kubota's own diesel fuel treatment

[gwdixon]

Just so we don't go through this discussion without test results...here are a couple.

Mileage:

Fuel Additive Test - Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel - Diesel Power Magazine

Engine wear (lubricity):

Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

 

[crazyal]

Just so we don't go through this discussion without test results...here are a couple.

Mileage:

Fuel Additive Test - Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel - Diesel Power Magazine

Engine wear (lubricity):

Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

Unfortunately that second test was a little bit of a sham. What they did is take untreated diesel (they do say so but it's hard to find) that doesn't meet ASTM D 975, it doesn't even come close. The fuel they used couldn't be sold to the public. They did it because they wanted to find out the effects of each additive. But they should have stated that the US requires diesel to be 520 um, not the 636 um that they used. My dealer buys from a distributor that uses the EMA standard of 450 um. They use that standard because it allows them some buffer.

The bottom line is if you don't know what you're putting in your tank then I'd say your better off being safe and adding something. But it's better to ask your dealer. It costs pennies for a distributor to blend in any additives needed. You may be surprised what you find out. After all don't expect Kubota (or any company that wants to sell you a product) to inform you.

 

[gwdixon]

Unfortunately that second test was a little bit of a sham. What they did is take untreated diesel (they do say so but it's hard to find) that doesn't meet ASTM D 975, it doesn't even come close. The fuel they used couldn't be sold to the public. They did it because they wanted to find out the effects of each additive. But they should have stated that the US requires diesel to be 520 um, not the 636 um that they used. My dealer buys from a distributor that uses the EMA standard of 450 um. They use that standard because it allows them some buffer.

The bottom line is if you don't know what you're putting in your tank then I'd say your better off being safe and adding something. But it's better to ask your dealer. It costs pennies for a distributor to blend in any additives needed. You may be surprised what you find out. After all don't expect Kubota (or any company that wants to sell you a product) to inform you.

Actually, the second test listed conforms to scientific principles. The additives only were being tested as crazyal points out. Only non-pretreated diesel fuel would have accurately permitted the "additive only" results. Treated fuel with the additive included would skew the results.

Granted, untreated diesel fuel is hard to find and is unlikely to be used in our tractors. However, if one chooses to use an additive then this study provides a guide to which additive would most likely accomplish wear reduction. It also lists additional properties of the additive (if applicable) and the cost of use.

 

[radioman]

Treated fuel with the additive included would skew the results.

skewed? as in making diesel additives worse or little/no effectiveness? I think that there is no all in one additives that works for all. in fact the southern states most likely dont need gelling protection, but they might deal with algae crap more then northern states. I think the issue here is knowing exactly what you are adding to your diesel for desired effect instead of complaining that your fuel gelled when you added the gray bottle of PS ..... I am just saying...
Until I can see that no one is complaining of gelling in winter, I'd say the additives work.

 

[jonyyuma]

Radioman, you are probably closer to the facts than most???Down here in the humid south, we have diesel fuel tanks that are double walled and directly under the diesel gen-set..500gallons...Some of the samples we pull look like they came from????? Black or green crap that floats and plugs up engine pumps and filters..supplier s called it Algae...We have been testing Startron diesel fuel additive with good results..yes, it does get cold enough,Down here to gell fuel in the winter..

 

[gwdixon]

skewed? as in making diesel additives worse or little/no effectiveness? I think that there is no all in one additives that works for all. in fact the southern states most likely dont need gelling protection, but they might deal with algae crap more then northern states. I think the issue here is knowing exactly what you are adding to your diesel for desired effect instead of complaining that your fuel gelled when you added the gray bottle of PS ..... I am just saying...
Until I can see that no one is complaining of gelling in winter, I'd say the additives work.

Only speaking from the scientific aspect, experiments must be repeatable and verifiable by other researchers. In order for that to happen the experiment must have all other aspects controlled other than the specific factor being investigated.

Therefore, pure untreated diesel fuel was used instead of something from a Chevron, Shell, Valero, etc. pump in NY, AL, CA, AK, or anywhere else since those fuels may be of a different blend.

You are correct that testing with different fuel blends could result in dramatically different results. But that was not the purpose or intent of the experiment.

It would not be practical to test the additives with each brand and blend of diesel fuel available in all regions of the country. Interesting but it will not likely happen.

Back to the OP's topic.

 

[crazyal]

It would have been helpful to set a number that's universally accepted as the minimum you want. I've heard 520, the government standard, is not really low enough and was set when nobody even looked at sulfur diesel since it exceeded it easily. I've heard that the EMA (group formed by diesel manufacturers) wanted 400 but revised it to 450 (maybe it was 460). So what you really need to know is what additive will bring down 520 to say 460. If a treatment could lower the HFRR by 60 then it would be a pass, if it can't then it's a fail. If it could lower the HFRR by 120 then it would be enough to get to about where high sulfur diesel use to be.

But all of that requires you know what you're buying as untreated ultra low #2 diesel can have a HFRR number of 800 and #1 of as high as 900. If you got your hands on some of this cr^ppy fuel even the best additives used as directed wouldn't be enough to reach 450. I have no clue if home heating oil has been treated to lower the HFRR to 520 since a furnaces pump is very different than a diesel engine. My best advice is to buy from a place you trust. I buy from a HHO dealer. Because of VT laws they can't sell HHO for use in a diesel engine (on or off road) they have a tank on their truck that they switch between kerosine and off road diesel. This requires them to flush the tank so they only do it about once every other week. This means that the diesel is very clean and I trust it.

 

[dodge man]

One thing to keep in mind,if you are running fuel with bio-diesel in it, you are getting the best lubricity you can. I can't get anything but bio-diesel around here, so I don't see the reason to add any additive for that reason alone. I have heard a lot about adding the two stroke oil, I hadn't thought it would increase your fuel mileage. I may have to give it a try in my truck.

 

[DianneInVA]

Good to know. But right now I have PRI-D. Any comments on this product ( for a B2620 and an RTV) in Northern Minnesota cold.