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Diesel Fuel and Anti-Gel

NorthStar

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With ULSD, wax dropout is a bigger concern than gelling, in the biggest issue is icing (which people mistake as gelling).
Agreed. I'm simply referring to gelling as a generalization of the results of diesel cloud point. Diesel gelling, icing, wax dropout (regardless of sulfur content) is a direct result of the cloud point of the diesel which has a direct effect on flow. In the winter, utilize quality diesel (preferably #1 or a winter blend with a quality additive) to ensure the cloud point is optimal for the temps you may encounter.
 

c3k

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The Pump and filter have preheaters. If the truck won't start becuase of gelling, put it in run ( press start twice, but dont step on brake ) It will run the heater and "thaw" out the fuel after a few minutes. Then you should be able to start the truck. You should also get the wait to start message to run the glow plugs, but you need to wait longer if it won't start and the fuel is gelled.

It's in the Ram Diesel Supplement, to the owners manual.

Extreme Cold Weather The engine block heater is a resistance heater installed in the water jacket of the engine. It requires a 110–115 Volt AC electrical outlet with a grounded, three-wire extension cord. Its use is recommended for environments that routinely fall below -10°F (-23°C). It should be used when the vehicle has not been running overnight or longer periods and should be plugged in two hours prior to start. Its use is required for cold starts with temperatures under -20°F (-28°C). NOTE: The engine block heater cord is a factory installed option. If your vehicle is not equipped, heater cords are available from your authorized Mopar dealer. • A 12 Volt heater built into the fuel filter housing aids in preventing fuel gelling. It is controlled by a built-in thermostat. • A Diesel Pre-Heat system both improves engine starting and reduces the amount of white smoke generated by a warming engine.

The engine block heater warms engine coolant and permits quicker starts in cold weather. Connect the heater cord to a ground-fault interrupter protected 110–115 Volt AC electrical outlet with a grounded, three-wire extension cord. Its use is recommended for environments that routinely fall below -10°F (-23°C). It should be used when the vehicle has not been running for long periods of time and should be plugged in two hours prior to start. Its use is required for cold starts with temperatures under -20°F (-28°C).

FWIW, I just added an easy connect NOCO outlet to my block heater, so I can keep the hood closed and not have cords poking through the grill, or whatnot. I've got the NOCO mounted under the bumper, near the right tow hook.

Anyhow...I tested the block heater last night. It got down to 23F. I went out with a remote thermometer when it had warmed up to 28-30. Lifting the hood, I felt the warmth. The IR thermometer registered mid 60's in most locations I pointed it. Call that a +30-35F increase, and that's on the outside of the block. It's got a decent block heater.
 

J-Cooz

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-29C = -20F
That had to be a treated fuel that you had.
Likely your truck was in a heated garage also.
Straight from the pump. I'm in Canada. I don't add anything to my fuel and my truck sits outside 24/7.

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J-Cooz

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straight from the pump, it was treated or you would have had problems.
It's whatever blend of winter diesel they have in Canada. Probably mostly number 1 diesel.

I don't add anything to my fuel. Never have, never will. My point to the OP is he doesn't need additional additives.

Not sure why you're having a tough time believing this or assuming I was parked in a heated garage.


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djevox

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It's whatever blend of winter diesel they have in Canada. Probably mostly number 1 diesel.

I don't add anything to my fuel. Never have, never will. My point to the OP is he doesn't need additional additives.

Not sure why you're having a tough time believing this or assuming I was parked in a heated garage.


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Thanks for adding your experiences! I’m very interested to see some lab results comparing the fuel we get in the US to Canada. I would hope it would be the same.
 

J-Cooz

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Thanks for adding your experiences! I’m very interested to see some lab results comparing the fuel we get in the US to Canada. I would hope it would be the same.
From googling it's just the blend of number 1 and number 2 diesel. The more number 1 the lower the temperature.

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djevox

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From googling it's just the blend of number 1 and number 2 diesel. The more number 1 the lower the temperature.

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Yeah, I found the same. That’s what we have also.
 

NorthStar

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It's whatever blend of winter diesel they have in Canada. Probably mostly number 1 diesel.

I don't add anything to my fuel. Never have, never will. My point to the OP is he doesn't need additional additives.

Not sure why you're having a tough time believing this or assuming I was parked in a heated garage.


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You don’t need life or health insurance either but I’ll bet you have it. Additives reduce the risk…each owner has their acceptable level of risk. Additives DO work after using them for the past 40+ years especially if you get a questionable batch of diesel. I’ve been on the side of the highway south of Fairbanks at -51F due to a poor blend. I’ve used an additive ever since then and never encountered a problem since.

To each their own…I don’t need additive but I also don’t want to be stuck in the cold with a bad batch of diesel.
 

J-Cooz

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Do you see semi trucks adding additives at every fill up? No, they gas and go.

If it makes you feel better use them. I won't.

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NorthStar

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Do you see semi trucks adding additives at every fill up? No, they gas and go.

If it makes you feel better use them. I won't.

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My uncle owns sixteen tractors and a fleet of trailers for over forty years and they use exclusively Stanadyne during the fall/winter/spring to prevent issues.

Likewise, Dad was also a truck driver for his career and I rode in his IH Transtar and his Peterbuilts during summer vacation and Christmas break - he too used Stanadyne in the fall/winter/spring.

And yes, I have dipped my fair share of tanks to get diesel to prefill a fuel filter when replacing one that was “gelled” up due to failure to utilize additive when filling up with what turned out to be straight #2 diesel in subzero weather.

Stanadyne and Power Services doesn't sell their product by the 55 gallon drum simply to allow the 3/4T/1T Cummins, PowerJoke or Duramax daily driver to make a one-time lifetime supply purchase of the stuff! It's

To each their own…
 
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bill-e

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I'm about an hour north of NYC but this week we've seen some single digits and when we go upstate we've seen some negative days. I just wish the gas stations would post something about it because employees don't know. I may hit up a truck stop off the highway and see if they know more.
I had a Gen 2 for almost 6 years and now going on the second with the Gen 3. I never plug in the motor, own but don't install the winter cover on my Gen 3, and I only occasionally run additive (mostly for lubricity). It is not unusual to be below single digits F for a week or two at a time and we see -20. The trucks run fine in the winter.

I cant imagine that the gas station attendants even know what winter fuel is but by October all the distributers are mixing and delivering it. The easiest way to tell is by the drop in MPG although my Gen 3 seems to be much more tolerant of it than the Gen 2.

Don't worry, drive happy!
 

LouNY

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All of you that don't use additives and don't use the winter cover, Good Luck.

I have been running diesels since the early 70's, Iv'e gelled up, froze up and had my engines fail to start from fuel and cold.
Those of you that haven't good for you.
You crawl under a truck and change filters and clear out fuel lines in sub zero temperatures one time and then tell me about adding
additives or blending my own fuels.

Those of you in the States especially in the North East very little fuel is blended at a refinery for use here.
Most fuel is delivered to tank farms and then the deliveries pick up from the tank farm and depending on the
distributor and which stores that fuel is going to additives will be added to the fuel at that time for the predicted
temperatures very seldom is your fuel blended with #1 unless you are getting fuel during a prolonged or extreme cold spell.

Yes, most truckers in the northern states add additives to there fuel routinely.
 

J-Cooz

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All of you that don't use additives and don't use the winter cover, Good Luck.

I have been running diesels since the early 70's, Iv'e gelled up, froze up and had my engines fail to start from fuel and cold.
Those of you that haven't good for you.
You crawl under a truck and change filters and clear out fuel lines in sub zero temperatures one time and then tell me about adding
additives or blending my own fuels.

Those of you in the States especially in the North East very little fuel is blended at a refinery for use here.
Most fuel is delivered to tank farms and then the deliveries pick up from the tank farm and depending on the
distributor and which stores that fuel is going to additives will be added to the fuel at that time for the predicted
temperatures very seldom is your fuel blended with #1 unless you are getting fuel during a prolonged or extreme cold spell.

Yes, most truckers in the northern states add additives to there fuel routinely.
Diesels have changed a lot since the 70s. There's no requirement to run the front winter cover. Even the manual says that.

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Chris3058

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-30C here last 2 nights...not plugged in. Started right up - ugly sounding but it started no problem after the glow plugs did their thing. I will plug it in the next cold day......and I run EDT in every tank even though we have winter blend up here.
 

djevox

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I noticed on winter blend fuel that I got 2.1mpg better on 1oz of EDT than I did from using 2oz of EDT per 26gals. I’m going to see if that holds true for this tank. I fill up at the same station and drive the same route daily. Any mpg increase at all is unexpected, so I don’t know what’s up with the fuel here. I use a very high volume shell station.
 

bill-e

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-30C here last 2 nights...not plugged in. Started right up - ugly sounding but it started no problem after the glow plugs did their thing. I will plug it in the next cold day......and I run EDT in every tank even though we have winter blend up here.
I'd plug my truck in every night just to warm the oil if I wasn't positive that you'd see me driving down the road towing my house behind me connected with the extension Coard.
 

HST

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Drove tractor trailers for over 24 years and yes diesel fuel is blended in colder climates . We also added fuel additives to our storage tanks .
In northern Maine we would run our fuel cut with 40 percent kerosene . One time they delivered untreated fuel to our storage tank and put 37 tractors out of business
in one day. Expensive mistake . Spent 24 hours in the hospital with hypothermia that trip .
 

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