No.1 and no. 2 Diesel Prices

44 massey

Member
Went in yesterday to get some diesel for the loader tractor!!!
Like to burn no. 1 in the winter as it gets cold here and don't need it
jellying up during a snow storm!!! No. 2 diesel was $3.33 a gal and
no. 1 was $4.25, almost a dollar a gal difference, guess you pay for
a little "insurance"!!!!!!!!!!!! Only have one source for no. 1 diesel in
town, other place has blended diesel for about $3,53 gal that they
say is good to -10 -15 degrees!!! Would the blended be ok if
added a little antigel?????
 
A blend and anti-gel additive works for everyone else. No reason it won't work for you.

#1, Kerosene is still high. People don't use much kerosene anymore, really. Costs the same to truck it to the station whether they need 100 or 1000 gallons, but they more often need 100 than 1000. That's gotta explain some of the higher price.
 
From what I've read - the idea of using #1 for less gelling no longer works like it used to. Not since it became ultra-low sulfur. I've been using #2 oil for three winters along with Power Service "whiter bottle" additive. Zero problems but I don't use my diesels when it's much below zero F.

The chemistry of diesel #1 and #2 has changed a lot. So have the ways to treat it from waxing up or forming ice crystals.

I know plenty of people who drive their diesel trucks with pump fuel and do fine. I think one trick is to park the truck inside a garage. Once started it recirculates the fuel and helps to stop it from waxing up. Leaving any diesel outside in temps 20 below F or colder is asking for trouble.
 
I like number 1 because I can just add it to the loader tractor tank and create my own blend. As far as the above statement about number 1 not working with new fuel, that goes against everything our fuel meetings told us when the new fuel came out. they told us the only true way was number 1 diesel. the anti gel additives work but only when used exactly like the label states. adding any extra anti gel, like the old saying 'if a little works so why not add a lot and it will work better' is no longer the case as it will raise your gel point.
 
44 Massey Don't count on it, I've been out on too many calls late at night putting #1 fuel in everything from semis to farm tractors. The operators all say in a whiney voice, "but I used the antigell stuff". It will only help to a point. It doesn't matter what brand-after that you are stuck.
 
I have never had a problem using No.2. I use an additive in may overhead storage tank in the winter. I have two diesels I use in the winter. I install a new fuel filters in the fall and plug them in for an half hour or so prior to using them.
I can't remember going any lower than minus 20 which we hit several times last winter. They both started with no problems.
Back in the seventies I would go out of my way to get No1 for winter use. After a couple of years using it I went back to No.2. I can't remember having any problem doing so.
 
I run all over the country with my truck and shut it off. I have spent the night with no trouble starting in the morning, or anytime for that matter. I do prefer to have it plugged in when I can to ease starting in cold weather. I don't use anything in the fuel. I am a creature of habit though when it comes to where I buy fuel. If I go south like to FL,or TX south during the winter, I fuel as I come north. From FL I buy fuel in TN then in OH then at home. I still believe the fuel is blended for the region it is in. Another words it is blended for the temps in TN, when you buy fuel in TN, or any other location like that. Not trying to pick on any one state or location.
 
I get 50 gallons of #1 every few years, and blend my own from the #2 tank. When I forget and run out, I just rely on the White Power Service.

Here in MN I've run at 15 below for a high, tho it get pretty cranky and slow at that temp myself.....

I would be more careful if I went on the road, my stuff is around the house and cattle yard and machine shed.

The big deal seems to be a cold disel fuel filter. If that is in a warmer location on your vehicle, should work out. If the filter is hanging out in the cold air on the windy side of the tractor then you better have top notch fuel treatment.

My first couple years with the 7700 I didnt know anything about winter/ summer blends or additives..... I plugged it in and the plug in 1500 watt tank heater happens to be directly below the fuel filter, so heat rising off the tank heater warmed the filter. Blew snow for several years on #2 and no additives, but was just set up right with that tank heater warming the filter, and it wasn't the coldest years, I was only operating at 5 degrees or warmer then......

So, what works for you depends on the setup you are using. But you should be able to make it work with #2, some anti gel, and a fresh filter if you want to.

Paul
 
It's the price of doing business.

The day it's -20° out there and the cattle have to be fed, I won't even think about the 'insane' price I had to pay.

Allan
 
Most of the problems with diesel fuel gelling in the cold is not so much with the fuel as it is with the fuel filters. These filters will collect those frozen fuel droplets and then plug so no fuel can pass on to the injector pump. Any fuel additive that prevents these tiny amounts of water from freezing will help.
I live in NY state, near the border with Canada {4 miles} and I drive a diesel truck and use my diesel tractors everyday without any problems even though temps may be well below zero. My fuel is winterized by my oil seller. Same price as summer fuel.
 
Life is so much simpler up here in the frozen north. There is no choice in diesel fuel. What the suppliers bring in the cold weather is the fuel that will flow in any of our coldest weather. I have made it through winter using #2 diesel mixed with some good anti-gel, (Polar-max) but just to be safe I filled up the slip tank with good old #1, or as it is known here, "winter diesel".
 
504, I do the same thing. A touch of gas and never a problem.
No 1 / Kerosene here is over $5.00 a gallon. The 70/30 mix we get here is only good to about +17 in our farm fuels. I have no idea what the local gas stations are selling to the public, but it seems to work all winter.

Greg
 

I have had diesels trucks and tractors in NH since 1985. The trucks have always gotten the pump fuel which as others have said is blended in winter by the fuel Co. I also add a little Power Service to take care of the stray condensation event. Ever take the fill cap off before starting when the tank was only half full? See the frost on the underside of the cap? That is why you need PS. I had trucks wax up twice in twenty-nine years. Yes, it was in the filters, but where else is the wax going to come to a stop? Both times the drivers had skipped adding the Power Service. My tractors are filled out of the tank of straight number two, so in the winter I add one gal. number one to two gal. of number two and a few ounces of PS.
 

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