Fuel additives

[JR]

I'd say you got lucky Nick. My wifes car gelled up on her less than a month ago, not only is the filter heated it's also in the engine bay rather than under the vehicle. She forgot to fill up before leaving home and filled up at some unfamiliar station. The tank at home gets dosed with antigel before it gets filled, she did not do the same.

I think sitting in a non heated car in a parking lot for 1.5 hours in below zero weather jogged her memory as to why I preach filling up BEFORE she leaves the house

 

[Dan_69GTX]

OOOHHHH I bet you were not happy either, cause when Momma ain't happy..........

 

[NIsaacs]

JR, out of curiosity, does your state offer more than one fuel choice at the pump? In Arizona there is only one. A lot of states offer as many as 4, #1, #2, blended and a performance blend.

When my son first moved to Colorado after being stationed for years in the southern states, he always filled with #2, until the first cold spell. After several hours under his truck he learned

Yes, we were lucky. I borrowed some drop cords, plugged in the truck then went back in the warm room for about 3 hours.

 

[JR]

I wish they did offer #1 here. Unfortunately it's all treated #2, and alot of it is B5, B10, some B20. The place I buy fuel from is one of the last holdouts at B2. I'm ok with that. I grew up in Wyoming where #1 is prevalent, biodiesel and ULSD was not thought of at that point. There was almost never any fuel related problems in the winter.
It seems as though they (state of Ohio) may be wisening up, all govt vehicles was mandatory B20 fuel year round, after about 10 years of fuel quality problems and increased maintenance they finally abolished the law. I see ALOT less B20 here the last few years. Im sure alot has to do with the low price of oil.

 

[GAmes]

When I'm in Oregon I seek out the B20. It is significantly lower in cost than the mandated B2 (or3) sold there. That cost difference is my tax money from subsidies and I like getting some of it back. Mileage is a bit lower but enough to measure. Cost per mile is less, and that is my goal.

 

[NIsaacs]

I wish they did offer #1 here. Unfortunately it's all treated #2, and alot of it is B5, B10, some B20. The place I buy fuel from is one of the last holdouts at B2. I'm ok with that. I grew up in Wyoming where #1 is prevalent, biodiesel and ULSD was not thought of at that point. There was almost never any fuel related problems in the winter.
It seems as though they (state of Ohio) may be wisening up, all govt vehicles was mandatory B20 fuel year round, after about 10 years of fuel quality problems and increased maintenance they finally abolished the law. I see ALOT less B20 here the last few years. Im sure alot has to do with the low price of oil.

I guess I am still living in the dark ages, all skinny and happy, lol I don't have a clue what all the B# mean. When I lived in Montana 42 years ago, we didn't have fuel issues. Now propane was another story. The regulators would freeze at the tank on real cold nights and you would wake up to a cold house. Even with alcohol mixed in the tanks. A little hot water on the regulator then you could start the furnace again. I remember a lot of -40* nights there...they can sell it to Canada if they want

 

[Shiner]

I guess I am still living in the dark ages, all skinny and happy, lol I don't have a clue what all the B# mean. When I lived in Montana 42 years ago, we didn't have fuel issues. Now propane was another story. The regulators would freeze at the tank on real cold nights and you would wake up to a cold house. Even with alcohol mixed in the tanks. A little hot water on the regulator then you could start the furnace again. I remember a lot of -40* nights there...they can sell it to Canada if they want

I used to run the bio blends in company trucks, but refuse to use it in my vehicles. After a discussion, with my nephew(chemical engineer at a bio-diesel plant), about bio-diesel and how it's made and from what, I made the decision to avoid like the plaque. I have never experienced any downsides personally, but better safe than sorry. #2 and winter blended, B5,B20, around here. Just my $0.02.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Like GAmes, When I could get B20 delivered to my large tank, it was subsidized and cheaper per MPG. I ran it and my wife liked the smell. When it went up in price I went back to just diesel.

A guy at work who is very "green" went 100 bio and had nothing but problems. Found out he got it from a friend who made his own. When the guy at worked moved, I bought his tank, pump, filters, etc. Most of the stuff was caked with residue - YUCK! I ended up scrapping most piping, tank, etc. I still made out good because of the price and have/use the pump, housing, meter, etc.

The left over biodiesel I have in a 5 gal can. I keep a gal on the front of the camper. Use it to start camp fires. If it spills on the ground, who cares.

 

[Shiner]

Agreed. It does smell better.

 

[Newsa]

One of my coldest felt days was in Amarillo in late fall. I was hauling 2 loads of horse trailers from Madill, OK with my '91 Dodge and the Ford. We spent the night there after several days of rainy travel and woke up to 2" of snow and 0*, my Ford gelled in the parking lot but the Dodge with the fuel heater was fine. Drive careful, Colorado will be cold this weekend, after some 60's.

But i was told the fuel heater doesn't operate until the engine is started. So the heater in the fuel filter on those. -10 F to - 30 F days will take awhile to heat up. I really used the antigel as a precaution. Momma was happy we didn't get stranded. Or stuck in Illinois when she was ready to get out of that minus 20 degree F weather!!!÷

 

[Newsa]

Actually, it was so cold we had ice on the inside of our window as we were driving until the engine warmed a bit. Took awhile because i didn't want to invest in a winter front and my wife didn't want the unattractive cardboard i wanted to strap onto the grill. Guess i could have strapped it on the inside of the grill. But i wanted to keep an eye on it in case it started coming loose

 

[JR]

If you guys remember, biodiesel really took off when oil was $150+ a barrel. Last I saw it was around $50. I don't track it closely so it could well be + or - several dollars. Bio fuels (diesel and gas) were both cheaper then. Now that oil is manageable again it is cheaper to produce than bio fuels. The only reason bio plants are still open is because the govt refuses to let it fail, but if oil stays cheap i don't see it being sustainable forever.

This is the trend I was talking about above. When they say there is only 7 bio station in the state they are referring to B100.


https://www.wyso.org/post/ohio-tran...s-alternative-fuel-requirement-state-vehicles
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdige...s-dot-alternative-fuel-mandate-in-new-budget/