Dumb diesel question

[RalphVa]

Since I'm new to a diesel powered machine...

Regarding gelling and such, what temperature (approx) does diesel gel? If I use 5 gallon containers, should I put a requisite amount of anti-gel stuff in each container, or fill er up, and put a larger requisite amount into fuel tank?

If diesel gels at say "0" degrees (for a reference), then does it "UN-gel" when the temperature rises? sort of like ice melting?

Any benefits to using anti-gel year round? (any OTHER benefits) or just when cold?

If you have a gelled situation, I presume your beast won't start either at ALL or very easily. What's the best way to remedy the situation?

Thanks
Richard

Diesel fuel likely won't gel until about 10 F. You can get it ungelled by using a hair dryer or other similar heater. Wrapping the fuel filter with a heavy towel and applying the heat from the bottom would help to maintain the heat to ungel it. Keep it wrapped until the engine gets heated up to have heat radiate from the block to warm the filter. You could probably just apply the towel hot from a microwave and do the trick. Careful in doing this. Might help to wet it a bit.

I've only had it happen one time in over 40 years of running diesel cars and tractors and diesel generator. Happened one morning at -22 F in Vermont. Car started fine after running a lower rad heater for about 20 minutes. Then about a couple miles down the road, it quit. Let sit a minute or two. Started and went another couple miles. Same thing. After that, it was fine. On a Benz the big fuel filter is right up next to the block. There's a small inline filter just off the block going to the primary fuel pump.

Another time after a couple nights just below 10 F, my tractor ran but would not run very fast. Syphoned the tank and found globs of wax mostly plugging the outlet of the tank. Removed with a remote fish tool.

I'd never used additives in diesel cars and normally don't in the tractor unless I take it from the generator's tank where I use an additive mostly as algae protection.

Not likely the fuel line will plug with gel, but those globs can plug it. Don't really know what caused the globs. It was the one and only time I'd ever used off road diesel. Makes me wonder if it isn't something with the red dye that caused the wax to glob and drop out.

Some kerosene will help to reduce gelling but likely won't clear a gelled filter. Might, as with the key on, a little primary pump is usually there and circulates the fuel to a return line. Just might take a while. Don't know of any safe way of heating up the kero.

I was a chemical engineer for 31 years in the lube oil industry. I worked primarily on processes that removed that wax from lube oil. Diesel normally does not go through such a process and is highly hydrotreated now to remove sulfur; the hydrotreating often chops up the wax molecules. A minor few refiners may run their diesel through catalytic dewaxing if they run crudes that cause some wax problems in diesel.