Diesel additive - yes or no?

In fact if you go to the drug store, methyl hydrate can be bought for about $3.00 per gallon. Some druggests are a bit reluctant to sell this in volume other than than to hospitals. You may have to convince them, your diesel needs a backrub.

This is the only product I ever used, and probably logged 80,000 hours on diesels, in a cold climate. I never had to rebuild a diesel under 10,000 hours, and I put 1/2 million miles on a 6.2 Chevy with one pump and injectors replacment at about 350,000 miles.

Most of those products on auto parts store shelves are designed to do little more than lighten your wallet.

If you've ever had to thaw out a gelled diesel, you will use a additive or #1D fuel when the temps start to hit 20º.

I trust no one to protect my fuel on my F350. I always treat my own fuel when I expect to be in cold climates.

As the other guys said, Power Service, Howles or Stanadyne are good addivives.

T_Bone

You didn't say car, truck or tractor so I'll chime in from experience with the 6.5T truck diesels with the stanadyne pump. If there's any water in your fuel and you use the wrong fuel additives, the injection pump will be damaged. Can't say the same thing will happen for any of the newer tractor engines, but I would be careful about using additives with unknown character. GM does approve certain additives but others can be bad news for the pump. Check with your engine manufacturer for guidance on what additives are approved. Keep your tanks full, filters drained of water and the cold weather additives used by the bulk suppliers should do the job.

If you buy fuel in cold weather, your fuel might be a mix of #1 & #2. This will work at a colder - unknown - temp.

You can buy straight #1. This will work better in cold weather, but costs more, has less power, less lubrication, and is harder on the engine (runs hotter) if you keep it until summer & burn it in warm weather. It is closer to kerosene.

If you don't know what fuel you have & the temp is to get near 20 or below, use an additive the prevents gelling, _and_ you need to get it in the tank and run the engine a while before it gets that cold! You need the #1 or the additive already curculated through the filters & pump & all _before_ the cold hits.

It also is a big help to replace the fuel filter before winter season, allow as much flow as you can through the filter.

I use Power Service with #2 diesel (sometimes a little #1 added) here in Minnesota, seems to work. It's what is sold here, don't know if others are better or worse.

--->Paul

I say this because the major diesel supplier I work for pre blends fuel so it will pump out the tank not really considering the user. If it is 0 today we blend it one way but if it is 20 tomorrow we blend it another. It sells so fast we do not have to worry about temp changes like the user does.

In other words if you buy fuel for your tractor today while it is 20 it may still gel up at 0 three weeks from now.
We blend #1 diesel into the #2 tank based on the temp expected the next 2 nights. If we know a cold front is comming we may cheet a little just in case so it does not gel.
We also blend a different percentage if our tanks are above or below ground. Sorry to say it we are only worried about it pumping at the pump.

All this info is taken from our company wide winter letter as I never have to worry about blending in my area.

I'm out of it now, but once used some stuff I got at a Amoco on the tollroad in like a small white 12 oz. bottle that cut through a gel up instantly. Was cruising at about 60 MPH and dropped off to about 35 MPH at best. I pulled in and picked some up, and cut right through it. I still see it on the tollroad and need to get more to have around for emergencies - was like de-natured alcohol with a fancy name that I forgot.

Mark.