I have yet to see clean #2 oil gel, where I sit on the South shore of Lake Ontario.
Diesel gelling occurs when the fuel is contaminated with water and crud. That's the reason aircraft refuelers MUST sit for 8 hours after filling off the tank farm, so the crap & water settle off and can be drawn off the tank.
Diesel fuel is a lot like milk that hasn't been homogenized. When it's all shook up from running thru the pump, the water is encapsulated, but if you let it set, the water and crud settle out. A properly set up bulk tank doesn't draw off the bottom, so the water stays in the bulk tank.
It's simple enough to stick the settled tank with water paste and determine if you have water in your fuel, and if you don't, you are asking for trouble.
Most people fill machines at the end of the work day, and have problems starting in the morning cause they are drawing off a tank of settled fuel, it's much better to fuel at the beginning of the day.
Having a good filter at the bulk tank will save plenty of problems too, and I have yet to find a machine where the filter was easier to change than the one on the bulk tank.
Buying your fuel at high volume stations doesn't solve the problem because all you are getting is fuel with encapsulated water. There is no incentive for any station operator to provide water free fuel given that he can sell water for over a buck a gallon.
The only difference between off road and home heating oil is color, and that's only a difference in states that tax the products differently. Sulfur content is the same across the board, dependant on the geographical area you are buying in and the pollution regulations. 20 years ago, Agway strongly marketed their green Diesel fuel, and convinced a lot of people it was special. The only special thing was a 5 gallon bucket of food coloring the drivers dumped into the truck to color the fuel before the truck left the terminal, it all came off the same line at the rack. The only difference between on road or off road is TAX.
Winter fuel is just a mix of #2 and kerosene, and has less BTUs per gallon, and therefore less power. If your engine is set up right, and you have good battery's, there is no reason to run winter blend, especially considering there is less lubricity in a gallon of winter mix. Diesels require lubricity in the fuel.
NOW, if you do buy your fuel and pay road tax on it, definitely file the IRS form every year. The form takes 10 minutes to fill out, and if everybody did it for their lawnmower gas and tractor fuel, IRS would go into lockup cause they couldn't process all the forms. IRS going into lockup condition would be a good thing.
