Cold weather and diesel advice

So camper1013, have you fired that oil burner up yet or still waiting to see the first robin in the yard?

camper1013 wrote:
Hey guys,
I was filling up our work truck last week and happened to notice a chart on top of the diesel pump with the temperature ratings of the pre-blended fuel. For January and February they blend it to -40. Looked like they went on 2 month intervals and it changed by roughly 10 degrees each time. So, as long as its blended right, it should be good unless it gets crazy cold.

Now about that DEF that freezes at 12 degrees...

DEF freezing isn't an issue.

1) there is a heater to turn the DEF to a liquid.
2) when you shut off the truck a pump runs to purge the DEF lines.

camper1013 wrote:
Hey guys,
I was filling up our work truck last week and happened to notice a chart on top of the diesel pump with the temperature ratings of the pre-blended fuel. For January and February they blend it to -40. Looked like they went on 2 month intervals and it changed by roughly 10 degrees each time. So, as long as its blended right, it should be good unless it gets crazy cold.

Now about that DEF that freezes at 12 degrees...

DEF freezing isn't an issue.

1) there is a heater to turn the DEF to a liquid.
2) when you shut off the truck a pump runs to purge the DEF lines.

Hey guys,
I was filling up our work truck last week and happened to notice a chart on top of the diesel pump with the temperature ratings of the pre-blended fuel. For January and February they blend it to -40. Looked like they went on 2 month intervals and it changed by roughly 10 degrees each time. So, as long as its blended right, it should be good unless it gets crazy cold.

Now about that DEF that freezes at 12 degrees...

^ Yes and when I said blended, earlier, I meant blended with additives that lower the cloud point, not blended with #1 fuel.

ppine wrote:
Just came back from Elko, NV and ran into "winterized diesel" for the first time. So that would be No. 2 with some No. 1 mixed with it?

the common way the refineries do winter blend is to put in additives to lower the cloud point. They seldom mix #2. In fact, look in your owners manual and it may warn against using #1 except in emergencies and in low %. If you think #2 ULSD has poor lubricity, wait till you see how bad #1 is for lubricity.

Probably #2 with an additive to match the expected temp. as explained earlier by Grit Dog.

Just came back from Elko, NV and ran into "winterized diesel" for the first time. So that would be No. 2 with some No. 1 mixed with it?

To summarize 4 pages of theories and clear out the “personal beliefs”. Diesel fuel is generally blended for the climate in which it is sold. And down to the mean low temperatures of that climate, it is good, with zero assistance from the consumer.
If conditions fall outside those, I’ll call them 90th percentile “conditions” then care or action should be taken by the consumer.
In other words, I could go to the interior of Alaska right now and fill my truck at the pump and let it sit in -40 and the fuel will generally not gel. Or I could fill up in Phoenix AZ and if I drove straight to the Rockies on the same tank and it was below zero there, the fuel would generally gel up.
Not imposing my theories. I’ve just literally run diesel trucks and equipment in every climate on this continent in the last 25 years and speak form experience not conjecture.

Before I left for Mexico and Guyana, I worked in Yellowknife where the temps frequently were below freezing on most fall-winter days. We used Standadyne all the time in the line trucks and our personal vehicles. Only one station in town had #1D. We never used it. All of our trucks were plugged in when not in use. All diesel has water in it - right out of the pipeline which is why water separators are important to use. Most of us ran double filters.