Generator Fuel Polishing in Tehachapi & Kern County

Clear Fuel Solutions provides mobile diesel fuel polishing, tank cleaning, and fuel sampling for standby generators in Tehachapi and throughout Kern County. We are based in Carson, CA and travel to remote and mountain sites for backup power work. Licensed California contractor, CSLB License 1143416.

Project: AT&T cell site generator belly tank, Tehachapi

Client: Solex Contracting Inc., on behalf of AT&T. Site: AT&T cell site CSL04487, Tehachapi, CA. Completed September 2026.

Solex Contracting, a telecom construction contractor working on AT&T's network, brought us in to restore the belly tank under a Cummins standby generator at a cell site in Tehachapi. The tank had been sitting without fuel long enough for the contractor to expect standing water and surface rust inside. The scope we proposed was to remove any free water and contaminants, introduce clean diesel, and circulate it through our closed-loop filtration system to pull out remaining water, rust, and sediment while conditioning the fuel with an additive.

What we found

Heavy sediment and light moisture in the tank, with no free-standing water. The engine-mounted fuel filter was past its service life and the fuel/water separator bowl showed visible contamination.

What we did

• Cleaned the belly tank and removed the settled sediment and moisture

• Filtered the fuel through our mobile closed-loop system with the generator in place

• Treated the fuel with a diesel additive to stabilize it for long-term standby storage

• Disposed of the waste fuel and water lawfully and replaced one filtration element

• Documented the tank condition with before-and-after photos and flagged the fuel filter and separator for replacement on the client's next visit

The system was returned to service the same day. Because this was our first job through Solex, the work also included vendor onboarding, a purchase order through AT&T's approval process, and coordination with the site's access schedule — which is typical for telecom work and something we are set up to handle.

Why cell site generators fail when they are needed

Telecom backup generators sit for months between real runs. Fuel in a belly tank sees daily temperature swings that pull moisture in through the vent; water settles to the bottom, microbes grow at the fuel-water interface, and sediment builds up that the weekly exercise cycle never disturbs. The generator passes its test, then clogs a filter under load during an actual outage. AT&T has a large number of these tanks across California, and most are in the same condition this one was: fuel sitting for years, sediment on the bottom, nothing showing until the unit is asked to run.

Servicing the tank in place costs a fraction of a generator failure and avoids hauling off good fuel. For contractors managing multiple sites, we price batches by region so mobilization is shared across sites rather than paid per visit.

Kern County service area

Tehachapi, Bakersfield, Mojave, Rosamond, Lake Isabella, Taft, Delano, and the Tehachapi Pass wind corridor. Standby generators, telecom and utility sites, agricultural fuel storage, and above-ground bulk tanks. Fully mobile — we bring the equipment to the site.

To schedule fuel sampling, polishing, or tank cleaning in Kern County, call (213) 257-0098 or send a service request through the contact page.