What diesel fuel you using?

[Industrial Toys]

I was just reading that on Wikapedia yesterday. Yes Kerosene has less lubricity. I didn't know that. I in fact knew people who used it in wire drawing as a lubricant.

 

[TheMan419]

I use the fuel from the station nearest me. It is just off the highway, but not set up for semi's. Never had a problem in winter. However last winter when we got the "polar vortex" I added Power Service from the white bottle. They had two dosing formulas depending on how cold. I used the one that added more PS to the mix. No issues. I got enough to treat 100 gallons. So I likely will treat all winter since I go through maybe 20 gallons in a winter plowing snow.

I also have a bottle of PS 911 (Red bottle) formula just in case.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Got my delivery. Now I have a real mish mash of winter/summer fuel. Something I have never seen mentioned here. Is there a test one can do? Can I stick a bottle of it in my freezer? What will I see? What of the parafin chrystals? I don't just want to add expensive stuff, making the fuel even more expensive if I don't have to, and also don't want to get caught in the cold.

 

[atsah]

I also have a bottle of PS 911 (Red bottle) formula just in case.

Me to along with an extra fuel filter..

 

[LouNY]

Got my delivery. Now I have a real mish mash of winter/summer fuel. Something I have never seen mentioned here. Is there a test one can do? Can I stick a bottle of it in my freezer? What will I see? What of the parafin chrystals? I don't just want to add expensive stuff, making the fuel even more expensive if I don't have to, and also don't want to get caught in the cold.

You certainly can place a bottle in your freezer (as long as your wife doesn't see it);
You can use your refrigerator for a first check as that would be close to 35-40 F ( 1.6-4.4 C) some fuel will begin to precipitate paraffin at that temp.
Then go to the freezer, most freezers are only close to zero or 4-5 F ( -17.7 to -20C ).
To get down to the -30 or -40 F (-34.4 to -40C )you would need an ice chest and some dry ice or an ultra low temp freezer.

I don't know how many gallons of fuel you have but I would be tempted to use the PS in the white bottle to treat it to my normal low temps,
then when a really cold snap is forecast and more to the tractor and mix it up.

 

[Industrial Toys]

MY freezer, but the lady friend did buy it for me. Not sure where that leaves the experiment.


I never thought about testing it. It would remove any guesswork or worry. I have to wait and get a couple of those little airline booze bottles sometimes around the neck of a real (party) bottle,

 

[LouNY]

I actually did check some of mine one year out of curiosity, I used pint canning jars I had filled 2/3s full with thermocouples inserted thru the lids.
That was well before I retired and I was doing industrial calibrations for a living and had access to calibrated instruments to work with.
I miss some of those tools at times, I even used to check my tire gauges and temperature senders and such.

 

[Industrial Toys]

So you checked for temperature but not viscosity?

 

[LouNY]

So you checked for temperature but not viscosity?

Yes, on the fuel I was only looking for the cloud point.
The canning jars worked good being clear, when the fuel started to cloud which is the point when the parrafin is starting to congeal it was quite visible
The colder it got the larger the parrafin particles got, then they started to settle.

The viscosimeters that I had access to where in a bio pharmaceutical and they might have gotten upset if the had any diesel contamination :laughing:

 

[Industrial Toys]

Maybe I am off target with the little booze bottles.

 

[LouNY]

Maybe I am off target with the little booze bottles.

I still have those jars in my shop, whenever I change a fuel filter if it has a drain I drain into those to check for water.
if they don't have a drain and often anyways I will let the filters drain into the jars just to see what drops out.

 

[ruffdog]

I have often used glass jars to inspect fuels. A mechanic needs to know the what/why/when if there is an issue. Sometimes it can be difficult convincing a customer that the fuel source is the problem. It may be water, dirt, fungus, or just old fuel. Once I had a guy with a motorcycle that hardly ran. He filled up at the station.....diesel fuel from the gas pump. Yes, the station had screwed up and put the wrong fuel in the underground tank.

 

[fidowanttobe]

Ditto.
Cenex oil in tractor, Cenex gas and fuel in everything. Absolutely no issues. Service tank has #2 all the time and I bring their blend home in cans as needed for the winter. Howes treatment year round. So far, so good.

 

[shooterdon]

I use off road and treat it. I save $.50/gal over buying regular diesel. I do not use enough to justify a large tank so I use a 50 gal tank from a reefer that is mounted on a frame that I can lift in and out of the pickup with my forks. I have a transfer pump on it. Much easier than lugging 5 gal containers and I will have paid off the investment in two years.

 

[ovrszd]

Someone mentioned expense of treatment. I buy PS White Bottle for $12. It treats 250 gallons. That's 5 cents per gallon.

If you've ever fought fuel that gelled you understand how ridiculously cheap that is.

 

[LouNY]

Yep, but I normally use the double strength so it's costing me a dime, but been there done that it's well worth it.

 

[Jstpssng]

My father used to buy #2 heating oil for the greenhouses, treat and run it through a 1/2 inch line instead of 3/8. I don't know how much he actually saved but he never had a problem. He also ran the same #2 in his Kubota. For what little bit that I burn- 100 gallons or so a year- I prefer to buy fresh from the pumps. I've already dealt with one diesel problem, apparently it was delivered in November with summer grade fuel. That cost me more time than money, and I went into last winter unprepared.

 

[number two]

After getting tired of hauling home and lifting those 5 gallon jugs of fuel,I finally got a 12V pump at TSC for about $220.

Now,I can buy by the barrel.There isn't any off road fuel near here priced decent,so I take my barrel(s)to a local fuel distributor.
They won't deliver less than 175 gallons,so I take one or two barrels there.
They pull up a delivery truck and fill me up with dyed off road.
I save about 40 cents/gallon over on road and the 6% sales tax for farm use.
So,that's about 15 cents/gallon.

Also,I try to buy in the summer to get the summer blend-more BTU's.
I treat it myself with Power Service at about one and a half dose.
This has served me well for six years now.
Granted,it doesn't get that cold here as many places,but we can see -20F to -30F on occasion.

I can put the tractor inside if the need arises,and I rarely need the tractor for snow removal when it's really cold.
Super cold-little if any snow.

You may wonder about the summer blend-I honestly feel I get 10-15% more snowblowing time from the summer fuel.

Good Luck Guys!

 

[fidowanttobe]

I thought I was the only one that felt I was going through blended diesel like crazy?? Hard to believe that #2 is that more efficient but it is. Mow way more than snow blow on a tank.

 

[stivemorgan]

Hi there. I am new here. I usually buy simple diesel fuel on any petrol station