Episode 062 - Back to School - Detecting and Solving Microbe Problems

This episode continues the Back to School series, focusing on identifying and treating microbial contamination in fuel systems. Erik Bjornstad discusses both indirect and direct methods for detecting contamination, emphasizing the importance of proper testing and treatment.

The episode provides practical guidance on addressing contamination through water removal and biocide application, while also educating listeners about legitimate biocide products versus questionable alternatives.

Listen to the Full Episode:

What You'll Learn:

• How to identify signs of microbial contamination in fuel systems
• The difference between direct and indirect testing methods
• Why removing water alone isn't sufficient to solve contamination
• How to properly treat microbial contamination
• How to identify legitimate biocide products
• The importance of EPA registration for biocides
• Best practices for applying biocide treatments

Ideas Worth Sharing:

Here are three notable quotes from the podcast episode:

• "Biocides are chemicals that kill living microbial organisms, but they can't kill what they can't get to."
• "Microbes are very adaptive. They don't need very much water to grow."
• "Step one is, remove as much of the free water as you can. Yes. But you can't stop there."

Resources:

• EPA Registration Numbers (referenced as verification tool)
• Erik Bjornstad: LinkedIn

Show Notes:

[00:00:00] - Introduction and recap of previous episode
[00:01:00] - Indirect signs of microbial contamination
[00:02:00] - Additional contamination indicators
[00:03:00] - Direct testing methods
[00:04:00] - Solutions: What not to do
[00:05:00] - Proper contamination treatment
[00:06:00] - Discussion of biocides
[00:07:00] - How to identify genuine biocides
[00:08:00] - EPA registration requirements
[00:09:00] - Episode summary and closing