1643 gelled up....

[Wobblin-Goblin]

Just before the really cold temps hit us a couple weeks ago, I fueled up (from cans that have been sitting for a few weeks under cover) and added Power Service white bottle to the tank. I put in slightly more than the bottle recommended.

About a week ago, my dad was using the tractor in 5 degree weather with moderate wind to move a big hay bale to the cows. It sputtered and died while moving the bale. He ran a cord and a torpedo heater out to the tractor and ran it facing the engine/fuel system for a while and put 911 in the tank and it started up and finished the job.

A few days later, he was running it in 15 degree temps and it quit again. We took the fuel filter out and it was coated in a buttery substance, almost waxy. I ran to my dealer and got two fuel filters and put one on. It started up and finished the job.

What I don't understand is how the fuel gelled even after I put PS white bottle in the tank when I fueled up. I put plenty in, so that's not the issue. My dad thinks it was water or moisture in the fuel, but the filter was 80% coated in the yellow butter/wax and that's gelled fuel, right?

It runs fine now and it looks like we've got warmer temps coming (30s and 40s all week).

 

[ruffdog]

Lots of diesel fuel issues this year, even big contracted firms have equipment sitting from gelled fuel.

 

[Phillip w]

Well here is my two cents: Were you using a winter blend fuel??? We have a 70-30 winter blend that protects you down to about zero. But that is not good proof. If you were not running a winter blend and additive would help but probably not keep you safe to zero. Sometimes a little extra additive Will help, but not like winter blend fuel. A little kerosene mixed with your fuel will go along way to keep you from gelling. But yeah, there has been alot of people struggle this winter with there diesels. I have had a little trouble myself.

 

[oldnslo]

Bio-diesel will also gell sooner that straight diesel. Not sure what is available in your area.

 

[GC1710]

Like this! I had ice crystals under my fuel cap, I think running it in the -10 below stuff then letting it sit and doing it again causes some moisture to build up. Mine was fine without PS in the fridgid but when it warmed up in the teens it ran for about 10 minutes when it died and you can see the result....911 and new filter made it a 20 minute issue....

 

[Wobblin-Goblin]

Like this! I had ice crystals under my fuel cap, I think running it in the -10 below stuff then letting it sit and doing it again causes some moisture to build up. Mine was fine without PS in the fridgid but when it warmed up in the teens it ran for about 10 minutes when it died and you can see the result....911 and new filter made it a 20 minute issue....

View attachment 534859

That's what my filter looked like: covered in a waxy, buttery goo.

As far as the fuel itself goes, the tractor's tank was about 1/2 full with fuel from October or November and I topped it off with a can that was filled in November. Perhaps all that fuel (or at least the fuel that was in the tractor since fall) wasn't "winter blend," and that's why the PS white bottle wasn't enough to keep it from gelling.

 

[JWR]

I know I repeat myself from other threads but here's my opinion: I trust neither "winter blended fuel" (truth is you have no idea what they did or failed to do or just claimed they did with the fuel) nor additives of any kind or brand. (I have no doubt that additives can help and that some are far better than others.) The posts above prove to me that additives are no more than a marginal help AND they are not cheap ! What works and works all the time in very cold weather is a 50/50 mix of #1 and #2 fuel (e.g. kerosene and ordinary diesel fuel.) Any time you have reason to believe it will be below 12 or 15 degrees during your running period, mix in some kerosene. I've said several times that is what heavy equipment operators routinely do in the northern tier of states. They know what they are doing.

Is there a downside? Not really. Yes, #1 lacks the better internal inherent lubrication levels of #2. Yes, you get slightly less power out of a diesel engine when burning a mix with #1 (kerosene.) Now weigh those downsides (generally very temporary, short term, and minor for most of us) with the major nuisance of engines shutting down in the midst of operations, of time lost and efforts to get rid of the gel once it has formed, etc. No question what the better choice is !

 

[jeepcj7]

The waxy substance you are seeing is paraffin - diesel fuel has a "cloud point" rating - that is the temperature at which the paraffin starts to separate from the fuel. Winter blend fuel should solve it - I have no issue with additives - but start off with winter blend fuel. NOTE: Summer blend fuel is often referred to as #2 diesel and winter blend fuel as #1 diesel.

 

[JWR]

The waxy substance you are seeing is paraffin - diesel fuel has a "cloud point" rating - that is the temperature at which the paraffin starts to separate from the fuel. Winter blend fuel should solve it - I have no issue with additives - but start off with winter blend fuel. NOTE: Summer blend fuel is often referred to as #2 diesel and winter blend fuel as #1 diesel.

No, #1 is not winter blend fuel, it is kerosene. And neither is #2 diesel "summer blend." Not any kind of blend. It is simply plain, ordinary, unadulterated diesel fuel. Also exactly the same thing as home heating oil.

 

[lpakiz]

As I understand it (after half my life as a diesel mechanic in Wisconsin) the paraffin doesnt separate out.
What happens is that the paraffin molecules start to adhere to each other as the temperature gets colder. I believe this is the cloud point. Individual paraffin molecules easily pass thru the fuel filter. A whole bunch of them, stuck to each other, will not!
Gelling can be so severe that fuel wont even flow thru the fuel lines.
Most (not all) diesel fuel anti-gel additives work by coating each parafin molecule, which keeps them from sticking to each other. Otherwise, they form a mass (gel, goo) that will not pass the fuel filter. Once the molecules begin to stick to each other (cloud point) very few anti-gel additives will un-gel the fuel. The fuel must be warm enough that the parafin molecules are not sticking to each other to begin with for the additive to be effective. Adding anti-gel to clouded fuel usually won't work unless the fuel is then warmed back up to the point that the parafin molecules separate. Then the additive KEEPS them from sticking.
Back in the day, only Power Service brand anti-gel could un-gel a filter.
We equipped our Class 8 tractors with fuel heaters in the fuel tank. This device used hot engine coolant to heat the fuel and keep the molecules separated enough to pass the filter. And we still used winter-blended fuel.