2009 DK35SE Question

[Gittyup]

The difference is the white bottle is a lubricant that has an anti-gelling chemical to prevent the diesel fuel from gelling in the winter months during below freezing temps.
The gray bottle is a lubricant that also has a cetane booster (like an octane booster for gasoline) but no anti-gelling chemical.
The red bottle is just for curing diesel fuel that has already gelled and is clogging your filter/injectors. It works great!

I use the white bottle in the winter months, gray bottle for the rest of the year and keep a bottle of the red 911 stuff just for emergency and only had to use it once, on my old Ford dump truck.

Both the silver and white bottles claim to contain cetane. Perhaps one has more than the other. They are not very clearly dineated by the manufacturer thats for sure. I figure a littel of both doesn't hurt.

 

[o2batsea]

"anti-gel" component is kerosene. As with most of these additives, you are paying something like 20 bazillion percent more than the actual juice costs the bottler. I think, and have read the research that backs this up, they do absolutely nothing to either improve performance or engine life. Adding lubricant to diesel fuel is patently absurd. It will simply be burned away along with the diesel oil.

 

[Mike476]

Seems so doesn't it, and yet in my research of cummins and other diesel manufacturers and users there is a strong following for both the lube and anti-gelling products.

People who run the lube, for the most part, swear they've experienced fewer fuel injector pump issues since running it, and the anti gel is also highly thought of.

There are of course a lot of people running 20% bio-diesel, which is said to gell up quicker than petroleum based in cooler temperatures. and much more likely to cause issues with "stuff growing in the bottom of your tank".

 

[Dmace]

Well my tractor gets the anti-gel formula whenever the temps are below freezing. The one time I didn't run it in my diesel truck, the fuel gelled and it took me 30 minutes to drain some fuel, add the 911 fuel treatment and let it sit before it de-gelled the fuel and the truck started.

Maybe down in Maryland cold is still above 0 but up in northern NH, it's not cold until the thermometer freezes. When the fuel in the truck gelled it was -25F and I've operated the tractor which sits in an open carport in temps -30F and colder in snowstorms and NEVER had the fuel gel, same for the truck while plowing. It works!

 

[Mike476]

I've lived in places it can get so cold your tires stay square all the way to work, and everyone has power accessible at the end of their driveway for block heaters, and not for the benefit of having instant heat inside the passenger compartment!

I certainly plan to use it, in my neck of the woods you're just asking for trouble if you don't. :thumbsup:

 

[Gittyup]

"anti-gel" component is kerosene. As with most of these additives, you are paying something like 20 bazillion percent more than the actual juice costs the bottler. I think, and have read the research that backs this up, they do absolutely nothing to either improve performance or engine life. Adding lubricant to diesel fuel is patently absurd. It will simply be burned away along with the diesel oil.

You might be right. I don't know for sure. But, I do know for sure that my tractor runs much smoother at cold startup (not even NH cold) with PS. The antigel isn't really why I use it. But, that probably doesn't hurt either as my tractor may sit for a month or more without starting in the winter and while it's under cover it is still exposed to wind.

I mainly use PS to keep my injector pump lubricated as it has already failed once and I'll spend a little money for the "ounce of prevention" that PS might deliver.

I've also seen an increase in power since I started using PS. Could just be a coincidence associated with break-in hours. But, again I don't think it hurts and the cost is almost neglible given you use 2 0z per 5 gallons of fuel. Thats something like $8 per 40 gallons of diesel. Worth what I'm getting out of it to me.

 

[o2batsea]

Of course if you think any of this stuff does anything beneficial for you, then by all means put it in your tractor. Not saying you shouldn't use it.
Injector pumps, which have been in use in diesel engines for a century, are designed to be lubricated by the diesel fuel. They will certainly not "prematurely" fail because they are "under lubricated" somehow. If you think about how diluted any additives will be in the fuel, you can see how their helpful qualities become negligible. Whatever.
Not keeping the fuel clean and free of water and other contaminates is what kills injectors and pumps, which are nothing more than high pressure hydraulic systems. They hate dirt.

 

[o2batsea]

Cold is a different animal all together, which affects not only the viscosity of the fuel but every system on the vehicle. The best additive for those conditions is obviously heat.

 

[Dmace]

Injector pumps, which have been in use in diesel engines for a century, are designed to be lubricated by the diesel fuel. They will certainly not "prematurely" fail because they are "under lubricated" somehow. If you think about how diluted any additives will be in the fuel, you can see how their helpful qualities become negligible. Whatever.

Ever heard of ULSD...? That's ULTRA LOW SULFUR DIESEL if you haven't. Guess what those pumps use for lubrication from the diesel fuel... SULFUR. The main reason for using the additive is to put that lubrication back in the fuel that the EPA took out. Yes the additive is very diluted but when comparing to the small amount of Sulfur removed (something like 500 parts per million) then you start to see that you only need a small amount of lubrication to aid in the life span of your diesel powered equipment.

 

[Mike476]

Cold is a different animal all together, which affects not only the viscosity of the fuel but every system on the vehicle. The best additive for those conditions is obviously heat.

You got me there.