where do you find temperature rated fuel, when I fuel my pickup the pump doesn't list a temperature rating,
when I order fuel I have to tell them if I want #2 or #1 if I want a blend I have to tell them so and what ratio
the fuel truck has multiple compartments and when they deliver is when it gets blended at what ever ratio I want
and I'm charge for so many gallons of #2 and so many gallons of #1 or kerosene.
Then if I want any anti-gel it's my responsibility to get it and add it. Or anything to increase the lubricity, it's my job.
To answer you, please tolerate my ramblings because I think there is more to the diesel fuel story than most tractor or truck owners appreciate.
It is not just does it gel or not gel. Lubricate or not lubricate.
First the Kubota spec for fuel in my 2012
M7040
Fuel :
Cetane number of 45 minimum. Cetane number greater than 50 is preferred, especially for temperatures below
-20 ï½°C (-4 ï½°F) or elevations above 1500 m (5000 ft).
If diesel fuel with sulfur content greater than 0.5 % sulfur content is used, reduce the service interval for engine oil
and filter by 50 %.
DO NOT use diesel fuel with sulfur content greater than 1.0 %. (1.0%= 100 ppm)
Diesel fuels specified to EN 590 or ASTM D975 are recommended.
The sulfur in the fuel I buy is 8 ppm and the standard in Canada is not more than 15 ppm.
Material related to the ASTM D975 which is referred to in Kubota's fuel requirements
The cloud point of a diesel fuel is the temperature at which the amount of precipitated wax crystals becomes large enough to make the fuel appear cloudy or hazy. Wax may form because normal paraffins occur naturally in diesel fuel. As the temperature of the fuel is lowered, these paraffins become less soluble in the fuel and precipitate out as wax crystals. In some fuel systems, cloud point can indicate the onset of fuel-filter plugging. Although ASTM D975 provides a test method for determining cloud point, it does not set a specific temperature. This is because it is impractical to set low temperature properties for all ambient temperatures. Also, depending on equipment design and operating conditions, satisfactory operation may be achieved even below the cloud point. Cloud point and other low temperature operability limits such as low temperature filterability, cold filter plugging point, and pour point are generally specified by contract between the fuel supplier and fuel purchaser, who can best determine the necessary limit based on intended use and anticipated climate. Pour point is the lowest temperature at which the fuel will flow and is used to predict the lowest temperature at which the fuel can be pumped. As mentioned above, other tests include the 擢ilterability of Diesel Fuels by Low Temperature Flow Test (LTFT) and the 鼎old Filter Plugging Point (CFPP) test. One or more of these can help predict a diesel fuel痴 low temperature operability properties.
This is an invoice from 2013 so the prices are not current. it was just the first invoice I found.
Here is another delivery slip date uncertain.
There are a limited number of fuel refineries in both Canada and the USA. They are very expensive to design and build. These refineries are taking the crude oil and distilling out all the fractions of the hydrocarbons in the crude and at the very end they end up with a fuel often called bunker oil because very large ships burn it. At room temp it is like asphalt.
In between the start and end of this distilling process come gasoline, jet fuels diesel fuels, etc.
If you were running a fleet of several thousand highway 18 wheelers, you would have on your staff an expert who would carefully determine the properties needed in these trucks based upon their operating temperatures and other factors. Fuel distributors bidding to supply fuel to this company's specifications, would be blending the various products produced in the refinery to meet these specifications.
Next there are both private laboratories testing the fuel to ensure it met the specific properties required in the bidding process and in doing so ensure the large trucking company gets what they paid for and wanted.
For the little guy at the diesel pump, he is at the mercy of the seller. The fuels with the higher Cetane number and lower cloud point temperature are more expensive so the tendency is to sell a blend that will just barely get by most of the time and then sell additives for their fuel to make extra $.
The so called -40F fuel I order is my suppliers blend that they have determined will operate without any problem down to -40. It is my experience over 30 years that they have been successful in doing that.
They take the guess work out of deciding what I should buy.
Perhaps, and I don't know your bulk supplier, you should turn things around and tell them what temperature performance you expect them to deliver that will not require you to be adding stuff to it and further meet Kubota's sulfur and Cetane spec's.
Fuels are a complicated topic and many owners have their way of doing things based upon experience and not any real lab testing. It is almost like a religion.
I hope all of the above is helpful.
Dave
M7040
