Oil & Fuel Jelled Fuel

[massy1635]

We finely got enough snow to play in Friday. Had the tractor pluged in and it started just fine. Started down the driveway and it started to die out on me. We have had a week or more of zerro to -17 at nite, so I knew it must be a fuel problem. The fuel in the filter was cloudy. It was in the teens when I went out. I had 1/2 a jug of Diesel 911 that I put in the tank and after a minute or so it was running fine. I also add 4 oz. of Power Service Additive (in the white container) to every 5 gallons of fuel year round. That along with the diesel winter mix at the pump should have kept it from jelling but it didn't. What do you use to prevent jelling and how cold have you been and not had fuel problems?

 

[DennisFolsom]

Hmmm. I would think the Power Service white bottle stuff should have prevented that. Is there any chance you got some water in the fuel?

Does your tractor sit outdoors? You said you plugged it in before starting, but the engine heater doesn't heat the fuel tank, lines & filter. If it does sit outside, maybe you should resort to the old trick of putting a light bulb near the the fuel filter. Just make sure there is no leaking fuel around the light.

My tractor sits in an unheated garage, which is attached to the house. The inside of the garage usually is at least 10 degrees warmer than outdoors on these cold nights. Even so, I left the engine heater plugged in overnight Thursday, so it would be warm for plowing snow on Friday morning. I don't think it makes enough heat to hurt anything by leaving it on overnight like that. I should have popped the hood and felt the radiator hose on Friday morning, but I didn't bother. I have felt it when the heater was plugged in for a couple of hours, and it was only a little warm - far from hot.

 

[massy1635]

I do keep it in the barn but the way the wind blows thru it is just as cold inside as out. Not much help on the tempature but is is out of the weather.

 

[Red Horse]

We finely got enough snow to play in Friday. Had the tractor pluged in and it started just fine. Started down the driveway and it started to die out on me. We have had a week or more of zerro to -17 at nite, so I knew it must be a fuel problem. The fuel in the filter was cloudy. It was in the teens when I went out. I had 1/2 a jug of Diesel 911 that I put in the tank and after a minute or so it was running fine. I also add 4 oz. of Power Service Additive (in the white container) to every 5 gallons of fuel year round. That along with the diesel winter mix at the pump should have kept it from jelling but it didn't. What do you use to prevent jelling and how cold have you been and not had fuel problems?

What brand fuel? 17 below is a tough number even for today's winterized fuels. Keep in mind that cold flow improvers typically don't work AFTER the fuel has hit the cloud point. the cloud point is the point at which wax crystals form-that is the "cloudy" stuff you are seeing. The way the cold flow improvers work is they change the molecular structure of the fuel- the wax is still there but it lacks the sharp edges that allow the molecules to "hook up". Rather the wax ends up more like "bb's" so the wax crystals flow.

Best bet- buy good fuel-from a location that turns its tanks frequently. Make sure you don't have any water in your containers, and if you can get some kero-tough to find-put 20 or 30% in your fuel. You will loose a bit of power and economy but its the last resort.

 

[Jerry/MT]

We finely got enough snow to play in Friday. Had the tractor pluged in and it started just fine. Started down the driveway and it started to die out on me. We have had a week or more of zerro to -17 at nite, so I knew it must be a fuel problem. The fuel in the filter was cloudy. It was in the teens when I went out. I had 1/2 a jug of Diesel 911 that I put in the tank and after a minute or so it was running fine. I also add 4 oz. of Power Service Additive (in the white container) to every 5 gallons of fuel year round. That along with the diesel winter mix at the pump should have kept it from jelling but it didn't. What do you use to prevent jelling and how cold have you been and not had fuel problems?

When did you buy your fuel? Winter fuel shows up in the pumps, dependent on the location, around the first of November and some places have fuel that 's good to say 10F till December 1st and then -20F etc after that, till March 1st, etc. So if you bought some early season fuel and are just now using it that could be the problem. If I buy fuel in October I'll buy 1 part #1 diesel and 2 parts #2 diesel and treat that with PS White per the label.

Water is another animal. I can honestly say I've never had a diesel gell problem but I have had water contaminated fuel and suffered several run downs on a newer tractor i just bought as a result. Water froze on the water separator and in the fuel filter at 5F. I used a blow dryer to thaw them out then pumped the water out of the bottom on the tank with a small pump. I treated the remainder of the fuel and religiously drained the water separator before every start. I got about a quart of water out of a 24 gallon tank! The PO must have had a contaminated tank because I checked mine and it had less than a tablespoon of water in it.

This winter I've just treated with PS White and I have #2 fuel without any #1 ( the #1 pump was not working!)and no problems so far. But we havent been colder that about -5F. I need to refill my tank so I'll put some #1 in this time along with PS White. We haven't had any really cold weather yet but I'm sure we will.

 

[CBW1999]

I run Diesel in the summer and a mix of diesel and kerosene in the winter- usually more kerosene. I've used "seafoam" to treat the fuel in the past but swithced to a "name brand" diesel treatment/conditioner that the dollar store had (was almost 5 bucks a bottle at the auto store!). So I stocked up.

I had this happen for the first time as well within the last week/ Based on location, I think we were getting the same weather pattern. The only area clogged up was the fuel filter itself. It was coated with that nasty slimy junk. I took it apart, wiped off as much as I could and poured a little of the treatment into the filter housing. Put it back together and by the time I got outside, the remaining gunk had disolved. as soon as I got it back in place, the tractor started right up.

First time ever and, I know there have been colder temps the tractor has been exposed to over the years.

Oh well......guess I count myself lucky the whole system didn't get plugged!

 

[JJZ 109]

You already know about PS 911. (Check here.)
For what it's worth, I always use the white bottle PS all year round also. Unless I calculated wrong (entirely possible!), I use 2.5 oz. of the white bottle stuff for every 5 gallons.
However, just to be on the safe side for this time of year I added 911 to all my fuel for the tractor and a '97 Ford Powerstroke. The truck does not get used in the winter and has been sitting since mid November. We've had some below zero and single digit temps of late. I went out yesterday, plugged it in for 4-5 hours and it took off like summer. The tractor is stored in an unheated steel building. So far I've just glowed it for 10 seconds or so and it takes right off.

 

[rsewill]

You can run your return fuel line from your fuel pump side-by-side with your fuel supply line, then insulate it. It won't help if your fuel has jelled so that it won't start but once running it'll keep running.

I use No. 2 with a little Power Service on cold days (in Minnesota.)

 

[MHarryE]

We run a straight #1 fuel on our tractors in the winter (loader tractor and one we use for grinding feed). Never had a problem down to 40 below - colder than that and we plan ahead with getting bales out and feed ground. Was talking to our fuel trucker the other day and he uses a #1/#2 blend and has a heater on his tank. Better performance, better fuel economy, better fuel system life with the less #1 you use. That is our big ag stuff. My Kubota at my home for dinking around and cleaning snow gets it's own tank of #2 that sits in my machine shed while the tractor is in its heated garage. I have filled a couple times from the #1 ag tank but it burns through that way too fast.

 

[massy1635]

I am begining to think I had water in my fuel. I am pretty good about changing the oil and fuel filters before it gets cold. I did change to a new filter and the one I took out was pluged with a blackish slimy goo. I drained some fuel out thru the filter housing and it was running clear before putting in a new filter. I started it up and ran it for a half hour or so and it ran good and the filter was still cleal. I think we are past the worst of the cold . But to be safe I will put a pint of 911 in my fuel barrel, I have about 20 gallons left. Next year I will put
911 in my fuel barrel before it gets cold. Thanks for all the advice.