Diesel Additive - which one, and how much?

[TractorTYMe]

I started using Howes after project farm showing it had pretty good anti gel properties for the cost. Especially since we're in transition between summer diesel and winter blend right now.

 

[Fallon]

I'm in Colorado & have a 300 gallon tank I fill up every year or 2. I fill it up in the winter so I get winter blend diesel. I put in Power Service white bottle for the anti-gell & a lesser degree the cutaneous boost & lubricate benefits. I also put in Power Service Bio Kleen as a biocide. There is no humidity in Colorado and I have no moisture in the filters on the tank at all. But I store the diesel for a decent while so I go conservative.

I can't say what I use is the best or even necessary. But a few bucks every year or 2 is cheap compared to the cost of the diesel much less my $50k tractor. Might be a different story if I had an older machine with a low pressure mechanical injection pump. A new or reboot pump or injectors on an old machine still buys a lot of potential snake oil additives. Even if $100 a year for White Bottle prevents 1 gelling incident when plowing its worth it to me.

 

[oosik]

I have five gallon jerry cans and use Power Service.

 

[newbury]

As others wrote - why use additive?

1. Control algae growth - at your rate of use may not need it.
2. Keep it from gelling - shouldn't be a problem
3. Lubrication - engines such as yours (and mine) were designed with sulfur lubricating the fuel system so get a high sulfur additive

I use Howes / Power Service.

And as an aside

the tractor is a Kubota M4700, a 2001 model.

I thought the M4700 last came out in 1997.

 

[Ddh1961]

I live on the Alabama Gulf coast and our temps are similar to yours. We rarely see temps below freezing, and if it’s that cold out I’m not tractoring anyway. I put STA-Bil in my fuel to keep it fresh in case I get into a dry spell where I’m not doing any tractor work for awhile, and while this is infrequent it gives me peace of mind my fuel won’t go bad. I also add silver bottle Power Systems for a cetane boost and added lubricity. These additives also help keep the fuel system clean. I use 5 gal cans, but if I had a 200 gal tank I’d look into a biocide additive if the fuel was going to be in there more than 6 months.

 

[STCL01]

Guy I bought it from said it was a 2001. Really don't know. It's the only tractor that I've ever owned. Bought it shortly after we bought the property five years ago.

 

[Wagtail]

"As others wrote - why use additive?

1. Control algae growth - at your rate of use may not need it."

Except that's the bugger of a diesel tank biological growth (algae), it doesn't take much to start the infestation and, even then, it could take up to 18 months before it truly fouls up your entire fuel delivery system. I know from experience.

Adding a wee bit of diesel biocide is cheap insurance. I mean, when was the last time anyone occasionally put an inspection camera down into any of their diesel tanks just to see if everything was OK?

 

[Oaktree]

I have five gallon jerry cans and use Power Service.

Same here, never a problem.

 

[hube2]

For those that use power server.

Does anyone use Bio Kleen or Clear-Diesel on a regular basis to prevent issues?

 

[ruffdog]

The cloud point on #2 diesel is about 14F and if you are using bio diesel, it may be around 30F. Additives will lower those numbers quite a bit. I also use 5 gal jugs and Power Service and have never had an issue with water or algae. I did have gelling last winter when it got real cold and I had to replace the fuel filter and also swapped out the fuel. I had been getting off-road but maybe it was't treated like it should have been. The neighbor excavator now said that I could get fuel from him as he goes through alot and gets it "winterized". Also...not all fuel filters are the same. The older Toolcat's with the Kubota engine used a 10 micron filter while the Doosan engine uses a 2 micron which will plug quicker.