Diesel fuel degrades. Every month your backup generator sits idle, water accumulates, particulates build up, and microbial contamination spreads. When the power goes out, degraded fuel means your generator won’t perform — or won’t start at all.
FuelCare’s fuel polishing service restores your diesel to spec through multi-pass filtration, water separation, and particulate removal. We filter to 1 micron and reduce water content to safe levels — then prove it with certified lab results.
Fuel polishing is the process of circulating diesel fuel through a series of filters and water separators to remove contaminants without replacing the fuel itself.
Our process removes:
The result is fuel that meets or exceeds ASTM D975 specifications — the standard your generator manufacturer requires.
Before polishing, we pull certified fuel samples and run them through our lab. This establishes baseline contamination levels and confirms that polishing is the right approach.
Our mobile polishing units circulate fuel through progressively finer filters — typically starting at 30 microns, then 10, 5, and finishing at 1 micron. We don’t stop until the fuel meets spec.
Coalescing water separators remove both free water and emulsified water. Target: below 200 ppm for storage, below 100 ppm for generators under NFPA 110.
After polishing, we pull fresh samples and run the same lab analysis. You receive a side-by-side comparison showing exactly what was removed.
Based on the contamination we found, we recommend a polishing schedule — typically every 6-12 months for standby generators.
NFPA 110 requires fuel quality maintenance for Level 1 and Level 2 emergency power systems. Hospitals, data centers, and other critical facilities must demonstrate that stored diesel meets specifications.
A generator that fails to start during an outage doesn’t just mean inconvenience — it means:
A fuel polishing program costs a fraction of a single generator failure event.
Stored diesel begins degrading within 6 months. In tanks with water intrusion or temperature swings, contamination can reach critical levels in 3-4 months. Regular polishing is maintenance — not an emergency response.
| Factor | Polishing | Full Replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0.50-$2.00/gallon | $3.50-$5.00/gallon + disposal |
| Downtime | 2-4 hours | 1-2 days |
| Waste | None (fuel cleaned in place) | Full tank volume disposed |
| Environmental impact | Minimal | Fuel transport + disposal |
Rule of thumb: If lab results show the fuel is degraded but not destroyed, polishing saves 60-80% vs replacement.
Our truck-mounted polishing units handle tanks from 100 to 50,000+ gallons. We bring everything — filters, pumps, hoses, water separators, and containment. No permanent installation required.
For facilities with multiple tanks or high-value fuel inventory, we design and install permanent polishing systems that run on automatic schedules. These are common in hospitals, large data centers, and military installations.
Generator fuel that sits untested and unpolished is a liability. Let’s make sure yours is ready when you need it.
