Howes additive and the 2010 Cummins

[larryq]

As the weather gets colder, I bought a case of Howes Additive.

I then realized that this new 2010 has EGR, Particulate filters,ect. . ect



Before adding anything to the tank I want to make sure that this is OK to add to the fuel and won't damage anything.



I can't find anything that says Yes it's ok. . or No it's not.



Thanks!!!



Larry

 

[BIGNASTY]

I have been thinking the same thing it said no additives but the oil companies put additives in their fuel ? But alas I dont have to worry about such things with my 04 but interesting question

 

[gtoli]

Good question, I would like to know as well. I'll check around and post back if I find out.

 

[larryq]

In the FAQ secion of Howes, they say safe for EGR and particulate filters... .



I really wish this didn't come fromthe manufacturer of the Additive... in order for them to Make $$ they need to sell this stuff.



A word from Cummins would be best... secondly Dodge.



Larry

 

[Hoefler]

My dealer says to add nothing, if you do, and have a fuel problem, you could be on your own.

 

[KLauber]

According to Cummins, this engine needs no fuel additives. But if it is really cold, a pour-point additive once in awhile shouldn't hurt. I don't really put anything in mine, we don't get cold enough here in SC.

 

[HBarlow]

Our Dodge owner's manual says no additives needed or wanted (words to that effect. ) Remember, anything you add to the fuel might end up in your dpf and they are not cheap to replace.

 

[KLauber]

Harvey and I both read the owners manual, so no need to add anything unless you have spare cash (or you live in a sub zero environment). Additive manufacturers will disagree of course.

 

[Jim W]

Well gentlemen what do you say about this additive.

Cummins Every Time - Off-Highway - Tier 4 Off-Highway - Tier 4 Fuel Duel

This is from the Cummins home page and is advertised by Cummins.

Jim

 

[HBarlow]

I don't have an answer to your question. The Cummins link you provided deals with a fuel additive used in off road front end loader engines. I have no idea if that engine uses an EGR and DPF like our trucks do or if the same recommendation applies.

If Cummins recommends a fuel additive for our on-road Dodge Ram applications I would trust the product if I had reason to use an additive.

I don't have a need for a fuel additive and never have used one except Power Service anti-gel a few times when operating in cold weather.

I have always used a Transfer Flow 70 gallon transfer tank which allowed me to travel cross country without refueling. The aux tank saved me a lot of money by allowing me to purchase fuel in quantity where fuel or fuel taxes are cheaper but the drawback can be fueling in warm climates where ordinary #2 diesel fuel is sold then traveling into extremely cold climates.

I don't travel as much now that I "retired" from transporting trailers so have never used even an anti-gel in my '08. It does get very cold here once in awhile but my truck is always parked overnight in my insulated barn so I have not needed anti-gel additives.

 

[Jim W]

Harvey,

If the engines for Cummins are advertises as that they are Tier IV compliant. Then they need to use the EGR, NOX,Cat and DPF filters just like the on road engines do.

The EGR is used to help cool the detonation temperatures in the combustion chambers in order to limit the amount of NOX that is produced during the combustion process. Then the Nox and cat filters along with the DPF will eliminate the rest of the pollutants that the EPA required to remove from the exhaust process. The only other item these engines may used would be the Urea to help eliminate pollutants.

Caterpillar was looking at the Urea process but did not want to gamble that there would not be a distribution system in place by 2010 to meet the emissions rules. So they choose to go with off road use only and use the EGR,Nox,Cat and DPF systems. Thes are similar to what we have on the Dodge trucks today.



So yes, you should be able to use the Cummins fuel additive in our 6. 7L engines.



Jim

 

[DBithell]

In the FAQ secion of Howes, they say safe for EGR and particulate filters... .



I really wish this didn't come fromthe manufacturer of the Additive... in order for them to Make $$ they need to sell this stuff.



A word from Cummins would be best... secondly Dodge.



Larry

this is the 4th winter I've been using Howes in my '08

haven't had a geling issue

also use 5-40 synthetic from dec thru mar

think there is some sort of heater in the fuel filter housing but the anti-gel adds piece of mind

 

[Cosmo]

Very good info above on the emissions stuff... .


Now, the downside of that emissions stuff is that the good fuel and oil (ci-4+) is harmful to the emissions equipment.

Cummins (and all other emissions compliant manufacturers) are of course going to say that their products meet the EPA requirements without any additives.

Oil companies all claim that the current CJ-4 oils are much better than the CI-4+ oils they replace.

Are they?

According to the oil comparison that TDR did a while back, the CJ-4 oils were all bottom shelf based on the minerals/chemicals that made the CI-4+ oils great. Are there new chemicals that replace and outperform the old ones? I don't know, but judging by the rest results from TDR's oil testing, I want to run the older oils.

Valvoline seems to be one of the few who still make their CI-4+ oil (Valvoline Blue Premium Classic) and it's not something I've been able to find here in town. The answer is obviously to add those chemicals back into the oil through an additive. Granted, I don't have the DPF/cats to worry about, and I'm not really concerned with my warranty (since I removed the most likely causes of problems), but anyone with a 5. 9 or emission-less 6. 7 should seriously consider it as well.

The fuel side isn't much different - my understanding is that the ultra low sulfur doesn't lubricate nearly as well as the older fuel. Again, how to get the protection back - dump stuff in the tank.

I'm also running over a thousand dollars worth of aftermarket fuel and oil filtration. Why? Because I beat the hell out of it - ~5000 miles of towing a ~15000 pound trailer from one corner of the country to the opposite when I first bought it (at 45k miles) and once a month or so I hook up to a 40k pound sled and yank it around a bit. I want to get 500k+ miles out of it. I'll probably have to put axles under it, driveshafts, maybe a new frame, transfer case, transmission, etc. etc. etc. , but the engine should be golden.

 

[Cosmo]

Oh, and the Howes MSDS doesn't show it's got the DZP that clogs DPFs, so it should be perfectly safe.