Diesel gel point

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Spokane, WA
As I'm new to the diesel world I still have a lot of questions this time about the gel point. With winter on the horizon I, wondering at what temp should one be concered about diesel geling. What would be a good additive to use to prevent this or keep diesel "good" during the cold months?

Thanks again.
 
Your fuel supplier should be winterizing diesel as necessary for your climate. If you're going to have a sudden extremely cold period, most of the off-the-shelf antigels work well. I would also make a point of filling up at high turnover stations - follow the big rigs!

Power Service in the white bottle and Howes Diesel Treat both work well for that application as well as boosting cetane number & handling free water.

FWIW, I have never had a gelling issue with either of my TDIs running on B11. And I think you'll find we get much colder for longer in Chicago than does Spokane.
 
I would recommend Howes diesel treatment. Its worked better for us than powerservice products. You should be OK in washington. Biodiesel is usually not a problem but it depends on what basestock the biodiesel was made out of. Some places use animal fats other than grains (canola/soybeans) to make it and it has a much higher gelling and CFPP than other bast stocks. We had a batch of B2 that we were having problems with, found out the biodiesel was animal fat based. The paraffin was seperating out and plugging up our filters.
 
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Go to a service station that fills up big trucks; the fuel doesn't stay long, so it gets winterized properly. The only gelling instance I had was filling at a lightly used Shell station; once I got it fired up I dumped a bunch of PS in and never had an issue again (I also went to a different station from then on).

There's two kinds of Powerservice, BTW: grey for summer (just cetane boost) and white for winter (cetane and anti-gell). I used it religously for the first year or two, then stopped. No issues in 259kmiles, other than the one gelling issue.

I also stick to just Irving's, and try to avoid other places. Cheap fuel can be not so cheap in the long run. The Irving's I go to have the truck pumps, and so they get lots of turnover also.
 
If you purchase your diesel locally it will already be winterized for your location. However, you can have problems starting up if you fill up say in late September (before the winter fuel comes in) and then park the vehicle until January.
 
#2 diesel fuel contains wax. That is no problem until the temperature gets cold and the wax begins to agglomerate and plug your fuel system. Figure about +20°F, altho that is a rough number.

Diesel fuel can be winterized with an antigel chemical, or by mixing with #1 diesel fuel or kerosene (which often are the same product). #1-D isn't the best fuel due to its lower energy content and reduced lubricity.

Check with your local fuel station on what they do and when they start stocking winterized fuel. If you have a diesel engine mechanic you trust, also ask them. Any of the additives named above and others will do a good job for you. A winter multipurpose additive that combines an antigel with lubricity enhancers, extra detergents, and a cetane improver might be beneficial. Follow the label directions.
 
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