Does anyone use fuel additives?

Neat 1500 · Apr 30, 2016

I use 2 stroke oil in mine too.

Daryl Greene · Apr 30, 2016

In our location the off-road diesel pumps are marked as having higher sulfur content than the regular diesel. I use one ounce per gallon of the TCW3 Super Tech Walmart two stroke oil as well as the Power Service additive. This mixture seems to work great for my little machine. I am AMAZED by how little fuel my tractor consumes while it is working!

Interesting read (although I am sure it has been posted before): Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

davesl708 · Apr 30, 2016

Daryl Greene said:
In our location the off-road diesel pumps are marked as having higher sulfur content than the regular diesel. I use one ounce per gallon of the TCW3 Super Tech Walmart two stroke oil as well as the Power Service additive. This mixture seems to work great for my little machine. I am AMAZED by how little fuel my tractor consumes while it is working!

Interesting read (although I am sure it has been posted before): Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

This is an interesting article. I was surprised that most of the additives I see mentioned on this site rate poorly in the test.
I use PS in the white bottle year round for the cetane boost and added lube as well as the anti-gel.
I will reconsider my choice wit a little more research.
I do believe the ULSD fuel needs some help to protect my engine.

Gary Fowler · Apr 30, 2016

Never used any additives for over 6 years in my fuel tank. No issues with fuel or engines. All my tractors are designed to burn low sulfur fuels so there is no need to add "lubricity" snake oil in the fuel. I would only look at additives that claim to reduce friction for tractors over 10-15 years old. My old 1984 model Yanmar ran fine on straight diesel for as long as I had it and now my BIL has it and still no additives in fuel and still no engine issues.

As for off road vs on road, it is the same fuel except for the dye. ANY perceived differences in you tractors performance is all in your head.

clemsonfor · Apr 30, 2016

I see I forgot the spec!! Yes it stands for two cycle water cooled oil
So yes that would be TCW not TWC but I think my phone may have auto corrected it for the acronym I have saved for the weather channel?? Haha

ninefinger · Apr 30, 2016

Gary Fowler said:
As for off road vs on road, it is the same fuel except for the dye. ANY perceived differences in you tractors performance is all in your head.

Not trying to start a fight and I may have misread the tone but there are more factors involved than I believe you have considered. My 95 powerstroke will run differently depending on where I fill up at. If I have learned anything it is that all diesel is not equal. My tractor has a regular/same source of fuel. The times I have run red fuel the tractor ran a little different. Wonder if different fuel from a different source may be a factor to consider?

Jtullis13 · Apr 30, 2016

Yes Ninefinger I believe that does play a factor. Around here some places out soy in there fuel for an additive, and that makes my truck and car run quieter and smoother but it is also a few cents more per gallon, sometimes a lot more than other places. I suppose that is a factor and if other places have crappy filtration on their pumps. You could be getting contaminated fuel, maybe not contaminated enough to mess up your engine but enough to fluctuate the performance

California · Apr 30, 2016

re fuel quality I was amused to see in my YM240 manual the minimum spec for fuel is something like "water or sediment in the fuel limited to (metric equivalent of a teaspoon, maybe tablespoon) recommended per 5 gallons diesel or you will need to change the fuel filter sooner than scheduled".

When you sell on the world market I guess some of the fuel available isn't as nice as what we get here.

Gary Fowler · Apr 30, 2016

ninefinger said:
Not trying to start a fight and I may have misread the tone but there are more factors involved than I believe you have considered. My 95 powerstroke will run differently depending on where I fill up at. If I have learned anything it is that all diesel is not equal. My tractor has a regular/same source of fuel. The times I have run red fuel the tractor ran a little different. Wonder if different fuel from a different source may be a factor to consider?

Not trying to start a fight either, but the red dye has no influence on an engine as to more smoke. Poorer fuel quality WILL have an effect. Some stations may be selling a lower cetane rating fuel which would produce less power per quantity and thus may make the engine smoke a bit. It isn't the red dye. I would get my fuel someplace else if that is happening. The cetane rating SHOULD be on the pump just like octane rating on the gas but may not be.

ninefinger · Apr 30, 2016

I did not mean to blame the dye for smoking. It was just an observation of the difference in the fuels. I believe we can agree that the fuel quality was responsible for the smoking and performance.

Jtullis13 · Apr 30, 2016

Not trying to burst anyone's bubble here here, but just so everyone knows, diesel smoke is unburned fuel. If the cetane rating is low it will smoke more. If it's a higher cetane rating it will smoke less. Didn't know if you knew that or not Gary, you might have just mis-typed what you really meant. If your engine is smoking a lot, then it's not the fuel its your fuel system, pump or injectors.

Jtullis13 · Apr 30, 2016

I guess I should have explained the Cetane a little better. Higher cetane means a better, cleaner and more efficient burn which equals less smoke. Now if you have your injection pump turned up and are using a high cetane fuel it still might blow some smoke because you are feeding your engine more fuel than it can burn.

sam5570 · Apr 30, 2016

I have had this discusion with some of the pros who are suppose to know they make and refine the fuel. The only difference is the red diesel don't have road tax and the other does, so if you go thru road check and they want to check your fuel you could pay a healthy fine if it's red.

Jtullis13 · Apr 30, 2016

Yep Sam you are correct. That's the information I've gotten too. The only thing I can add to the off road diesel is that there is a place in my home town that makes and refines it too. Some of the off road will have higher cetane rating depending on the purchaser. If they request it higher they will make it higher for that customer, but it also cost more to purchase.

clemsonfor · Apr 30, 2016

I dump old oils in my tractor as well I know some would never do it but these things are so crude it doesn't matter. Like had a half a qt of 10w40 that I didn't need I dumped it into a full tank or about 5 ounces or trans fluid it went in there as well. Or 30 year old two stroke oil I found in the shed , I just dump it in.

Burns it just fine can't tell a difference.

Old farmers use to dump used motor oil in the tanks or hydro oil. But those were huge tractors burning tons of fuel so it was so diluted out.

clemsonfor · Apr 30, 2016

Yep that's why when you lug an engine down it smokes more. More unburned fuel as rpms drop and combustion is not as effecient. Once engine catches back up smoke clears.

kenmac · Apr 30, 2016

Jtullis13 said:
Not trying to burst anyone's bubble here here, but just so everyone knows, diesel smoke is unburned fuel. If the cetane rating is low it will smoke more. If it's a higher cetane rating it will smoke less. Didn't know if you knew that or not Gary, you might have just mis-typed what you really meant. If your engine is smoking a lot, then it's not the fuel its your fuel system, pump or injectors.

The more 2 cycle oil I use.. The more smoke my 2 diesels make.. Smoke is good ,, so they say.. LOL

Jtullis13 · Apr 30, 2016

Lol kenmac! I do love to see a diesel smoke like **** when it's pulling something. But I am also glad my 2210 doesn't at the same time. If I had the money I would have 2 tractors & have one turned way the **** up so it would smoke like that all the time

ultrarunner · May 1, 2016

Today I ran the 350C dozer on straight BioDiesel... could not tell the difference.

We were given a drum with 30 gallons as gift from the refiner to try... no problems with freezing here and it was in the mid 80's today...

I was thinking I would smell french fries... no so luck.

California · May 1, 2016

B100, or blend?

That sounds like better biodiesel than the stuff I tried. It was apparently made from salvaged restaurant grease judging by how it smelled.