Cold weather and diesel advice

moresmoke wrote:


I have spent my fair share of time on the side of the road thawing gelled fuel. I hope I am past that point in life.

If the diesel pump has a filter on it as it should, you may get a gallon or so of untreated fuel out of it in extreme cold temperatures, then the filter will plug solid and you will be done.

I went and got a Semi down south last winter. Stopped in Iowa to get fuel, there were 15 pumps with #2 fuel, and 1 with winter blend. Lady at the counter couldn’t believe that I actually wanted to buy winter blend fuel... “Lady, I am headed to Fargo”.



Understanding Cloud Point and CFPP (cold filter plugging point)


Cloud point
All fuels must be blended 5-10 degrees above cloud (fuel temp not air temp)
Significant variation between fuels
Typical #2 cloud pt – 6 – 14 degrees F
Use pipeline spec as baseline

CFPP
Usually within a degree or two of cloud point in an unadditized fuel


Winter Fuel Blend Chart
#2 Diesel Fuel, Ruby Fieldmaster™ & Cenex Roadmaster XL™

Product CFPP* w/o Cold Flow Additive CFPP* With Cold Flow Additive
100% X or D grade +10°F -3°F
90% X or D + 10% #1 +7°F -6°F
80% X or D + 20% #1 +4°F -9°F
70% X or D + 30% #1 +1°F -12°F
60% X or D + 40% #1 -2°F -15°F
50% X or D + 50% #1 -5°F -18°F
40% X or D + 60% #1 -8°F -21°F
30% X or D + 70% #1 -11°F -24°F
20% X or D + 80% #1 -14°F -27°F


Note: This chart is for guideline purposes only. Diesel fuel low temperature characteristics may vary substantially from one source to another and this chart assumes the product meets typical specifications.
*CFPP (Cold Filter Plugging Point) is the temperature at which wax crystals will plug a fuel filter.

WINTER BLENDING WITH BIODIESEL
• Blending of neat biodiesel (B100) with petroleum diesel should occur when both product are 40 degrees F or above.
• Low blends (B2 or B5) typically have very similar (within 0 to 5 degrees) Cloud Point and CFPP characteristics to conventional diesel products and can be treated in a similar fashion #1 blends, Winter Aid III additives, or both.
• Animal fat or higher level soy blends may increase the CFPP of the fuel as much as 5 degrees for every 10% of B100 used.

Impact of #1 Fuel

#1 fuel typically has a very low cloud point
(-40 to -70F)

#1 blended with #2
reduces the cloud point and CFPP of the blend

“Rule of Thumb”
Adding 10%-#1 will decrease the cloud point by approximately 2 degrees

#1 when blended with 5% or greater with biodiesel will have a negative effect on the cloud point

Thanks for posting that. I was going to dig my chart out, and you saved me the trouble. A small amount of #1 will do almost nothing but decrease your mileage, as indicated by the chart.

I personally use Power Service, but I don't know of anyone who has gelled using Howes either. I also don't trust anyones "winter blend" but my own. #1 is quite a but more expensive than #2, so stations don't like to use it if they don't have to.

I hauled the stuff for 17 years, and still have a diesel pickup.