JimRB
Veteran Member
You would only need to worry about your fuel gelling if you use the tractor in the cold. Not much gelling will happen if it is sitting in that warm garage. Most diesel vehicles that suffer gel issues were in a warm environment one day and in the cold the same day or a few days later. ;-)
If I run my tractor hard it might use a gallon of fuel an hour. My tank holds at most 7 gallons filled to the brim. If I was using my tractor for a half hour I would not top it off. Even if I was using it for an hour or two. Used hard is defined and bush hogging thick pasture. Up north that might be defined and snow blowing deep snow.
One thing I learned was if you need anti-gel chemicals, you need to buy them when it is warm. Walmart was all out at 6:30 AM the day it got cold. I drove the next few days in my 2003 VW TDI (no white bottle conditioner) without issues and only fuel conditioned by the fuel supplier. Granted my garage stays above freezing overnight if I park a the hot car in it. If the garage does not see a hot car every night it will eventually get as cold as outside. The vehicle gets to experience the same subzero temps while driving. Years ago that same vehicle had B100 gel up when it got below freezing for a few days. The car sat in the garage a few days until it warmed up.
My 2003 VW TDI was the last year for the Bosch VE axial piston distributor. Same basic pump as used on the 1st and 2nd Generation Dodge Cummins trucks. These are the loud pumps as the 2004 VWs and the 3rd generation Dodge Cummins with the really high pressure pumps are quieter.
My VW TDI has a fuel filter with two inlets and two outlets. One side is where fuel from the tank is sucked in by the fuel pump/distributor on the engine. "Waste" fuel from the distributor and injectors is sent back to the tank via the fuel filter which could warm the fuel filter up a bit. This assumes that the engine compartment and the fuel system warms up. I realize that compressing fuel like compressing air will warm it up, but on a cold day with a cold engine and a cold fuel pump/distributor I do not know that there is much heat generated. I do not own an infrared thermometer to test the temperature gain in the filter or pump. I do know the fuel pump/distributor can be warm/hot to touch in the summer.
If I run my tractor hard it might use a gallon of fuel an hour. My tank holds at most 7 gallons filled to the brim. If I was using my tractor for a half hour I would not top it off. Even if I was using it for an hour or two. Used hard is defined and bush hogging thick pasture. Up north that might be defined and snow blowing deep snow.
One thing I learned was if you need anti-gel chemicals, you need to buy them when it is warm. Walmart was all out at 6:30 AM the day it got cold. I drove the next few days in my 2003 VW TDI (no white bottle conditioner) without issues and only fuel conditioned by the fuel supplier. Granted my garage stays above freezing overnight if I park a the hot car in it. If the garage does not see a hot car every night it will eventually get as cold as outside. The vehicle gets to experience the same subzero temps while driving. Years ago that same vehicle had B100 gel up when it got below freezing for a few days. The car sat in the garage a few days until it warmed up.
My 2003 VW TDI was the last year for the Bosch VE axial piston distributor. Same basic pump as used on the 1st and 2nd Generation Dodge Cummins trucks. These are the loud pumps as the 2004 VWs and the 3rd generation Dodge Cummins with the really high pressure pumps are quieter.
My VW TDI has a fuel filter with two inlets and two outlets. One side is where fuel from the tank is sucked in by the fuel pump/distributor on the engine. "Waste" fuel from the distributor and injectors is sent back to the tank via the fuel filter which could warm the fuel filter up a bit. This assumes that the engine compartment and the fuel system warms up. I realize that compressing fuel like compressing air will warm it up, but on a cold day with a cold engine and a cold fuel pump/distributor I do not know that there is much heat generated. I do not own an infrared thermometer to test the temperature gain in the filter or pump. I do know the fuel pump/distributor can be warm/hot to touch in the summer.