Fuel experts?

[showcrop]

I called 2 different large suppliers of diesel in Maine and the both told me they don't start delivering winter fuel until December 1 . So I wait until Jan before I buy any local to be reasonably sure it is cut. I also use Howes or Diesel 911, whichever is on sale when I stock up

I am in NH. I use mostly Irving out of New Brunswick. I have checked with them a number of times over the years when they start blending. It has always been Nov.1. We get truck stopping cold often in November.

 

[caterpillar guy]

We don't do anything with our fuel and don't seem to have a problem. when I ran over the road with my truck I never carried anything to treat fuel with and never had a problem. I did buy fuel as I came north in the winter. IF I bought fuel in FL or TX I then would buy more fuel in TN or OK then again in Oh or up in IL and again when I got home so the fuel in the truck was blended stronger as I drove. The Southern fuel was burned out or blended with northern fuel and so on. Drove all over the northern country in the winter MT,ID,ND,SD,MN,WI and so on. Shut the truck down one night at Montpelier Id was -28 in the morning when I woke up. Started truck and let warm up. That was at the Ranch hand truckstop there. So I say it is poor fuel by a supplier. Our guy we get farm fuel from we never have a problem with fuel either. I did notice that the loader last week in that cold we had in the single digits would act up a bit so will change fuel filters this week while it is warm. they have not been changed since last year about this time. No I do not change fuel filters with each oil change not even on the truck when I was over the road. I did carry an extra set of them though. I also have drains on the bottom of our tanks and drain any water that might get in them out each spring ,summer or fall when ever I get to it. Before freezing weather. I also do as the fuel cap says buy clean fuel and keep it clean. I try to keep all the fuel hoes ,pails and funnels clean enough to eat out of. Solves a lot of fuel issues. Funnels don't get set on the grass or the ground and are kept in out of the weather and such. And then maybe we just get lucky. Though I doubt it with al the engines we have that are diesels and as old as they are and we don't seem to have pump or injector trouble. First diesel I know of to come on the place was in the 1930's when grand pa bought the D-4 Cat then the MD and my 806and so on. To about 18 or so of them now. only 1 gas engines tractor and that is the H.

 

[Mcrafty1]

Any anti gel added to fuel? The low sulfur does gel easier. I use Howes in my pickup and tractor every tank all winter. Cheap insurance against fuel gelling. I know stations claim fuel is blended for winter use, but I want to be sure.

If you blend it yourself you know it's ready to burn. I too am a fan of Howes, Power Service in the white bottle is also proven to me to be one of the best additives to prevent fuel jelling.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

We have gone to measuring the specific gravity to know if we are good. There’s a glass bobber from caterpillar in the shop that sinks into the fuel. #2 reads 32 to 35 on an api scale. The blend that works best at -30 when we have to feed cows is around 38. Simply mix straight number one or even the blend from the coop till it hits that number. We had good hot number 1 from a better fuel guy this year and my estimate got to 39 right away. We also keep a travel tank of K1 around and burn it up at end if we don’t need it.

We use power service every where and were big proponents of it and it’s amazing qualities until we lost the fuel old timer at the coop and realized that the magic potion is good until about zero and the correct blend is the only thing that will allow you to feed cows below negative 20. We have a slight blend of bio in as well since the summer has it. We don’t usually have the waxy build up out of our own tanks a lot of that will be water in a filter infrequently serviced all of ours are an annual change.

There is no additive that honestly will solve anything below zero. Filling filters with 911 on vehicle with an electric fuel primer in a gelled up situation is about the only exception and you still have to deal with the tank get the nipco out or tow the thing inside. Not saying for a second not to add the power service there’s alot of benefits and keeping the filter clearer is one but below zero the only real solution is blending it correctly. Three years in a row with the guy that replaced the old timer we would gel at -10. That made us dummies go try to learn something.

We were blessed last year with only one cold snap it hit -18 barely really for about 3 days overnight uncle was still running his duramax but it had a code he had filled in a station half a state south but you never really know that far away. We changed the filter it had some buildup and looked at the forecast when he got back and it was a Friday by Monday it was going to be warm. Checked the fuel and it said 34. Skidloader with the good blend here kept right on trucking as did the manure tractor wonderful spreading weather hot enough to clean the yard into a pile then cold and crispy to spread with no tracks and no snow.

It doesn’t really matter what the man with the fuel truck tells you or what’s worked in the past the only thing that matters is the results you see the cows need fed and depending on who is turning the valve at the pipeline what you receive can be different each tanker.

 

[showcrop]

Years ago I had one of my trucks that I don't normally drive on a two day route to northern NH. I started out on the second day and it was in the single digits. I let her warm up and started off. I got about two miles and it stopped. Very luckily for me there was a repair shop just 100 yards back. I walked back and he had bottles of 911. I bought one, went back to the truck, removed the filter, poured out the liquid and poured the 911 in. I gave it a minute to work then started her up and she ran good all day. Next morning the regular drive admitted to skipping the Power Service a few times.

 

[300jk]

We got our first diesel tractor on the farm about 1970. We got our first diesel truck at my then job about 1980. I remember once with each after a cold spell it started and got out of the door and then quit. In both cases the filter was full of wax/paraffin/whatever which didn't re liquefy at room temperature. I haven't witnessed that for decades. After a couple of zero degree nights the neighbors compact track loader just did the same thing.
I suppose if the wax was heated enough it would melt. We never tried. But would it re solidify? My question is- is this poor quality fuel, or will wax separate from any fuel given the right circumstances.

Our bulk tank at the farm blended off road. If get fuel delivered and we know it isn’t blended for winter we treat it ourself with power service or Howes right before delivery. When I used to have my diesel pickups and it was below 0 F. I used to add around a quart to half gallon of regular gas to the tank before filling. Never had any issues with gelling or adverse effects to the truck. Amount added was based on how much fuel I was putting in. Truck held around 35ish gallons. Someone may have already mentioned adding gas and I missed it.

 

[Texasmark]

I have been running diesel tractors for 40 years. Buy my fuel in the summer and always added the PS gray bottle to the fuel as directed on the container. A couple of winters ago, it got down to -4F here in N TX. surprise,surprise... and the fuel in the clear plastic filter container on my fuel supply pump turned hazy and ceased to pump. I don't have visible water in my tanks so it must be paraffin wax Jim (Barnyard Engr.) mentioned....not up on fuel contents.......When the weather heated back up the fuel in the filter turned clear again and I could pump it.

After that "surprise" in the weather, I started adding PS white container per the container directions. Winter temps have been similar to other years prior and things haven't gotten that cold again. When/if it does, I may have my problem solved.

 

[JIM MN]

Not poor quality fuel, but the wrong fuel. For winter use #1 diesel, summer # 2. No bio-diesel in tractors that sit over the winter. This diesel fuel grows and can plug up the fuel tank and lines. Causes a big problem. Suggest using a little Howes additive in any diesel fuel.

 

[Russ from MN]

Any anti gel added to fuel? The low sulfur does gel easier. I use Howes in my pickup and tractor every tank all winter. Cheap insurance against fuel gelling. I know stations claim fuel is blended for winter use, but I want to be sure.

For what you spend on all that additive you could just use #1 fuel.

 

[Russ from MN]

It doesn't look like biodiesel is very common in NY, you can check your supplier here.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Alternative Fueling Station Locator

 

[cumminstinkerer]

For what you spend on all that additive you could just use #1 fuel.

only if you can get it, around me it is not very easy to get, no stations carry #1 except maybe one truck stop in DM, I am not sure of that anymore either, haven't been to chain since they took down their flags and wont be going anytime in the future.

 

[cumminstinkerer]

911 is intended to be an emergency treatment only. It is not for regular use. Our local pump guy says people that misuse 911 do a good job of keeping his family fed. IE: it is hard on pumps if overused.

very hard on common rail systems and all the aftertreatment stuff on newer stuff, I discourage anyone from using it in unit that requires DEF, The DOC and all that stuff are stupid expensive even for small ones and that 911 will damage them, not a matter of it could it will! just depends how long it takes

 

[TerryfromSWIowa]

Bio diesel only gets bad if a contaminant is introduced. Guy I help had one tractor get the fungus the other 4 never did. That tractor was a display at the county fair before he bought it.

 

[Jim.ME]

Bio diesel only gets bad if a contaminant is introduced. Guy I help had one tractor get the fungus the other 4 never did. That tractor was a display at the county fair before he bought it.

All diesel fuel can go bad if contaminated. The "fungus" can grow in any fuel tank if it gets in there and conditions are right. It actually lives/grows in the interface between the diesel fuel and the water that accumulates under the diesel fuel, in a tank.

The question here was on gelling and any info I find indicates a biofuel mix can/will gel at a higher temperature than a non-biofuel mix. It appears the base stock the bio is made from can vary its gel point. In regard to gelling, I only said I have heard the biodiesel can be worse, not that it was bad fuel.

 

[Texasmark]

Considering potential problems with bio-diesel no way would I put any unknown "stuff" in my tanks even though as I drive South down I-35 I pass the bio-diesel, Willie Nelson hangout (their words not mine) in Cash, Tx....not to be confused with Cass, Tx. out West in the Permean Basin....of which I am a partial land owner (5 AC) as a result of my Grandfather's attempt to get rich (and failed miserably) and leaving the useless land with the family. The family has been trying to get rid of the property (obviously useless) cofirmed by the palsy annual Ad-Valorem taxes for years. Just because its in the basin doesn't necessarily there is oil under it.

 

[farmersamm]

Considering potential problems with bio-diesel no way would I put any unknown "stuff" in my tanks even though as I drive South down I-35 I pass the bio-diesel, Willie Nelson hangout (their words not mine) in Cash, Tx....not to be confused with Cass, Tx. out West in the Permean Basin....of which I am a partial land owner (5 AC) as a result of my Grandfather's attempt to get rich (and failed miserably) and leaving the useless land with the family. The family has been trying to get rid of the property (obviously useless) cofirmed by the palsy annual Ad-Valorem taxes for years. Just because its in the basin doesn't necessarily there is oil under it.

Contact the folks at Oxy. Might just relieve you of it in a wild bidding war

We have 240ac just over the county line to the South. The company came in and paid the bonus for a lease, drilled the well, THEN SAID THAT THE LINE WAS A LATERAL OVER INTO THE NEXT QUARTER SECTION, which put us out of the money. They have forced pooling here........anybody in the section(IIRC) gets royalties. I believe this varies by county.

Our land is in two parcels on that section. One of which, at the very least, would have been in the drilling spacing. The producer files an underground map with the corporation commission, and it's all good. You gotta believe the producer.........right?

The pad is on somebody else's place. Whether they benefit from a surface lease for the pad site........dunno. I keep looking for signs of wealth in the neighbors on that section to see if we got screwed. So far, everybody looks about as poor as before the whole thing started........so I guess there aren't any royalties going to any of us.

I did see a filing for an additional bore, but it never got drilled. Oil collapsed between 2016-2020. Exploration here ground to a halt, and I don't see it coming back in the foreseeable future.

 

[Ray,IN]

And If biodiesel it can be worse, I have heard, luckily none around here, that I know of.

All diesel fuel today contains B2_2% biodiesel to replace lost lubricity during the refining process that removes sulfur. Pump are not required to be labeled unless the mixture is >5%.
If a station states their diesel fuel does not contain any biodiesel; ask them what substitute they use to replace the lost lubricity. Biodiesel is the lowest cost lubricity additive available.

 

[buickanddeere]

We got our first diesel tractor on the farm about 1970. We got our first diesel truck at my then job about 1980. I remember once with each after a cold spell it started and got out of the door and then quit. In both cases the filter was full of wax/paraffin/whatever which didn't re liquefy at room temperature. I haven't witnessed that for decades. After a couple of zero degree nights the neighbors compact track loader just did the same thing.
I suppose if the wax was heated enough it would melt. We never tried. But would it re solidify? My question is- is this poor quality fuel, or will wax separate from any fuel given the right circumstances.

No surprise when somebody tries to run #2 summer diesel in the winter . Refineries change the blend seasonally for a reason .

 

[buickanddeere]

Whe

only if you can get it, around me it is not very easy to get, no stations carry #1 except maybe one truck stop in DM, I am not sure of that anymore either, haven't been to chain since they took down their flags and wont be going anytime in the future.

Where is DM ?

 

[buickanddeere]

I run 4 compact diesels. From the Youtube channels I watch (different thread), I've heard people who go through thousands of gallons a year state that winter fuel isn't as efficient as summer (I don't burn enough in the winter to matter). I used to fill from 5 gallon cans, but got tired (to old) of holding them up and keeping track of which was winter or not. Now I buy all summer fuel and pump my cans into a 55 gallon drum using the same electric pump and nozzle that is mounted on the drum to fill the tractors. I ad Howes to all my fuel year round and don't have any gelling problems. BTW: When I only had one compact, I never added Howes and never paid attention to what was in the cans. Only had one gel up once and replacing the filter got me going again. I've never had fuel in the can gel up (thankfully). I also use block heaters in the winter which on 3 of the 4 puts heat to the fuel tank also.

I stock up on winter diesel and keep it in reserve for use year around . Except for heavy tillage season when fuel requirement exceeds the storage here .
These people trying to run #2 fuel in the winter are penny wise and pound foolish .