My "almost" fuel gel story

[JLEONARD]

It was early monday morning, 5:30, on my way to the airport to catch a flight (to Atlanta). Truck was plugged in, and air temp was -6 F. Started fine, drove 1/2 mile and let the truck idle while I went in and picked up a DD coffee for the 45 minute ride. About 5 minutes later as I was on a desolate back road, down in a little valley (temp was probably -10 F there), I decided the time was right to play with the little plastic flap on the coffee to open up the sippy hole so I could enjoy my morning beverage.

After about 8 tries I finally got the flap to lock open, and then I noticed... hey I'm no going very fast any more. WTF? I was going up a big hill and had to drop into 4th, then 3rd, now I'm giving it all she's got and I'm barely moving in 2nd. Only a couple psi boost, maybe 550 F on the pyro.

I'm thinking my fuel is surely gelled up... but come on... I'm using anti-gel additive... . keep running... .

Finally made it to the top of the hill and I picked up speed... was able to get into 5th gear... then I layed on the go pedal... got about 15 psi boost was all.

Another 1/2 mile or so and I tried it again. . presto 30 + psi again.

I'm guess I was right on that hairy edge where my fuel just started to gel when I was in that cold pocket, and it "thawed out" when I crested the hill and gained a couple of degrees.

Darn... that was close. Guess I'd better change additives.

Jay

 

[Greenleaf]

Welcome Back Bud!

Happy to see you are back! My fingers are tired from having to answere all the questions here the last four/five days. Your turn.



I hope you can get everyone straightened out :-laf



-S

 

[DKasper]

Congratulations, Jay, on NOT having to become an expert at sub-zero fuel filter changes!



After 8 years of driving diesel vehicles, I had my first gelling experience 2 days before Christmas -- I filled up at a new station and didn't think to ask if they were blending their fuel. They weren't and at -5, it didn't take long before things waxed up. Over the course of the next couple of days, I tried a couple of different additives, including one from CarQuest that was actually gelled up after sitting outside all night at -10. I'm thinking if the additive in the bottle gels up, it's not going to do a lot of good in your tank!



Finally it warmed up to 32 degrees on Christmas day and things thawed out. Since then I've kept things treated with Stanadyne and haven't had any trouble.



Glad you escaped unscathed!





Dave

 

[JLEONARD]

Congratulations, Jay, on NOT having to become an expert at sub-zero fuel filter changes!

Thanks Dave... it would have been a call to AAA... that would have required a knock on a stranger's door at 5:30 am ... but I might have tried ******* (excuse me, urinating) on the filter to warm it up first :-laf rather than faceing a possible 12 ga pointed at me.



Greenleaf... I won't even ... never mind



Jay

 

[tugboatphil]

I decided the time was right to play with the little plastic flap on the coffee to open up the sippy hole so I could enjoy my morning beverage.

Jay,



From my days driving a big truck; take your pocket knife (they do let you all carry them, don't they?) and cut a small "x" in the plastic top, without doing anything to the flap. Insert a drinking straw into the cup and drink to your heart's content without worrying about spillage or blisters on the roof of your mouth. It takes some getting used to, but I've done it so long now it seems normal.



By the way, when you're on these "business" trips, do you send cartoons and jokes to the people back at your office?

 

[Ncostello]

I'm not 100% certain on this... but additives usually need to be mixed with the diesel to function properly, ie: so it don't freeze up. Kinda like ethylene glycol antifreeze. Antifreeze by itself will freeze up before a 50/50 mix will. From chemistry class... I believe the mixed freezing point of two liquids are lower than each respective one.



Anyway... forget chemistry! I did a mason jar test using Stanadyne Performance Formula last year. I've been using it for nearly 10 years and never had any problems with the truck I used it in. I took a jar of pump diesel and set it outside on a -13 night. The next morning it had went from a clear golden color to a very cloudy yellow look. Kinda looked like half frozen mountain dew. You could see the clumps of wax or whatever it was and it was very thick.



I then added several drops of PF and mixed it well. It quickly went clear again and the color returned to almost its original golden look. Nonetheless the was crystals were totally gone and it became more "liquid".



Not very scientific but the point was well taken. Just as a note, I do know Stanadyne will almost freeze up at 0. So mix it before it freezes up itself. You can't keep a bottle in the truck for long periods for use later because of this.



Other brands may function the same. I've never tried anything else.

 

[JLEONARD]

Neil, What you say was also discussed in another thread here last year I believe.

But a question to you since you've thought this thru pretty well... ... . how critical is the amount of anti-gel? In other words was my problem caused because I don't measure very precisely? I just dump in a guesstimated few ounces before every fill-up.

Jay

 

[Ncostello]

I always added the amount according to the side of the Stanadyne bottle. I believe 1 bottle is good for 60 gallons. So 1/4 bottle = 15 gallons etc. The bottle has a clear window for measuring. I assumed a 30 gallon fuel tank although the actual was 34 gallons. One can never get a full 34 gallon fillup. Stanadyne said it doesen't hurt to overconcentrate... but would waste money if done excessively. I basically filled up at 1/2 or 1/4 tank levels to make the measuring easy.



Once in a while I'd run a tank with no additive... weather permitting. This would help bring me back to a fresh starting point in case I'd overconcentrated a little.



I tried to stick close the the recommendations... but I doubt its super critical to be exact. If anything I did so to prevent wasteful use.



As a side note... when I did the jar test I also drained about 8 oz out of the filter on the truck. It too looked perfectly fine on the -13 night.

 

[BHiggins]

Howes Anti-Gel

I've never tried the Stanydyne additive, I've been using Howes "Diesel Treat" for ten years. I've never had a gelling problem in all those years. Howes guarantees no gelling or they pay the tow. www.howeslube.com As stated before, NEVER add gasoline to your fuel.

 

[BHiggins]

Oops

Sorry, that "never add gas" comment was for a different thread.

 

[bflood]

fuel gelling

Jay, I recently had a fuel gel problem but I solved it by moving south.



It was the day before I headed out for my last move load to NC from CT. Temperature was about 4degF. I had my borrowed 20' box trailer hooked up and backed to the garage. Had to add an extension cord and accidently plugged in the wrong cord to the outlet and therefore - no block heater!



Next morning I cranked her to warm her up for the trip. I was surprised how long the heaters were on but didn't figure it out yet. She started, unhappily and rough, ran for 30 sec+/- and died. I got suspicious and discovered the unplugged block heater. :{ . There goes my 6:30am start.



I hooked up my trusty heat gun and pointed at the fuel filter and pump. Took me a couple of tries because the battery was almost dead so I had to jump her with the wife's Pontiac (did I do a blasphemy here?). Anyway, it worked, she refired and kept running. Didn't have to change the filter. Oo.



Gotta love that Heat Gun Oo.

 

[JLEONARD]

I solved it by moving south

Gotta rub that in eh Bruce??

Glad ya got everything moved... finally.

Jay

 

[vssman]

... About 5 minutes later as I was on a desolate back road, down in a little valley (temp was probably -10 F there)...

They don't call it Burrville for nothin'



Urinating on the filter eh? It was -10 you know... .

 

[Don in Missouri]

30 psi?



I bought my truck in September. I've never seen the gage go over 15 psi. It is pretty much stock except for the 16cm turbo. The gage is kind of home made.



I need an education in boost.