Soap tests
Testing for Soap
Why do we do it?
Soap can be seen as one of the three contributors to fuel system failures and faults. The other two are methanol still in the fuel and poorly converted fuel. There are two ways of testing:
- the 50/50 shake test
- a titrated test that will give a ppm (parts per million) result
The 50/50 test is relatively simple to perform.
Take a sample of dried, finished fuel, e.g. 50ml. Place it into a glass container and add 50ml of deionised water.( I suggest the use of deionised water because there have been concerns and odd results of shake tests due to the varying water quality throughout the UK.)
Then shake the living daylights out of it. This will create an emulsion between the water and the oil.
Allow it to stand. Within a few minutes you should see the fuel and water begin to split. When the fuel/water sample has fully separated you can then determine the results by a simple visual check. For a good pass, indicating little or no soap present, the emulsion should separate quickly (usually within 5 minutes) and the water layer should have the same crystal clear clarity it had before the test began. The fuel layer on top will now be cloudy. This is perfectly normal as the bio has taken on some of the moisture from the water.
Dried bio, 50ml cylinder, a mayo jar. 50ml of bio and 50ml of water
Emulsion formed after shaking Clear water after separation
