Questions About Winter Diesel Fuel

[RaymondSmith]

Hi,



Being that this is my first winter with a diesel truck I have a few fuel questions. Here goes.



How do you know if a station is carrying a winter blend of fuel or not?



Is it labeled on the pump or something?



What temperature is normal diesel good down to?



Thanks in advance!

 

[Nightram]

I have to say, these are good questions. I feel the same, it is my first winter with the CTD, so I want to make sure I get this right :-laf :-laf

 

[rbattelle]

I'm not sure how they notify the public at the pump that the fuel is winterized (more commonly referred to as "blended"). But it's my understanding that as you move North the fuel stations automatically blend the fuel to prevent cold weather problems. If you refuel at truck stops you should never have any cold-related trouble with your fuel.



If you're really worried about it, though, you could consider an additive which would allow you to ensure the fuel you're using won't gel up on you.



Don't sweat it too much... millions of diesel owners every year manage to get through winter with no gelling problems without even thinking about it.



-Ryan

 

[RaymondSmith]

Thanks for the reply Ryan. I should have been a little more clear in my post. The reason that I was asking for this information is because I’m actually trying to avoid the winter blend diesel due to the fuel economy penalty. I filled up at the Flying J a couple of weeks ago and lost 1. 5 MPG on that tank. I have a hunch that it might have been winter blend. The next tank was from a neighborhood 76 station and my MPG came back. I currently run Power Service in the silver bottle in every tank and will switching over to the white bottle which has anti-gel properties if it looks like we are going to be in for a cold snap.



Ray

 

[EEdmondson]

What if I fill up in the SF Bay Area and drive to Tahoe where there are freezing temps? There is no way of knowing if they sell winterized #2 in the bay area. To play it safe , I usually fill up when I get to Tahoe (and pay the price) or use an additive.

 

[klenger]

You can tell when you are running winter fuel because your milage goes down 1-2 MPG.



I suspect that winter fuel is sold all over the country, including the south, at least at the truck stops because with the range of many vehicles, they can't tell where the trucks may be heading. Even though it rarely freezes here in Tucson, I can be into winter weather with less than 1/2 tank of fuel used.

 

[GFrance]

You can tell when you are running winter fuel because your milage goes down 1-2 MPG.



I suspect that winter fuel is sold all over the country, including the south, at least at the truck stops because with the range of many vehicles, they can't tell where the trucks may be heading. Even though it rarely freezes here in Tucson, I can be into winter weather with less than 1/2 tank of fuel used.

Ken that isn't so. We blend winter diesel only for the areas that need it. For instance if you were to fill up at the Pilot truck stop here in the valley it wouldn't be winterized. But if you went over the pass to Bend Or. & stoped at a truck stop there it would be. We havn't even seen the guys on the other side of the mountain that haul fuel off the pipeline I load at start winterizing yet. Last time I checked we didn't even have #1 available at the loading rack yet. Pipeline operator said it should be comming in sometime in Nov. The blends differ also depending on how cold the area were it's being delivered.

 

[klenger]

Bad assumption on my part. I guess I could be in trouble if I fueled up here and went up into the mountains in sub-freezing weather. Not likely to happen though.

 

[fkovalski]

Furthermore, could someone comment on what is meant by "#1 diesel" & "#2 diesel"?



I thougt that #1 WAS winterized diesel (am I wrong?)



ALSO- Conoco advertises thier diesel as "Premium Diesel. " Is this for real or is it a marketing gimmick?

 

[WDaniels]

RaymondSmit,

To be honest with you Ray, there in the Seattle, Tacoma area you don't really need to worry about using #1 diesel. It just doesn't get cold enough to. If you are worried tho, use an additive in your fuel to ease your mind about gelling. You can look up additives in the search. I use an additive in my #2 all the way down to 25 to 30 below zero and never have had any problems. Any colder and I use #1 fuel with the additive for lubrication. Up here they have 3 blends. #1, #2 -15 and good ole #2. One of the guys in our TDR clup tried to get #5 to see if it would work in his truck but the refinery just laughed at him.

WD

 

[GFrance]

Furthermore, could someone comment on what is meant by "#1 diesel" & "#2 diesel"?



I thougt that #1 WAS winterized diesel (am I wrong?)



ALSO- Conoco advertises thier diesel as "Premium Diesel. " Is this for real or is it a marketing gimmick?

Try this link http://www.biofuels.coop/archive/Diesel_Fuel_Properties.doc

 

[AGrubbs]

Premium fuel

IF I remember right, I read someplace where there are 5 different catagories that they measure in diesel fuel to be called 'premium'.



1. Cetane rateing

2. lubrication (additive?)

3. Cold clouding point (blend?)

4. cleaning action (additive?)

5. Something else I can't remember right now



To be able to be labled Premium, I read that they have to exceed the standards for 'standard diesel' on only 2 out of the five. . so premium does

not always mean you are getting hi-cetane fuel, or any single 1 of the catagories at all premium distributers...





Around here, stations label the pumps as 70/30 or 50/50 blend, but some still have stocks of D2 all winter. I usually use Howes anti-gel and lubricator all year, for the lube aspect of it, but I increase the dose for anti-gel in the cold months... it don't hurt to be safe. . carry a jug of some kind of anti-gell with you in the winter when you travel so you can be sure. It would sure suck to have to walk 10-20 miles to the next farm place at -20F temps... play it safe!