Well, I gelled again today, pretty darn good this time too.

The first time I gelled was because I had straight #2 in. The station's unmarked pumps apparently meant non-blended.

Today was a different story, I had about 1/3 of a tank of fuel, mixed 50/50 with straight #1 and a winter blend of unknown mix. The truck started and idled for 30 min or so, fine. Got 6 miles to town and started to lose power. I tried to make it home but the truck eventually could no longer pull itself down the road, and then idled itself to death.

Gave it plenty of Diesel 911 De-gelling stuff, I already had some white anti-gel in there, not much, but enough. I started it and got it to run for about 2 minutes later tonight, but then it died again. I know I have to get it in our garage to get it thawed and change filters, but I want to know how to prevent this.

I always try to run straight #1, but I hadn't driven enough to get all the mixed out of my tank.

Does anyone else up in the colder areas have issues with their Hutch mod filter gelling up? If so what have you done to take care of it? I am thinking of going to a coarser filter, something more of a "strainer" I guess. Or does anyone run heat tape, or heat cable on their fuel lines to keep them from gelling? I am sure everything will be ok, once it warms up, but I need to have some way to keep it reliable.

Thanks in advance.

Baatzy

 

What's the micron rating of your filter? Switching to a 100 micron filter will still protect the pump and open things up some, but fuel gel issues will plug the main filter too.

The best bet to deal with fuel gel issues is probably to put a regulated return in so your fuel flows through the warming up and then warm engine before returning to the tank. Let the engine heat help keep your fuel temperature warm.

 

Chris, I spose I should update my signature, I just recently put the Riffraff's FRx on my pickup, but like I said, I gelled this morning.

Would you say 100 micron would be a good filter size to go to? If so, do you know if there are any out there that are compatible with the filter head from the Hutch Mod kit from Strictly Diesel?

Thanks

Baatzy

 

Sounds like you need to get your fuel from a different station.

 

Phil, trust me, I have not been to that station since.
I learned my lesson on that one.

The issue with having the blend arose from coming home I think. Out at school temps are usually 10 to 20 degrees warmer than here, so the only fuel I could find out there was blended stuff. Once I got back here and filled up, I started filling at the straight # 1 pump.

 

I don't remember which filter head Dennis uses, but you could probably just call wix or baldwin and tell them what filter base (head) you use and tell them what you want. They could tell you if they have a filter that would work.

The FRX is nice, but it's not a full regulated return, so you won't get the full benefit of the engine heat.

Everyone from the frozen North I've talked with, and all the threads I've read over the years, the regulated return is your best bet.

 

If the truck was gelled, wouldn't it have not run at all? Seems like if it ran for 30 minutes it couldn't be gelled up, but I could be wrong.

 

Thanks, I will definitely stick with the FRx for now, and try a more coarse filter to begin with.

I will have to look into a full regulated return then.

Thanks,

Baatzy

 

Fuel starts to cloud up first, then you get wax drop out, and things get worse from there depending on temperatures and the fuel being used.

Typically these problems happen somewhere along the process. Most of the fuel is still liquid, but you've got dropout where crystals and solids are forming. As they move around, they begin to collect on the filter, and you finally reach the filter plug point.

 

10-4, that makes sense.

 

Goldswim-It happens precisely as Chris described. To put it in "driving the truck feeling" both times I have had it happen. The engine starts to develop a louder sound, followed by a loss of power, steady deceleration and even more knocking and banging.

Today it eventually led to the truck only being able to run at idle, until it fully gelled and starved the truck and it just died.

The best thing to do once gelling is suspected, would be immediately add a de-geller, like red bottle Diesel Kleen 911 and let the truck idle to get the stuff mixed in and flowing through. I did this today but the it did not help enough.

 

The fuel in my skid steer gelled up last weekend. I put a double dose of the red 911 in it thinking, more is better. I was telling a fellow mechanic/landscaper buddy about it, and he claims that he went to some kind of conference where there was a session on fuel additives. He claims that they were told that doubling up on anti gel agents for diesel will actually cause them to gel up even worse later on, a tank or two later. Something about breaking down/seperating the fuel. They claimed it was best to stick precisely to the mix ratio listed on the bottle. Now, I didn't hear it first hand, and I don't quite understand it, but maybe you can find some info on the net. It does kinda make sense for there to be a mix ratio on the back of the bottle.... Good luck!

 

Were you in Rapid City or Minnesota when it gelled? Remember, Minnesota has biodiesel in there #2 diesel which significantly raises the cloud point and the cold filter plug point. Unless they temporarily suspended the biodiesel requirement during the cold temps.

 

Ford sells a "top water fuel heater" that is a bolt on fit up for the 7.3L. It is specifically intended to address fuel gelling. Ford issued a non warranty TSB regarding this kit quite some time ago. It is intended to directly address fuel gelling problems.

The top water fuel heater uses no electricity... just the coolant heat from your engine. The fuel exiting the fuel bowl to return to the tank is diverted through a heat exchanger that engine coolant is also diverted through. The heat from the engine coolant is transferred to the fuel that is returning to the tank. This warmer fuel elevates the temperature of the bulk fuel in the tank.

Racor, the same company that created the fuel bowl and filter, also created this top water fuel heater. It sits on top of the engine, on a special bracket pre drilled for the heat exchanger and the upper alternator mounting bolts, where it mounts. The kit comes with pre-bent, pre double lap flared, pre-fitted fuel lines that intercede with the existing fuel lines returning fuel to the tank.

Again, no electricity, and no moving parts to fail. Just warmer fuel sent to increase the bulk fuel temperature in the tank.

The Ford Part Number is 1C3Z-9J294-AA.
The Ford TSB Number is 01-4-4

The Racor Part Number is 320HTR4, but I provide that only to help anyone who may be interested in this learn about and see the heat exchanger itself. There is no money saving in getting the heat exchanger from Racor, because the real value of the Ford kit is all the labor saved in making the mounting bracket and bending the steel fuel lines through some super tight radii with multiple turns and precise angles. These fuel lines are better bent, with less indentations from tooling, than the original fuel lines on the truck.

It's a well made kit, produced to OEM standards by an OEM supplier to address fuel gelling issues in cold climates. I picked up one a long time ago, with the idea that if I ever switch to WVO, I would definitely want to bring up my bulk fuel temp.

Hope this informations is useful!

 

I've never noticed any gas station around here specifying what type of diesel they have.
I haven't had any issues yet but I've always been curious about it

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