Diesel winter fuel mix / fuel additive

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DITTO

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Posts
112
Location
Cape Cod
We are stuck in the cold till new years and have been waiting for the winter fuel mix..stations don't seem to know when it arrives..any suggestions what additives to use to prevent gelling ???
 
What sort of temperature are you expecting? Gelling is not really a problem until about 15 degrees (sustained). There are anti-gel additives available if you really need them, but if you aren't going to be running your engine when its that cold, I wouldn't worry.
 
Thanks for your post..in fact here on Cape Cod low temps like that are to be expected..and after a month + in storage we want to make sure we can visit you in Fl !!
 
I have summer fuel in the MH and use Howes, Diesel Clean and another one.  Typically I use the one on sale but I have 3 currently in the bay and I don't remember which I added to the tank in August.  When we get home from the Thanksgiving trip, it will be filled with "winter" fuel so no additive will be required.
 
My friend who is the fire engine mechanic and very knowledgable on this stuff told me I should ensure I drive the vehicle for at least 10 or 20 minutes after adding these products so the product has a chance to mix in the tank and in the fuel lines.  He also stated that about 80% of the fuel pumped to a diesel engine returns back to the tank and is quite warm so it does a good job of mixing in a relatively short period of time.
 
Tony,

He is right on and that is exactly what we do.  I drive about 15 minutes on my way home by a very circuitous route for that reason.
 
Many years ago (70's), I understood that "winter diesel" was nothing more than a blend of #2 and #1 fuel oil.  Basically, #1 is simply kerosene.  There may be more differences between #2 and road diesel now, but I'll bet that "winter diesel" is nothing more than road diesel with kerosene blended in.  If so, adding a few 5 gal cans of kerosene would be enough to keep it from gelling up.   

Gordon
 
You are right that winter diesel is either pure #1 diesel fuel or a blend of #2 and #1, depending on the temperatures expected in the region. Knowing how much kerosene to add could be tricky, though, and regular kerosene can be somewhat smoky. White kerosene would be better. 

I think I would stick with a commercial additive, though.
 
I use Power Service Diesel fuel additive 32 oz per 100 gal year around, Not only is it anti-jel additive but also a octane boost, Helps with lubrication in the engine and helps with moisture in the tank, Sulfur in diesel fuel among other things serves as a lubricant.  The ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel we buy today has most of the sulfur removed and therefore does not lubricate the parts it touches like it did several years ago so being an old Diesel Mechanic I think the engine needs all the lubrication it can get. IMHO
Wristpin
 
Power Service Diesel fuel

That's the one I couldn't remember and it s the one I prefer for the reasons stated.  We do get better mileage withit also, about 0.5 mpg.
 
Wristpin,,being an "old diesel mechanic" you should know that you would not be raising the "octane" rating, but you would be raising the "cetane" rating.>>>Dan
 
utahclaimjumper said:
Wristpin,,being an "old diesel mechanic" you should know that you would not be raising the "octane" rating, but you would be raising the "cetane" rating.>>>Dan

You got me there utahclaimjumper.....Seems no one ever talks about cetane.
Thanks for correcting me:) 
 
I owned a gas station in PA & I sold Gulf AutoDiesel.  Starting in November Gulf would switch to Winter Blend 270 which was a blend of 70% # 2 Diesel & 30% # 1 Diesel, which Gary noted is kerosene.  As the winter progressed they might switch to a 260 blend.  The temps in my area may not have needed a blend like 260 but I was along I-81 & people driving north might need it.  Ask your local Diesel dealers what blend they sell & try to duplicate it if you have enough room in your fuel tank. 

FWIW, a Gulf petro engineer told me once that the only true way to prevent gelling is to use # 1 Diesel which has a lower gel point than # 2.
 
Ditto,
I'm not real big on most additives except for lubrication additives.  A couple years back, we had diesels stuck all over westen NYS during a cold spell.  Power Services and Howes was not doing anything.  My son picked up some http://www.k100fueltreatment.com/main.html which got his rig going when the Power Services wouldn't.  Most of the local town Highway Depts around here are also using this stuff.  Local parts store says he sells more of the K100d than he does the Power Services and that is because of demand of customers.  I have ran it in my VW diesel and Kubota tractor and in the motorhome.  Only run it during the winter months.  The motorhome  is parked and waiting to be cranked up come mid March to go south.  I have it filled up with a all season premium diesel and the K100d.  Am sure that she will fire right up come March.  I don't plan on starting it until them.  Here is a list of retailers up in Mass:  http://www.k100fueltreatment.com/massachusetts_retailers.html  Good luck!
 
Power services also makes a product called 911 for jelled up fuel systems, I can't recommend it because I've never seen it work
 
parmm said:
Ditto,
I have it filled up with a all season premium diesel and the K100d. 
How do you know your diesel is "all season"?  And what does the word premium mean in this context?  Higher cetane rating? 
 
At camp freight liner we had an owner who had an issue with fuel filters getting plugged repeatedly..seems he used an additive that among other things was a cleaner  too...cleaned so well it removed the coating from inside his tank...the cause of his problem...the bad news was he needed a new fuel tank...I am real cautious on additive that clean too!!..I called cummins for an antigel additive and was advised that fleetgard has a "fuel winterization " product recommend by Cummins..
 
Hi Ho:  Since this thread is about driving in cold weather, I thought I would add my expeience.  We drove our diesel to Wyoming about twice a month all year round including winter.  It gets cold in Wyoming:  -30 deg F. is common.

Anyway, the biggest problem we encountered was not fuel gelling (which by the way it will at -30 deg.) but water in the fuel (and especially the fuel filter) freezing.  Just a word to the wise.  Change your fuel filter and get rid of the water before cold weather.  We have been driving down the road and had the fuel system freeze up because of water.... well, ice.

Dirk
 
Tony_Alberta said:
How do you know your diesel is "all season"?  And what does the word premium mean in this context?  Higher cetane rating?
Cause I use to haul it out of the refinery before I retired.  The stuff is super filtered.  Less wax in the product.  They sell it as "all season" premium blend diesel.  This particular refinery always has held their diesel cetane a couple points above the 45 that they post at the pumps.  They have two blends of diesel.  The regular which the sell at their various truck stops at the truck island and the premium grade that they sell at car islands, and at the same price as the regular.  The regular fuel is blended at the pumps during the winter months.  They also sell both grades on the open market to other dealers.  Pennzoil before they closed the diesel refinery up here also sold a "all season" diesel fuel.
 
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