1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel conditioner adapted to be placed in-line in a fuel delivery system and is adapted to condition fuel for improved purity, extended storage life, and reduced-engine wear.
2. Description of the Related Art
Internal combustion engine systems typically are provided fuel from a remote storage tank via fuel lines and the fuel is driven either by gravity or an active pump. The systems often include an in-line filter to remove particulate impurities. However, filters typically are passive devices that can only screen out particles above a certain size.
Filters are relatively ineffectual against biological processes that often occur in fuel. As an example, diesel fuel often accumulates water in storage. The fuel, especially with water present, can support the growth of certain bacteria, fungi, and algae. It is known to add anti-biological agents such as bactericides and fungicides to the fuel, however this requires the undesirable additional effort of adding the anti-biological agents to the fuel.
An additional contaminant that can be present in fuel that is not particularly well handled by conventional filters is metal contamination. Small particles of metal can become entrained in the fuel from wear in fuel pumps and corrosion in fuel delivery systems. These small metallic particles can be too small to be effectively trapped by a filter, yet large enough to cause undesirable wear and deposits in the engine.
From the foregoing, it can be appreciated that there is a need for a fuel conditioning system that can inhibit the growth of biological contaminants in fuel yet avoids the inconvenience of mixing additives with the fuel. There is also a need for a system to remove metallic particles from a fuel supply.
The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the present invention which, in one aspect, is an in-line fuel conditioner receiving a flow of liquid fuel the conditioner comprising a housing, end caps attached to ends of the housing and a plurality of reactive elements contained within the housing such that the fuel passes over the reactive elements and wherein the reactive elements comprise separate stainless steel, zinc, and copper members such that the overall composition of the reactive elements is approximately 50-40% stainless steel, 40-30% zinc, and 30-20% copper by weight and wherein the in-line fuel conditioner inhibits the growth of biological agents entrained within the fuel. In certain embodiments, the invention also includes a magnet wherein the magnet retains ferrous metal particles entrained within the fuel flow and in one embodiment, the magnet is positioned with the housing. In certain embodiments, the reactive elements are approximately 0.125xe2x80x3 in major dimension. In another aspect, the invention is an internal combustion engine system utilizing fuel and including an in-line fuel conditioner wherein the in-line fuel conditioner contains a plurality of reactive elements comprising separate stainless steel, zinc, and copper members wherein the reactive elements have a weight composition of 50-40% stainless steel, 40-30% zinc, and 30-20% copper and a magnet wherein the in-line fuel conditioner inhibits the growth of biological contaminants and retains ferrous particulates entrained within the fuel.
The in-line fuel conditioner of the present invention can be readily installed in an existing fuel delivery system using commonly available tools and known mechanical techniques. The fuel conditioner inhibits the growth of biological contaminants without the inconvenience of treating the fuel with additives. The fuel conditioner also retains ferrous particulates entrained within the fuel thereby reducing wear to an engine system so equipped. These and other objects and advantages will become more fully apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.