Joe, to rationalize living in the cold north, my response is that I can put on more clothes when it is cold but I can take off only so many when it is hot.

msmith, waiting to hear what you found out at Kevin's. I would suggest that you buy your fuel at a busy truck stop to be sure you get good fuel but the only time mine gelled I had filled up at a truck stop by the interstate.

 

Hey Farmdad...I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything from Kevin. I always buy my diesel at the truck stop on 1-380 called Just Diesel...it's a truck stop and they are always busy. I will give them a lot of credit...I took a sample of the bad fuel over to them, along with the receipt for having the tank drained, etc...and they called me the next day and said they were sending me a check to cover all of it!

 

It is good to hear that some businesses stand by what they sell. A silver lining in the cloudy & gelly diesel cloud.

 

I know the station. Was by it on Saturday. Can't get much better than that. They are to be commended for taking responsibility for your problem. I'll remember them when I need fuel in CR.

 

Was it as cold on the East part of the state as the West? I woke up at 6 this morning and the ambeint temperature was -26!!!

Don't worry msmith... Your not the only one with gelling issues. I saw 8 PSD's on the side of the road this morning.

 

Must have been colder in the west and north. The weather report was just on the radio and Spencer had -37 this morning. Now that's COLD! My daughter lived in an old apartment building there 2 years ago and during one cold spell, the temp in her apartment never got above 54*. She lived in her bedroom with an electric heater for a few days.

 

I was going to do just that, but as you pointed out with the o-rings, I'm afraid to touch mine in this cold so I'm going to leave it alone! I don't mind needed to replace those o-rings when the time comes, but I sure don't want to do it in this cold!

 

Artic Blast #2 on it's way Thursday! temps -20's F overnight and hights 0f -4 F for a couple of days it seems, when is spring again?

Definitely a cold winter this year - about 20 degrees below average.

 

I wondered into this thread and have no idea what you guys are talking about. Freezing diesel??? gelling?? winter blankets and plugging trucks in ?

Hell, if it gets below 40 here we go into primal phase I nuclear meltdown. This week our highs are in the 40's w/ lows in the teens!!!!

We're going to have 3 days where we dont get above freezing!!! This is absolutely not what I signed up for. People are running around here like there's a Cat 5 right off the coast. buying ammunition, water, blow torches, wood...hell I hadn't seen a gal of milk in 3 days at the store!

I hope I don't have any problems w/ gelling??!! Anyone think we will?

 

Can you find out how much water on the fuel results test/analysis? 100 ppm is acceptable but that is the Gov't Standard. Most try to keep it under 50 ppm in the fuel analysis reports I have seen. If there is excessive water contamination you can add a moisture inhibiting additive and a dispersent to prevent filter clogging.

 

What are they going to do, shoot holes in whatever freezes? Or is A.G. coming to visit? Do you have access to any anti-gel additive? I would certainly use it just to be sure. Your diesel fuel probably isn't blended for that much winter. No.1 fuel or Kerosene would help a lot in a 10% mix. More wouldn't hurt.



Rich, what are the names of some moisture inhibiting additives so I know what to look for? I see 911 lists it on the label but I wonder if it does enough especially with excessive contamination.

 

Mark, I appologize for taking so long to reply to your question. I started to reply last night and got about 3/4 the way through my reply and I hit the "back" button on my web browser.....well after I went foward again I lost my post...... I'm late tonight because after work, supper & kids homework I had to snow blow the neighbors & my driveways before those 30-40 mph winds and the -15 F temps get here. Snow blowing is OK but when the wind throws it back in your face it kinda ruins any fun you might be having....LOL

Back to the thread.......

Powerservice 911 is an effective product when you gell up and need to get back rolling again, but it is not meant to be used as a diesel fuel additive for extended use.

There are products out there that are effective at eliminating moisture and water buildup in storage tanks and dispersing water in diesel engines in order to prevent fuel icing and other problems associated with water.

Specifically talking about the Powerstroke, the products you want to stay away from are those that contain alcohol. Here is a Special Service Message From Ford back in 2000.

*************************************************

*************************************************

Since 2000 we have changed over to ULSD Fuel and more manufacturers/additive products have become available to help with the various issues of biodiesel, gelling, water retention, lubricity, etc....but the message still applies, stay clear of alcohol based products.

I work for Schaeffer's as you know, so I know some of the products from other manufacturers but not all. Here are some products that will remove water and/or disperse it enough in equipment to keep from freezing and blocking fuel lines and filters.

For bulk storage tanks that have identified a water contamination problem:

Schaeffer's Tank Dry - for bulk storage tanks to remove water contamination.

Schaeffer Mfg. | Tank Dry Moisture Inhibiting Additive for Stored Fuel

Powerservice Clean Diesel

http://www.udxtra.com/products/Power...%20Cleaner.pdf

A couple of non-alcohol diesel fuel additives, anti-gelling and water dispersant to prevent icing/freezing :

Schaeffer Dieseltreat 2000 ULSD Winter

Schaeffer Oil | Diesel Treat 2000 Winter Fuel Additive

Schaeffer's Artic Flow Plus

Schaeffer Oil | Arctic Flow Plus Diesel Fuel Treatment

Stanadyn Winter 1000

Winter 1000 - Stanadyne

Now having said that, two things come to mind. Many products advertise that they will work to -40F. Well that is the pour point of the product or that is what it will lower the pour point of the fuel by. The pour point does not matter as much as the cold filter plug point (CFPP), because a 14 micron filter (IIRC in our PSD's -2 micron in some new diesels) will plug up at a much higher temp than at a fluids ability to pour. For example, the fuel test I posted that you had seen - dropped the CFPP 25 degrees down to -22F. But the standard ASTM test used to determine the CFPP uses a 45 micron filter - so you need to adjust the results for a 14 micron filter in the PSD.

If you have bulk storage tanks (500 gal, 1,000 gal, etc) and you think you have a contamination problem I would suggest getting your fuel tested before dumping $ into additives. Find out what the exact problem is first from the lab, then you can attack it head on. Otherwise you are just dumping more $ into the money pit.

If your fuel is good and you want to know at what temp your fuel is going to gell at, Schaeffer's offer's a winter/gelling fuel test for about $30. You can either

1. send in a fuel sample without any additives and they will determine which additive and at what blend ratio will yield the best results.

2. Send in a fuel sample with the additive you choose to run already mixed in, and they will tell you the cloud point and CFPP of that fuel.

Polaris labs and other labs also offer these tests, not sure what the cost is through them.

Sorry to rant on....did I make this more confusing as I went on? I'm kinda tired after all the snow removal today - hope I helped clear up the mud in some way.

 

I'm a petroleum engineer for the Marine Corps. I'm finding this thread kind of interesting. I haven't been to lab school yet, but we get the basics in our basic course. When I get home tonight I'll have to look in some of my manuals and see if I can find anything. I know, I'm not much help at this point...

 

msmith, did you get your truck running? Sounds like we need to get ready for another round of snow and then cold. Wish Mother Nature would let us up for air, warm air.

Rich, thanks for the info especially about the supply tank. I think that my supply tank has a water problem. I appreciate the warning about no alcohol. Don't need to create other problems.

 

Call or send me a PM if you need any help......

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