Fuel additives

[JWR]

The northern States and Canada seem to run with #1 Winter diesel from November to March just fine.

OK. What is it ? Is it No.2 diesel that has been treated or No. 1 which is kerosene or is it something else?

By the way I got interested enough to search on the topic and found an incredible amount of info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_diesel_fuel Very informative, more than most of us would-be-farmers really want to hear. One shock is a statement that : "Car makers selling Common Rail or Unit Injector diesel engines prohibit the dilution of diesel fuel with either gasoline or kerosene as it may destroy the injection device." To what extent this applies to the various newer diesel tractors is a very intriguing subject.

 

[buickanddeere]

Winter diesel is #2 diesel with the wax removed . Kerosene is another whole different grade of fuel which is halfway towards gasoline .
The Kerosene mixed with #2 diesel is the local quick and dirty solution solution in moderate climates for occasional cold snaps . Instead of inventorying five lines of fuel than three .

 

[coobie]

Been using diesel additives for the past 23 years,opti-lube winter & stanadyne to name a few.Living in a cold climate I would not be without them.I also keep the red bottle of diesel 911 on hand just in case for fuel line freeze up..

 

[brown40]

I use white power service and ash free 2 stroke oil to bump up the cetane and lubricity--and hopefully dry out the fuel--when I'm good about it. In the winter I'm more diligent, and always keep a bottle of red power service handy. I have never actually used the 911 for a personal freeze-up, but have helped out a number of vehicle and trailer owners that had the wrong mix in their tanks. Only problem I've had to date was getting old, low volume desperation fuel in the winter that kicked off the water sensor in the truck. Honestly I have run with and without and have not noticed a huge difference either way. If you aren't going through much fuel, it's a good idea to stabilize what you've got. Good fresh fuel is the best additive, and home heating oil is cheaper and high volume.

 

[daugen]

My diesel tank only gets filled once a year at most, maybe longer. I can't switch to winter fuel, but then I rarely use my tractor during the really cold months
here. No snow to plow. Sure not taking the tractor out in the ice...unless I have downed trees. But every late Fall I dump a can of Powerservice winter formula in the tank and I've never had a problem. Tractor is inside covered unheated barn.

when I owned a pair of DD 8V71TI's in my boat the effect of fuel additives was easy to see. Significantly less smoke. Starts seemed faster. Never ran without it.

I look at additives as cheap insurance. Couple of bottles a year at my rate, and I haven't had to worry, and likely won't have to worry about the engines not starting and running properly. Of course I also regularly service them, usually earlier than required.

This thread reminds me I need to dump a bottle into the 250 gal fuel tank. I may be six months late but better late than never seems to apply here.

And what I really learned here is using SeaFoam in diesels. I never have; use it constantly on my gas engines and it's marvelous stuff. Of course I buy non ethanol gas now. But if one uses a diesel fuel additive, which usually has extra cleaners plus lube in it (that sounds counter-intuitive putting them both together...?)
then does one also need extra cleaning? We have a wide range of opinions here. From do nothing if you have fresh fuel and use lots of it, and live in the South where there's no Winter, to the other range of the rest of us who have probably dosed the tank with something over the years.

I figure it can't hurt, isn't very expensive compared to mechanical repair costs, and gives me some peace of mind since so far it has done its job. When it doesn't I suppose I'll change/try something else.

 

[My Hoe]

Very informative--subscribed.