Description

About FM COMBO

• Check for general fuel quality and water contamination in 30 minutes.
• Check for microbial problems in 8 to 72 hours.

Positive bacteria growth signs may appear at 8 hours or more from start of the test.

Some customers may only require an indication of bugs in diesel fuel, so the kits in many applications will provide a positive result for problems quickly.

The regular test times will provide an extra indication of the growth levels (if any) but may not be required.

What’s in the box

1 x test kit for bacteria.
1 x test kit yeast and mold.
2 x test reagent energizers.
1 x test kit for water and general quality.
1 x instructions sheet.

Best use by /shelf life date

When shipped test kits have at least a 6 months best use by date.  This date is a general guide as a minimum indication. Test kits can usually still be used 2 months past this date if stored at the recommended temperatures. As long as the media on microbial test and the water detector agent has not changed color they are perfectly ok to use.

Recommended storage conditions

For long-term storage, it is important to keep microbial test kits under the right conditions to ensure their accuracy and extend their shelf life. Ideally, these kits should be placed in a regular refrigerator until ready for use.

If refrigeration is not possible, aim to store them at ambient room temperatures ranging from about 4°C to 18°C (40°F to 65°F).

The performance of the test kits remains unaffected if they are stored outside these recommended temperatures for 30 days.

Safety

This kit contains no liquid, hazardous or toxic components. Safe to transport, store and use.

Dispose of microbial tests by applying bleach or alcohol based sanitizer to test media after use if they show signs of growth.

How to use FM COMBO

The test kit has two different steps to the process,  test 1 is for entrained, free water, general quality checks and test 2 is for the microbial checks.

Test 1 Instructions – Water and General Quality Checks

Test kits overview – what’s in the box

1 x 150 ml /5 fl oz test bottle.

1 x water detection agent.

1 x instructions.

How to use test kit

Step 1 – Place your fuel sample into test bottle, pour in water detector, screw on bottle cap securely.

Step 2 – Shake bottle for 5 seconds, rest for 30 minutes.

Step 3 – Test A Quality  – View quality markers through back of the bottle, inspect sample bottle for signs of rust and other particle contamination. These factors will determine a pass or fail result for this test as per instructions.

Step 4 – Test B Water – View water detector agent in bottom of bottle for a change in color as per instructions.

Note on resting times

30 minutes is the suggested time for resting the bottle before completing both tests to determine a pass or fail result for general quality.

High levels of water contamination may indicate from 5 minutes of resting.

Confirm test results at 30 minutes to 24 hours from start of test.

Notes

Tests in this section are modelled on code ASTM D4176 visual haze rating quality test and EN590 fuel code standards of maximum allowed water content of 200 PPM – parts per million in diesel fuel.

Test 2 Instructions – Microbial Checks

Test kit overview – what’s in the box

1 x test kit for bacteria checks.
1 x test kit for yeast and mold checks.
1 x instructions.
2 x test reagent energizers.

Our microbial test kit has been developed for identification of bacterial, yeast and mold issues in diesel fuel.

Depending on the levels of growth and your ambient temperatures, you may see visual signs of problems in as little as 8 hours and up to 72 hours from the start of test.

One test kit has all you require for checking one fuel sample, the packaging bag contains 2 test strips coated in our special microbial reagent. You can visually identify problems if any are present in your diesel fuel.

Test kit components

1 x test for bacteria

1 x test for yeast and mold

1 x instructions with images in a step-by-step process

2 x test reagent energizers

How to use test kit

1. Remove test from it’s bag.

2. Insert test into your fuel sample, remove test.

3. Insert back into it’s bag.

4. Rest / incubate for the suggested times.

Temperatures of around 22C/72F to 38C/100F degrees incubate / rest test for a minimum time of 24 hours and inspect test media. If no indications incubate / rest again and re-inspect in 8 to 12 hour intervals to confirm results at 72 hours from start of test.

If you are at the middle point or lower end of the temperature range (ie. cooler temperatures) we suggest you confirm test positive or negative at 80 hours from start of test to remove any false negative test results.

Should you have low temperature ranges below 22C/72F view our incubation warming device FM Incubator, this product provides a constant temperature which ensures the most accurate and fastest results in your testing.

Temperatures below 22C/68F will require an incubator or you will need to double the incubation / rest times.

5. Evaluate the results by comparing the test media to the images on instructions for the levels of growth analysis if any reveal on the test strips.

Notes:

Bacteria is the more dominant growth in diesel fuel and will normally be the first to reveal on the test. In many cases bacteria may reveal on test strip at 8 to 12 hours from start of the test.

Best use by /shelf life date

When shipped test kits have a 6 months best use by date.  This date is a general guide as a minimum indication. Test kits can usually still be used 2 months past this date, as long as the media on microbial test and the water detector agent has not changed color they are perfectly ok to use.

Recommended storage conditions

For long-term storage, it is important to keep microbial test kits under the right conditions to ensure their accuracy and extend their shelf life. Ideally, these kits should be placed in a regular refrigerator until ready for use.

If refrigeration is not possible, aim to store them at ambient room temperatures ranging from about 4°C to 16°C (40°F to 60°F).

The performance of the test kits remains unaffected if they are stored outside these recommended temperatures for 30 days.

Notes:

This test requires an incubation time for microbial bugs (if any) to develop and reveal their presence on the test media, this incubation time will depend on your ambient temperatures. The warmer the test, the faster any positive results will indicate.

Some tests may reveal problems in as little as 8 hours if you have high levels of bacterial growth in your fuel. So you can check early at these times if you like for problems, no need to wait the full test times if you just want to know early for the possibility of a positive test result of fuel bugs.

This kit contains no liquid, hazardous or toxic components.

No active microbial colonies contained within test kit.

Safe to transport by air or road. Store in a cool dry place, for long term storage and to maintain longest use-by time store tests in a standard refrigerator or at cool temperatures as per our recommendations.