-15 for 2 nights (0-ish for highs).... 1/4 PSI lift pump pressure

[JasonCzerak]

ok, so I'm dumb, I should of put some PS (white) in the tank. I had a 1/2 tank and the truck sat all weekend. Plugged in tho.



This morning I'm mostly sure I had the usual 10PSI of low pressure fuel while she idled up for a bit. About half way in I notice, 1/2 psi! and dropping!



4 gas stations (that have diesel) and 2 autoparts stores later I find a 1 quart bottle, dump it in and fill up.



I've personally never seen temps this low. the coldest until this mornings -18 was -12.



I think I've seen signed at the Super America that their diesel is good to -30. Well, apparently that's almost wrong, tho I never stalled, pressure was near zero! I Topped half of a tank of fuel off at a Holiday that I know should be good to -30.



Wow, that would of sucked to have stalled on the way to work.

 

[steved]

ok, so I'm dumb, I should of put some PS (white) in the tank. I had a 1/2 tank and the truck sat all weekend. Plugged in tho.



This morning I'm mostly sure I had the usual 10PSI of low pressure fuel while she idled up for a bit. About half way in I notice, 1/2 psi! and dropping!



4 gas stations (that have diesel) and 2 autoparts stores later I find a 1 quart bottle, dump it in and fill up.



I've personally never seen temps this low. the coldest until this mornings -18 was -12.



I think I've seen signed at the Super America that their diesel is good to -30. Well, apparently that's almost wrong, tho I never stalled, pressure was near zero! I Topped half of a tank of fuel off at a Holiday that I know should be good to -30.



Wow, that would of sucked to have stalled on the way to work.

Several of us have been having issues with the ULSD and gelling/waxing... I personally never had issues before they went to ULSD...



steved

 

[JasonCzerak]

Several of us have been having issues with the ULSD and gelling/waxing... I personally never had issues before they went to ULSD...



steved

I never had a LP pressure gauge prior to ULSD so I dunno.

 

[05mxdiesel]

For future cold weather don't be afraid to carry a fuel filter and some Powerservice 911 in the red bottle. My previous PSD would always seem to gel up (free fuel) so when it started to bog down and almost die I would change the fuel filter, fill up the housing with powerservice and put the rest of the bottle in the tank. I have not had any problems with the cummins the past two years, but I do carry supplies if the inevidable does happen. I just hope my toolbox lock does not freeze up on me like it did over the weekend.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Truck was plugged in since I got home at 10am yesterday so it popped right off. However the FP gauge was extrememly slow to react. I never saw less than 4psi though.



-20 here this morning.



I second the fuel filter and 911 idea. I made it thru this stretch w/o any 911, but I usually have some in the toolbox.

 

[NUKEMAN]

-18 isn't that bad!! We see -30 here pretty often and I haven't had any gelling issues. Remember that it isn't just the ambient temp that will gel your tank, it's also the ultra-cold air passing by as you drive. I have heard many stories of trucks starting just fine, but gelling a mile down the road.

 

[steved]

I second the fuel filter and 911 idea. I made it thru this stretch w/o any 911, but I usually have some in the toolbox.

Yeah, I carry a spare 10 micron filter just in case... running these 1 micron filters is even worse.



I also carry a lot of extra additive.



steved

 

[JasonCzerak]

I heard it was -26 lastnight maybe 30 or so miles north from Minneapolis.



Anywho, found a fuel filter at Pepboys. . the local napa didn't have one.



Is a Puralator going to break things the way a FRAM would for oil?



I've always gotten the fuel filters via Amsoil and change it out when the oil change every 10,000.



when I pulled the filter it was rather bottom heavy. But the fuel was still flowing good out the drain valve. No unusual sludge or anything on the filter or in the bottom of the canister.



closed things up, primmed the fuel system with a few turns of hte key. and the truck fired right up. checked for leaks, none. Low pressure guage still shows 0psi. The Autometer goes negative 2 gauge widths or so and was above that (and that pin). she was dead on 0psi.



Truck runs fine, moved the boxes down to 0/0/ez1 and have no drive ability issues and I've done about 18 miles of city traffic up to 45mph. Based on the fact that other trucks don' t have LP's and that this one shows 0psi, I'll not freak out anymore

 

[steved]

I heard it was -26 lastnight maybe 30 or so miles north from Minneapolis.



Anywho, found a fuel filter at Pepboys. . the local napa didn't have one.



Is a Puralator going to break things the way a FRAM would for oil?



I've always gotten the fuel filters via Amsoil and change it out when the oil change every 10,000.



when I pulled the filter it was rather bottom heavy. But the fuel was still flowing good out the drain valve. No unusual sludge or anything on the filter or in the bottom of the canister.



closed things up, primmed the fuel system with a few turns of hte key. and the truck fired right up. checked for leaks, none. Low pressure guage still shows 0psi. The Autometer goes negative 2 gauge widths or so and was above that (and that pin). she was dead on 0psi.



Truck runs fine, moved the boxes down to 0/0/ez1 and have no drive ability issues and I've done about 18 miles of city traffic up to 45mph. Based on the fact that other trucks don' t have LP's and that this one shows 0psi, I'll not freak out anymore

I ran purolators a lot of miles... I believe their fuel filters are actually made by Fleetguard (reboxed) as they were stamped "stratapore" at one point...



I am going to assume your pump is in the tank?? If your fuel is as "thick" as mine has been, the intank pump probably doesn't have enough ummph to push it... I know it strains my FASS, you can tell by the whine it is working hard... .



steved

 

[JasonCzerak]

I ran purolators a lot of miles... I believe their fuel filters are actually made by Fleetguard (reboxed) as they were stamped "stratapore" at one point...



I am going to assume your pump is in the tank?? If your fuel is as "thick" as mine has been, the intank pump probably doesn't have enough ummph to push it... I know it strains my FASS, you can tell by the whine it is working hard... .



steved

Yep, been moved to the intake pump. Performance wise, short of winter time fuel thickness, that intake pump never gets below 7psi WOT with everything turned up from 0 - 100mph. So, until I get more fuel running, I'm going to leave it alone

 

[NUKEMAN]

I heard it was -26 lastnight maybe 30 or so miles north from Minneapolis.



Anywho, found a fuel filter at Pepboys. . the local napa didn't have one.



Is a Puralator going to break things the way a FRAM would for oil?



I've always gotten the fuel filters via Amsoil and change it out when the oil change every 10,000.



when I pulled the filter it was rather bottom heavy. But the fuel was still flowing good out the drain valve. No unusual sludge or anything on the filter or in the bottom of the canister.



closed things up, primmed the fuel system with a few turns of hte key. and the truck fired right up. checked for leaks, none. Low pressure guage still shows 0psi. The Autometer goes negative 2 gauge widths or so and was above that (and that pin). she was dead on 0psi.



Truck runs fine, moved the boxes down to 0/0/ez1 and have no drive ability issues and I've done about 18 miles of city traffic up to 45mph. Based on the fact that other trucks don' t have LP's and that this one shows 0psi, I'll not freak out anymore

Could be the extreme cold is messing with your gauges too. When it gets stupid cold here (-20 to -30) my RPM gauge sticks at 1500 for brief moments and my fuel gauge shows empty for about 2 miles. Just a thought.

 

[steved]

Could be the extreme cold is messing with your gauges too. When it gets stupid cold here (-20 to -30) my RPM gauge sticks at 1500 for brief moments and my fuel gauge shows empty for about 2 miles. Just a thought.

I have been reading a lot (and really hearing a lot now) about the new ULSD fuel not liking cold... I know my FASS never sounded like it was almost stalled before and each moring it is at or near zero, it is really straining... so far I have not had anything less that 25psi (after that initial morning's filter waxing episode)...



As I stated in another thread, don't be afraid to ask what temperature the station's fuel is protected to... if they want your business, they will find out for you.



steved

 

[JasonCzerak]

Could be the extreme cold is messing with your gauges too. When it gets stupid cold here (-20 to -30) my RPM gauge sticks at 1500 for brief moments and my fuel gauge shows empty for about 2 miles. Just a thought.

That thought did cross my mind.

 

[JasonCzerak]

What kinda strain on the filters does really thick fuel do? especially with you guys with FASSes and what not.

 

[steved]

What kinda strain on the filters does really thick fuel do? especially with you guys with FASSes and what not.

The FASS filters have a crush point well above the max PSI of a FASS... at least the Fass 150/95 and 150/150... I believe the burst psi for a HF6604 is 300 psi and the filter media crush is 80psi. And you got to remember the FASS filters are hydraulic filters which are designed to take more abuse than a typical fuel filter (most fuel systems are not capable of generating pressures anywhere near that of a hydraulic system. I can't speak for the other fuel systems out there...



I believe that these finer filters are what is hurting me... I know a 1 micron filter is not good to run because it will catch more wax (at the cloud point), but I guess it is a wash as a coarser micron filter just prolongs the enevitable. This is something guys (myself included) running these super fine filters got to remember. I know I have talked to truck drivers that would run a 10 micron in the summer and a 30 micron fuel filter in the winter just for that reason...



I'm more concerned about what it is doing to the pumps (strain) than anything...





steved

 

[05mxdiesel]

Jason, it sounds like your fuel pressure guage is not working right. I have a mechanical isspro on mine and has been fine past couple days of 0 degree temps. You got around 20-30* on me counting your wind chills, but my guage is reading a little over 8 at idle and I can pull down to 5 wot running just timing on TST. Also I have my truck in the garage which has been holding around 25*.

 

[JasonCzerak]

Jason, it sounds like your fuel pressure guage is not working right. I have a mechanical isspro on mine and has been fine past couple days of 0 degree temps. You got around 20-30* on me counting your wind chills, but my guage is reading a little over 8 at idle and I can pull down to 5 wot running just timing on TST. Also I have my truck in the garage which has been holding around 25*.

So, the guage? or the sending unit? -2 out side all night with block heater + snow. . I saw 1/4 PSI.



It's going to warm up later in the week.



How quickly does the "thick" fuel become "thin"? it's been near 0 many times, and it's only bee -2 as the low lastnight, is that enough heat to thin things up?

 

[steved]

Jason, it sounds like your fuel pressure guage is not working right. I have a mechanical isspro on mine and has been fine past couple days of 0 degree temps. You got around 20-30* on me counting your wind chills, but my guage is reading a little over 8 at idle and I can pull down to 5 wot running just timing on TST. Also I have my truck in the garage which has been holding around 25*.

While I agree this might be an occurance... this fuel pressure trend is also fuel related IN MOST CASES (I figured I would qualify that since he very well could have a guage problem).



I'm running Sheetz and BP fuel right now and even at temps near zero, the pump sounds normal and I have no problems with pressure... but the tank of Shell I had before that (these stations are within 0. 5 miles of each other) dropped my pressure below 6psi and the fuel pump was straining to push it...



While we might have a bad guage here, don't rule out the possibility that the fuel could be the issue and not the guage. I would hate to see someone stranded because of fuel...



steved

 

[05mxdiesel]

While I agree this might be an occurance... this fuel pressure trend is also fuel related IN MOST CASES (I figured I would qualify that since he very well could have a guage problem).



I'm running Sheetz and BP fuel right now and even at temps near zero, the pump sounds normal and I have no problems with pressure... but the tank of Shell I had before that (these stations are within 0. 5 miles of each other) dropped my pressure below 6psi and the fuel pump was straining to push it...



While we might have a bad guage here, don't rule out the possibility that the fuel could be the issue and not the guage. I would hate to see someone stranded because of fuel...



steved

Well now I be the one on here tommorrow complaing about gelled fuel and low fuel pressure. I agree, but how could his fp guage read zero?

 

[steved]

Well now I be the one on here tommorrow complaing about gelled fuel and low fuel pressure. I agree, but how could his fp guage read zero?

If the pump is not keeping up to the demands of the CP3's internal lift pump, he could actually see a vacuum on the line...



These intank pumps were designed with gasoline in mind I'm sure. They were most likely never expected to pump a much more viscous material like diesel fuel, let alone diesel fuel nearing it's gel point...



And based on what I am seeing with my FASS, the intank pump would most likely stall trying to push that cold viscous fluid through the filter... think about all the more pressure/volume the intank pump produces with warm fluid, then thicken the fluid considerably...





steved