Oil & Fuel Fuel Gelling - What freewheel?

[sschriber]

Ten degrees out yesterday and my CK20 fired up just fine. I got it about 1/4 mile toward my project and the engine lost power and died out. I decided right then to turn around and was able start again and drive 50 yds before it stalled again. I repeated this 2 or 3 more times. About half way home I got off and looked at the fuel filter glass in the back and it was full of white gel. I was surprised because I thought they sold winter grade fuel up here in Northern NY. I had a Kubota Diesel over a winter 15 years ago and never had this issue with diesel fuel (she just didn't like to start!). Next, I tried towing the tractor with my 4x4 Honda tractor but couldn't get it up the hill. My neighbor hooked me up to his big Chevy Tahoe and we got it home after one unsuccessful attempt.

Two questions.

1 - Can I treat the fuel to remove the gelling including the mess in the filter?

2- Why is the there so much rolling resistance in my CK20 gear? It is almost impossible to push by hand. Harder to tow/push than my car that weighs twice as much.

Steve

 

[DieselPower]

If the mess in your fuel bowl is white it might not be gelled fuel but frozen water. Diesel fuel "gelling" is when the wax starts to crystalize and clump up. I would remove this stuff, put it in a cup and take it inside. When it melts see if it's water or not.

You can probably treat it with something like Power Service 911 to get you running again. But first I would find out if it is actually gelled fuel or if it's frozen water. If it's water you need to get the water out of your fuel tank.

 

[CBB]

If the mess in your fuel bowl is white it might not be gelled fuel but frozen water. Diesel fuel "gelling" is when the wax starts to crystalize and clump up. I would remove this stuff, put it in a cup and take it inside. When it melts see if it's water or not.

You can probably treat it with something like Power Service 911 to get you running again. But first I would find out if it is actually gelled fuel or if it's frozen water. If it's water you need to get the water out of your fuel tank.

I would suggest a good fuel additive. I use WellWorth because that is what the big operators use in their diesel equipment and it works well and is well worth the money of $7.00 a quart to treat 250 gallons. This will help with gelling, water and fuel injector cleaning. I am sure others can recommend additonal solutions. I buy mine at the local heavy equipment rental place but here is the website.
Well-Worth Products, Inc.

My father and I debate reservation fuel. I say there are no inspections of the tanks or stations by regulators so you don't know if you are getting a full gallon and actually saving money, you don't know the grade or quality of the fuel, they are not required to fix leaks from fuel tanks into the water table and more. Dad would keep buying it and his JD kept giving him headaches when below half tank. Finally, he left on vacation, I siphoned all his fuel out and had a farm fuel tank brought in and purchased fuel (#2 Diesel--high sulfer ie. Home Heating Oil in NYS) farm tax exempt from a reputable supplier. His tractor now runs fine and he buys his fuel from me for 50 cents less than the reservation. When I took the fuel out of his tank, I got all 95% of the water out but that stuff was so bad that when I used it to start stump fires, the water in the diesel kept putting the fire out until it was REALLY going. Some of the water may have been due to condensation but in that quantity, it is also due to lousy fuel from the reservation.

 

[VictorW]

I use Stanadyne brand. I don't remember the exact spelling. It lowers the gel point, helps lubricate the pump and a few more extras. For the amount of fuel you use in the tractor, it's well worth it.

Are you buying on road or off road diesel? I would like to think the on road is treated. Otherwise big rigs would have a tough time. If it was off road, maybe it doesn't sell as fast and it was from last summer or fall or they don't treat it at all.

I would do what DieselPower mentioned so you know which way to attack your problem. If the fuel is just gelling, the Stanadyne brand has instructions on how to add, more than normal, and it will liquify the fuel again but it does take a few hours.

 

[HODAK]

Ten degrees out yesterday and my CK20 fired up just fine. I got it about 1/4 mile toward my project and the engine lost power and died out. I decided right then to turn around and was able start again and drive 50 yds before it stalled again. I repeated this 2 or 3 more times. About half way home I got off and looked at the fuel filter glass in the back and it was full of white gel. I was surprised because I thought they sold winter grade fuel up here in Northern NY. I had a Kubota Diesel over a winter 15 years ago and never had this issue with diesel fuel (she just didn't like to start!). Next, I tried towing the tractor with my 4x4 Honda tractor but couldn't get it up the hill. My neighbor hooked me up to his big Chevy Tahoe and we got it home after one unsuccessful attempt.

Two questions.

1 - Can I treat the fuel to remove the gelling including the mess in the filter?

2- Why is the there so much rolling resistance in my CK20 gear? It is almost impossible to push by hand. Harder to tow/push than my car that weighs twice as much.

Steve

Just my .02 - Fired up my CK30 yesterday and it was 8 degrees. Started as I normally do with no problems. Just left it warm up a little longer. Ran it around for about an hour and a half - no problems, no treatment.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Just my .02 - Fired up my CK30 yesterday and it was 8 degrees. Started as I normally do with no problems. Just left it warm up a little longer. Ran it around for about an hour and a half - no problems, no treatment.

I suspect that the place where you aquired your fuel treated it. Most places will treat fuel in the winter to prevent gelling, but not all treat them to the same level. We run a fleet of trucks and find that no matter how well the fuel is supposedly treated by the distributor, we still occasionally have problems. In the winter, when the temps are cold, running a fuel anti-gel is a good thing to do just in case.

 

[Steve_Miller]

2- Why is the there so much rolling resistance in my CK20 gear? It is almost impossible to push by hand. Harder to tow/push than my car that weighs twice as much.

Steve

Make sure the tractor is out of gear on both levers. Mine will rollaway on a gradual slope if I don't set the brake. Latch the clutch as well and it should tow very easily, I wouldn't advise going any faster than the rated speed of the tractor either.

Steve

 

[sschriber]

Thanks Steve. I hadn't thought of that.

 

[wallace]

Hodak

You have a lesser chance of "gelling up" with your CK 30 because your fuel filter is located under the hood as the CK 20 filter is located in the rear of the tractor away from the engine heat

 

[George2615]

You can use the additives mentioned before. They are supposed to prevent gelling and remove water. I had a similar problem with stalling. It would idle fine but when you bring up the RPM to travel it would stall out. I replaced my fuel filter and it solved the stalling. I waited too long before changing mine (150 hrs.)