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Watch out for the westhaven fuel dock. Gofuel.


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We filled up yesterday, 400 litres odd in our annual fuel fillup. The pump timed out as we switched tanks so we had 2 transactions.

 

Today we found out we have 2 x $1500.00 bills pending on our credit card. $3000.00!

 

Do not under any circumstances fill there and leave without a receipt.

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It may just be one of those preset thingies where the machine gets approval for the transaction limit before you start. They will likely drop off within a few days, with the right amount being charged. That used to happen at all the electronic petrol pumps before technology caught up.

 

At least, I hope that's what has happened in this case.

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So do I . I can do without this sh*t right now, which is why I was up at midnight .

$1500.00 is the maximum single transaction , so we're assuming its just defaulted to the maximum amount it can charge.

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Have experienced the same pre approval thingy at Tutukaka, annoying in this day and age that it does not sort itself in five minutes after the completed transaction. Be aware that Go-fuel at westhaven are treating their fuel with Biocide and advertise the fact as a plus!! No diesel manufacturer that I know of will recommend putting this in. Clean fuel is what they want not additives added to mask moisture in the fuel and kill the resultant bug. The fuel shops around Auckland know only too well the result of this dosing on injectors and injection pumps. 

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Be aware that Go-fuel at westhaven are treating their fuel with Biocide and advertise the fact as a plus!! No diesel manufacturer that I know of will recommend putting this in. Clean fuel is what they want not additives added to mask moisture in the fuel and kill the resultant bug. The fuel shops around Auckland know only too well the result of this dosing on injectors and injection pumps.

There is no issue with Biocide itself as such. There are many additives that work fine in that regard. The ones you do have to be cautious of are the ones that say they do something with the water so as t goes on through the injectors. There is nothing you can do with water that can make it do that.

I do agree and I do know that all the Fuel companies are of the same view, that you cannot performance enhance Diesel with additives like the blurb on the back of many bottles say it does. That is usually what most fuel companies harp on about.

As for dosing tanks for preventing bug, I believe it is a good idea and do that myself. There are two ways of stopping bug. Keep water out = no bug.

Biocide = no bug.

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So Wheels, what Biocide do you use, where do you get it from? I always thought that (with my usual extremely limited knowledge of anything mechanical) there was little I could do to prevent the bug other than keep water out and keep tanks as full as possible.........

 

But if a Biocide works, is cheapish and easy to use - then I'd be keen.

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We filled up yesterday, 400 litres odd in our annual fuel fillup. The pump timed out as we switched tanks so we had 2 transactions.

 

Today we found out we have 2 x $1500.00 bills pending on our credit card. $3000.00!

 

Do not under any circumstances fill there and leave without a receipt.

 

It's called a Pre-authorization Hold. It will usually take a couple of days for the bank to remove the hold and the correct transaction to appear.

 

Rather than use the 'Fill' function use a dollar amount. You know approximately how much you are going to take so calculate the dollar value, add a bit and use that $ amount. You are Pre-authorized only to that amount. If you use less fuel you are still pre-auth held to the $ amount you entered on you credit card balance until the real transaction replaces it.

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This has been a great thread. Info I never knew about and very helpful, especially especially the last post above.
 

 

So Wheels, what Biocide do you use, where do you get it from? I always thought that (with my usual extremely limited knowledge of anything mechanical) there was little I could do to prevent the bug other than keep water out and keep tanks as full as possible.........

 

But if a Biocide works, is cheapish and easy to use - then I'd be keen.

There are quite a few available. Off the top of my head, I remember
Lucas from BNT
Mooreys
Chemtech from Supercheap. 1 ltr treat 1000ltrs.
And Alfloc has one that is really potent. Like 500ml treats 5000ltrs if I remember right. But it was a long time ago I last used that one and don't know who has it now.
 

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The same gig applies when you stay at a hotel or rent a car.

That is, you're required to swipe your credit card so they can pre approve their potential liability should you drink the contents of the mini bar, trash your room and leave, or in the case of a rental car, have a prang and they need the excess money for the insurance.

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Not sure that I agree with you wheels, some of the older diesel additives have no biocide in them and are quite safe, warranty wise with your new diesel, they say that they have emulsifiers in them to carry the moisture through the diesel easier such as Diesel power, Groco or some such name . They also wont reduce the lubricity of the diesel as many of the biocides do. But preferably as already stated buy fuel from a high turnover outlet keep your tanks full and maintain good filtration before the engine.

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Not sure that I agree with you wheels, some of the older diesel additives have no biocide in them and are quite safe,

Sure there are plain old additives, although I don't personally know of any not using a biocide.

You can't make water anything else. Only different forms. like Steam or Ice. The issue is that as water exits the injector and is super heated, the rapid expansion causes chips and erosion of the tip. There is one additive that makes a thicker emulsion of the water and the filter/separator settles the emulsion out to the bottom of the filter bowl.

The biocide is certainly not a lubricant. But the Biocide part is very very toxic. So to make it less so, they add it into a mix of other "stuff". These the manufacturers call "stabilizers", conditioners, upper cylinder lubricants, smoke eliminators, C-tane improvers and so on. The amount of Biocide in relation to a tank of fuel would never be noticed by the engine. It would be very safe as far as lubricity is concerned.

I do 100% agree with your last comment. My comment to people used to be, No water, No Bug. Keep the water out of the tank by keeping it full and regularly check and replace filters and empty the bowl.

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This has been a great thread. Info I never knew about and very helpful, especially especially the last post above.

 

 

There are quite a few available. Off the top of my head, I remember

Lucas from BNT

Mooreys

Chemtech from Supercheap. 1 ltr treat 1000ltrs.

And Alfloc has one that is really potent. Like 500ml treats 5000ltrs if I remember right. But it was a long time ago I last used that one and don't know who has it now.

 

I can recommend Grotamar. I had bug showing up in my first filter and was advised to remove my tank for cleaning.

I did a bit of research and found Grotamar not only killed the bug, but broke it down to microscopic sizes that could pass through the filters and engine without causing any issue. You hit it with a shock dose initially and then just a maintenance dose with every refill.

I have had clean filters for the last 4 years now. I do keep the tank topped up too though.

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John,

 

can you give us an update when this is sorted? Just so we don't all go round thinking you were screwed out of 3K if it ends up being all good...

As others have said ,Doc, it appears that this process is 'normal'. Taking a lien on someones personal credit card account is normal. reducing one's credit limit for a few days or so is 'normal'

I did get a nice nearly apologetic email back explaining that they only like to scare the crap out of their customers with $3000.00 pending credit card transactions on a $400.00 or $500.00 purchase and they really wouldn't actually take it out of their account , even if they did feel like it.

Maybe they will. I hope not.I hope their 'system' isn't having a bad day. In the meantime I'll go looking for a human next time.

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A while back we had untold grief with Orams diesel so I don't go near the stuff but maybe their tanks are better now.

 

I use the Go Fuel and add a little Grotamar - expensive though from Smart marine - are there any cheaper sources of grotamar ?

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