any of you guys who went with CAT replacements for fuel filters plan on heaters?

the stock 2nd filter was in the warm engine bay.....those cat solutions put the filter under chasis exposed to the elements....any concerns?

Jan and Feb will approach quickly.

 

Our trucks do have a fuel heater that utilizes the secondary coolant system to heat the fuel.

 

We also have the thermal recirculation valve either in the water separator house in the 2017+ trucks or the DCFM in the 2011-2016 trucks. Downside is, doesn't help if your dealing with a cold engine on a very cold day (and I mean actual cold not South Carolina cold, single digits F and below).

Me personally, my plan is:

A set of these:

https://www.americanvolt.com/collect...erature-sensor

https://www.americanvolt.com/collect...-sensor-switch

Controlling a relay or two that powers these:

https://www.wvodesigns.com/fuel-filt...12v-large.html

 

exactly correct....recirculation heating relys on a engine thats has started, sent warmed recirculated fuel from front to back, that "warmed fuel" did not loose BTU's thru the fuel cooler, and that fuel did not loose BTU's aloung the return fuel path.....its a great theory....but..doesnt help much with gel'ed fuel already in the lines and filters.

I like your whole concept....NPT plug to recieve a sensor, a sensor, and the 12v heat wrap. great idea...heat wrap comes on at key on if sensor is cold, sensor warms up, wrap gets turned off. add a relay in the mix. options for npt install....cooling system....oil system.....fuel manifold....I guess it would depend on the sensitivity of the sensor. but I like it. you did a lot of homework and Im probally going to pull the trigger on it. just need to think about which system I would use...etc. exacly the kind of info that is helpful. I think , since I already have OIL NPT ports avail, im going to install into an oil NPT port. I have to double check what size are the extra NPT ports are on the amsoil by pass filter. if I didnt have the oil NPT, I would have probally used a glowshift sensor adapter and installed it on the coolant return line at the degas resivior.

this might work on the degas return line...the only thing is matching sensor sizes to sensor holes...sometimes 1/8 with one company is not 1/8 with another...in this case the switch is m4 and the glowshift is 1/8-27.

https://www.glowshiftdirect.com/3-8-...tting-adapter/

 

so Im looking at this diagram....if I forget that its a fuel cooler....could I imagine that the cooler could act like a heat exchanger to warm cold fuel....I guess it could be possible..minus BTU loss along the way back to the tank and the BTU loss across the fozen fuel in the tank....not impossible.

 

Unless you travel south to north in the winter months without buying fuel in the north, any fuel you buy locally already has the necessary anti-gel additives. I know you like your mods, but this one doesnt seem to buy you much. Here in Michigan we go weeks in the teen's, and never had an issue. I dont even bother to plug the truck in.

 

maybe things got better…a few years ago I put a quart of diesel that I got from a station in my yard overnight on a cold day (20’s) and it had formed wax . Jan is coming up so definitely worth trying that test again.

 

Fuel cooler or heater I suppose it depends on the ambient temperature that determines if the fuel is being cooled or heated. The constant is the fuel temperature is being controlled by the temperature of the secondary cooling system and plays a very important role on the fuel system and how it performs in terms of emissions performance and fuel system reliability

 

I desperately need a new hobby.

Personally I was thinking extra port on the 24770 on the return filter for a reference point. The 120*F set point is a little higher than I would want, IIRC the thermal valve is fully closed (not recirculating all fuel tank to the tank) at 100*F so that would have been better. I can always switch the sensor to just turn it off. I never thought of using something other than fuel for the reference, it is an interesting idea. I might need to stew on that.

1/8-27 is 1/8 NPT I believe so the small thread in would work with tape or pipe dope of course.

In my case my company has terminals up in Maine and if I am going up there I am at a hotel with no ability to plug in. Also, a few years back during a cold snap (IIRC it was single digits, maybe very low teens out) I got the dreaded reduce engine power so my low pressure system probably had some fuel gelled somewhere in it. That was 40k+ miles ago and I haven't had any issue since but scared the crap out of me. Lastly, having the option of a heater is a personal preference of mine. Every other diesel I have had (7.3 and 5.9) had it, I believe Ford dropped it with the 6.0.

 

it was 15 degrees yesterday and my truck started....sounded pretty noisy but it started...oil pressure indication upon start up was normal. I had opti-lube winter blend already mixed in ...dont know what if anything the service station put in the fuel. the oil was fresh 5w40 synthetic . commanded high pressure fuel vs actual high pressure fuel was normal at idle...around 4400 +/- 25

 

15*F, what balmy paradise is this? It was 3*F for me this morning, one of the few times I give it about 5 mins or so to idle before I head out. Overall it was pretty smooth given the air temp, T6 10w30 in the crankcase. I have a 45 or so mile highway commute and with this being Christmas week it was really quiet on the roads, trans was only 185*F by the time I got off the highway.

 

Last week we had -8 F. and warmed up to 3 above zero, this cycle lasted for about four days/nights. Never had a concern with a start up with the 6.7 stock.