many uses of biocides report
bio-mass growth in systems despite regular treatments with
biocides. So if you have a fuel bug problem you can expect to be
constantly buying and using biocides - And in consequence to be
need to clean your tanks a number of times over a twenty year
period.
De-Bug Clean Fuel Units last 20+ years. It is worth noting
you'll pay more to have the tanks cleaned once than what
a De-Bug costs - By fitting a De-Bug Unit you do away with
repeatedly buying and handling poisons, and you won't have to
deal with bug sludge or change blocked filters.
By fitting a
De-Bug Clean Fuel Unit, your engine/s are fed clean
unadulterated fuel - your engine/s will maintain the best
performance they can deliver and maintenance expenses will
be reduced, as will fuel burn and pollution.
Further there is no repetitive cost of ownership -
nothing to replace, no wires, no additives - just fit to the
fuel line, and the job is done while you run the engine/s.
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The patented design of multiple ceramic permanent magnets located
within the unit, when properly sized and strategically placed,
have been shown in a tests conducted by Shell New Zealand to have
a 97.5% efficiency in destroying the damaging micro-organisms
within a single pass.
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Are there
microbial bugs in lubrication oil? |
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Oil has bacteria
therefore the answer is Yes. This extends to palm oil, coconut
oil, fish oil, Emu oil, etc. If you encounter evidence of
contamination, you can be reasonably sure that it
is contamination.
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Where in the fuel
line should I install my De-Bug unit? |
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The De-Bug Fuel
Treatment Unit should be mounted as close as possible to the main
fuel supply source (fuel tank) and in the fuel line after any
strainer or water separator but before the primary filter. Full
installation instructions are included with each unit. |
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