Oil & Fuel Diesel newbie question: windchill

[falfrenzy]

The topic is gelling of fuel. Here is the scenario: 2 metal jerry cans full of summer diesel are on a farm. One can is in the un-insulated machine shed, and one is sitting outside in 30 mph wind blowing on it. Temperature is 0 degrees F.

Which can gels up quicker?

 

[CobyRupert]

What color is the outside jerry can and is the sun shining on it?

Do both cans have the same amount of fuel (and air) in them? Assume identical fuel source and treatment, water content, etc...

"Which can gels up quicker?" I assume this is when the ambient air temperature is dropping from an "above jelling" temperature.

Then the question becomes: Which can loses heat the fastest. All other things being equal, the can in the wind will be stripped of it's heat faster than one in static air, as long as the sun isn't adding (or has previously added) heat energy into the can.

 

[Motorboatin]

Windchill has no effect

Windchill is an estimate of what the temperature feels like as the wind increases and wicks water vapor away from your skin. To everything that doesn’t sweat 20 degrees is 20 regardless of wind speed

 

[CobyRupert]

What cools faster: A spoonful of hot soup, or a spoonful of hot soup that you blow on?

 

[falfrenzy]

Windchill has no effect

Windchill is an estimate of what the temperature feels like as the wind increases and wicks water vapor away from your skin. To everything that doesn’t sweat 20 degrees is 20 regardless of wind speed

I like CodyRuperts response as a retort.

 

[mddorange]

While stationed in Alaska, we got training for surviving the cold.

The only effect wind chill has on inanimate objects, such as car radiators, water pipes, fuel, etc. is to more quickly cool the object to the current air temperature. Objects will NOT cool below the actual air temperature.

 

[LouNY]

I have heard for decades that windchill has no effect.
I have to say bull.
Windchill may not effect the final temperature of inanimate objects, but;
the wind that creates wind chill will remove the residual heat being transferred faster and
get the product or device to the equilibrium temperature faster

Diesel newbie question: windchill
The topic is gelling of fuel. Here is the scenario: 2 metal jerry cans full of summer diesel are on a farm. One can is in the un-insulated machine shed, and one is sitting outside in 30 mph wind blowing on it. Temperature is 0 degrees F.

Which can gels up quicker?

If these cans are brought from a heated location at the same time and one left in a building and one outside in the wind with a 0 degree ambient temperature the one in the breeze will reach 0 before the one inside. They will both eventually reach the same temperature if both places are at the same temperature.

So while windchill has no effect on the final temperature it will effect the time to get there.

 

[coldsteelva]

One good thing to keep in mind is objects have thermal mass. Even though a shed/barn may be unheated, the sun will warm the ground, structure and its contents during the day. This will in turn cause the temperature of the structure AND its contents to fall at a slower rate. My unheated pole barn, with a bunch of steel implements will be warmer than ambient even after a night in the cold. It isn't just the movement of air, but the total mass of what is cooling. A solitary diesel can vs an entire structure of objects and a diesel can.

 

[ericm979]

I like CodyRuperts response as a retort.

Except it's not complete.

The one in the wind will cool down to 0 degrees faster than the one out of the wind but they'll both end up at 0 degrees. We will ignore the one in the open either gaining heat due to radiation from the sun or losing heat as it radiates to the night sky. The cans are losing heat by conduction to the ground, which we'll assume is the same for both cans. They also lose heat by convection to the air around them. The one in the wind is constantly having the slightly warmed air around it replaced with more cold air. The one in the shed is warming up a pool of air around it (assuming the air temp in the shed is the same as outside, which is probably wrong). The warmed air around the can convects upwards as it is now warmer than the air around it. This effect is slower than the wind outside, so the outside can cools faster.

If the cans started out at a temp higher than 0, which I assume what what the OP meant, the one in the wind would gel sooner.

 

[Reb954]

The topic is gelling of fuel. Here is the scenario: 2 metal jerry cans full of summer diesel are on a farm. One can is in the un-insulated machine shed, and one is sitting outside in 30 mph wind blowing on it. Temperature is 0 degrees F.

Which can gels up quicker?

Just put fuel treatment in both cans and be done with it. Sometimes too much time is spent thinking rather than just doing the task. And BTW, leaving cans of fuel out in the weather is just asking for problems.