What temp does diesel gel?

[RjCorazza]

Numbers can be all over the page due to fuel type and quality. The numbers I have settled on are (untreated summer diesel):

The Cloud Point is from 20-32 degrees F

The "Cold Filter Plugging Point" (CFPP) is 10-15 degrees F, which is where fuel problems will first be noticed. The spec is based on a quite coarse filter of 45u, which passes much larger particles than the typical diesel fuel filter.

Gelling occurs at 0 degrees F.

Most operators keep a 911 type product on hand, as well as spare fuel filters. If you anticipate unusually cold temps for your region in the teens, I would certainly be adding an anti-gel product and ensure that it is run all the way to the injectors.

 

[Rustyiron]

Thanks for the replies. I think we will be okay. I will put the skid steer inside my shop, but it does not have any heat.

I would add some type of treatment suspecting that you're local oil companies probably don't add anything at all for cold temps. In the northern states it's added as the temperature drops and most still add more.
For a jug of "power service"

It's cheap insurance. This jug treats 250 gallons, way more than you need for a couple of tanks. They do have smaller bottles.

 

[ruffdog]

What i understand from this is that I should probably get some of the red bottle just in case I have an issue???

I have never had to use red bottle and I'm a bit north of you. He77, you'll be in the warm weather in a couple of days, don't sweat it.

 

[ruffdog]

My Bobcat uses preheated fuel to heat the filter housing so it has to get real cold to plug it up. Even engine heat will be helping heat the filter so the OP should be fine.

 

[dodge man]

I’ve had my fuel gel 3 times. Twice it wasn’t that cold, maybe 20 but I was plowing snow and a lot of slush was getting thrown up on the little fuel filter on a Kubota BX. The third time was an extended cold snap,near zero for a few days. I was running treatment all three times also. I’m also running biodiesel, probably 5 to 10% since that’s all we can get at the pumps, if you have straight diesel that’ll help a little. I run roughly 20% kerosene when it’s this cold, it was zero here this morning.

 

[fatjay]

My oil tank is outside. Around 10-15f the line freezes up. I get under there with the blow torch and melt it, then it flows again.

 

[LouNY]

Well I fired up my tractor at 6F this morning, let her warm up while I did a bit of shoveling. Then scrapped with the back blade. No fuel issues at all, of course;
I am running a blended fuel about 30% #1 and 70% #2 with an anti gell additive added at the high dose.
I have gelled or plugged filters a few times, I don't care to do so again.
It is usually a real pain in the A** to get cleaned out and restarted.

 

[WM75Guy]

Was 20F this morning when I went out to do chores. Had to cycle the glow plugs twice for the TC40DA to fire off. Let it warm up and did what I needed to do without issue. Topped it off with treated fuel from my storage tank, supposed to be colder tonight.

 

[5030]

At what temperature does diesel begin to gel?

We are forecast to have temperatures in the teens Tuesday night along with up to a foot of snow. This is extremely rare for here in south Louisiana. I want to have my skid steer and tractors available to push a little snow, and to pull cars out of ditches, if needed.

I have never added any sort of 'anti gel' product to my diesel.

The theoretical cloud point of ULSD with no additives in solution is about 30 degrees F. Diesel begins to separate there and can clog your filters at that point with liberated paraffin.

Of course if you have DEF as well, DEF freezes around 32 degrees F so if you do and you have no DEF heater in the tank, chances are you will develop a stinky ice cube.

Have a full 350 gallon tote of DEF in the barn that is a solid frozen ice cube presently but I don't use DEF for it's intended purpose anyway. I spray DEF on my hayfields as a Foliar Inoculant because it's basically deionized water and urea in solution and hay loves urea plus I can buy out of date DEF really cheap, much cheaper than 46 granulated urea. Normally, when DEF solidifies, there is a bit of dropout with the urea but that don't matter to me at all, though it does matter in a DEF injection system. In my case it don't mean squat other than the stink might settle to the bottom of the tote and I'm good with that in as much as DEF smells like cat urine in the first place.

 

[5030]

Couple items...

One, I'm of Lou's philosophy and 20 is balmy to what it is here presently, it's 5 here and instead of cycling my glo-plugs more than once, I'll energize them for about 20 seconds if it's real cold and then wait a couple seconds to allow them to warm the prechambers a bit and then crank the motor which usually starts in less than a full revolution. Mine are kept in an unheated barn with no power available so no block heaters installed either. I start them and let them sit on high idle while I go have a cup of Joe and come back and by then the oil as well as the hydraulic fluid has warmed enough so as not to impose an undue strain on any components and of course the cab heat is operational as well. Nothing beats a warm cab on a frigid day.

One thing I do do with my tractors is, I break the starting batteries out of circuit when they are sitting with a master disconnect switch. So long as the flooded cell starting batteries are fully charged, one, they won't freeze in really cold weather and two, they won't lose appreciable charge when sitting for extended periods. Flooded cell batteries lose about 5% of their total charge every month on average with no parasitic loss. The diesel truck, the side by side and the quad plus my bikes are all on Battery Tenders all winter and I only use genuine Tenders or Yuhasa tenders. Breaking the batteries out of circuit eliminates any parasitic issues 100%.