Winter Blend Diesel

[MasterChief]

Does anyone know what States carry winter blend diesel and how they decide where to distribute it.

Also, in temps of 30dgs and below will it be harder to start the truck without winter blend?



Thanks

Mike

 

[MickeyMiller]

I spent a couple of winters in Billings, MT and without winter blend there you get gelling/clogged fuel lines. Winter blend is just No. 2 with Kerosene (No. 1) and anti-gell additives added. I have no idea how the distrubution decissions are made. Even with the cold snap in Florida, I can't imagine you would require winter blend.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Regular #2 is good to almost 0*F. Antigel it and it's good way below that.

30* should give no trouble starting with #2.

 

[jelag]

Winter blend is done by area... by the local distributor... . he blends down as bad weather gets near... we always treat our fuel all winter so we won't drive from a warm area (not blended) into a cold front and have problems... .

In Canada under law, all diesel in the winter is blended to something like -40... . it adds to the cost but you don't find gel problems there... .

To give you an example of how cheep the dist. system is we had a fleet here that uses 1500-2000 gal a month and their dist. didn't pay close enough attention when he dropped fuel in their tanks last winter or the year before... . a cold snap blew through and 35 school buses failed to start (not plugged in) or got 10 miles from the bus barn before the fuel stopped... .

Also remember if the dist. blends down 10K gal and drops it in a tank that has 5K left the mixed fuel delivered out the pump might be good to go... . or might gel at a higher temp based on the unblended fuel that was left... in my example 1/3 unblended 2/3 blended... .

I've had one truck (semi) gel on me 12 years ago... and never want to go through with that again... so all our drivers carry our additive and mix when we buy fuel no matter what.....

We use a product that runs about $225 for 10-12 gal... either 2-5's or 2-6's (gal jugs) in a case but 8 oz. treats 100 gal... so its easy to carry and mix... . our trucks get checked each week and our guys carry 3-4 (8 oz. ) bottles... . we add 100 gal fuel (130 gal tanks) and one bottle... real easy... while the engine is running and warm diesel is returning from the engine... .

We had a long talk with our fuel dist. 4-5 years ago... or the first winter after joining the TDR... and I posted several pages of his comments...

One thing he harped on... the guy selling the fuel has no real idea what the fuel in the tank is good for (USA) and its a waste of time to ask... . get good clean fuel at a truck stop where the might drop 20K gal a day and the dist. keeps that fuel up to snuff... . or understand how to add the additive and blend down yourself to be safe... .

Hope this isn't too long and helps.

BTW - it usually takes moving a gelled truck (also called clouding) into a warm bay and getting most of the truck close to 50* to clear this up once the engine stops... . If you were to look at gelled fuel under glass it looks like a cloud floating in the bottle just as it starts to gel... several hours to do it right...

 

[GaryOwen]

ULSD will gel at a higher temperature than LSD fuel. I think it was Chevron that had a report that ULSD gels at about 14 degrees F untreated.



Jelag - what is the name of the additive you are using? Sounds like a good price.



Gary

 

[DonFitzwater]

-54 last year and no gelling. We run #1 here year round in Alaska. I'm not sure if you can even buy #2 here any longer. I really thought I was going to lose mileage but I haven't.

 

[steved]

Most stations are selling additized ULSD... it is not a #1/#2 blend in most cases.

IIRC, any state that sees freezing temps must winterize their fuel (those that don't are FL, south TX, and the south west)... that is an EPA thing if I remember it correctly...

I have never had a problem running fuel from one state to the other, although I did get a batch of ULSD that did wax my filters around 0*F last winter (that was locally). The one station I checked with told me they are protected to -35*F... it is additized #2 ULSD, not a #1/#2 blend.

steved

 

[BillGotthelf]

I know most of the major truck stops in FL sell winterized diesel. Won't look good to head North into colder weather and end up OTS.

 

[steved]

I know most of the major truck stops in FL sell winterized diesel. Won't look good to head North into colder weather and end up OTS.

I'd guess that too... but there has been truck drivers from the south ending up with gelled fuel because they got into the colder north with non-winterized fuel.



steved

 

[BillGotthelf]

Most of the "gas stations" that sell diesel (including WalMart) do not get winterized fuel down here (south Florida) as they believe there drivers are not going anywhere cold. Also sometimes the winterized stuff doesn't get to the truck stops here soon enough or it leaves too early.

 

[RMalone]

Stations in the south shouldn't use the additives or blend (other than dedicated pumps at truck stops), there is no reason to charge the extra $$ to local drivers, be they fuel costs or efficiency costs. Drivers that know they will be headed north should plan on using an additive for gel protection. Just my opinion.

 

[EEdmondson]

Stations in the south shouldn't use the additives or blend (other than dedicated pumps at truck stops), there is no reason to charge the extra $$ to local drivers, be they fuel costs or efficiency costs. Drivers that know they will be headed north should plan on using an additive for gel protection. Just my opinion.

That would mean they would need another tank.

 

[John Boyce]

Where I buy my fuel (Cenex), they tend to carry both #2 and the winterized version (which they call Wintermaster), which is about 10 cents a gallon more ($3. 68 the last time I filled up). I buy the winterized stuff as insurance, though we haven't been very cold here yet this winter (minus 10 has been the coldest so far, and it was in the low 30's today).

 

[RGH43]

My truck sit's a lot (at times 3 or 4 wks) do I need to add something to the fuel so I won't have any problems with moisture etc?

 

[Grizzly]

This has been an excellent and very informative Thread. Excellent post by Jim jelag.

 

[TCDiesel]

Minnesota is 2/3% Bio diesel mandatory ,Flint hills refineries say it is refined to -15 . after that its a disaster. They is No known additive that will make its cloud point lower, The chemist at flint hills instructed Us to absolutely add no additive to fuel refined in MN. their Testing showed that some additive reacted to the fuel and caused it to cloud earlier... also said waist of $$$ and I believe him. .

I was in the Rockies for 3 weeks, MT,WY, ID, I was shock at the stations clerks lack of knowledge of the fuel available, NOT one had the drop sheets which are required by fed law. . I found that in WY,MT that had 50/50 winter Blend calling it clear#2. . Some states Have NO requirements for station owners. So if you are as careful as me check with the Local refiner to find out what is being Produced. .

I try and stay away from #1, I like to Buy clear#2 and Make it good to whatever environment I am driving (In) or Into.

 

[DeezelDood]

I'd like to see definitive info on the fuel additives. I'm running B3 to B5 (splash blend B100) low temps around 20 deg F. Power Service and Stanadyne advertise themselves as Bio compatible. Have done some experimentation and have had no waxing problems using PS white bottle (8 oz per 15 gallons) or Stanadyne PF (4 oz per 15gallons). The PS directions say to use triple dose for blends up to B20. I've been using the PS lately because I can buy it at Walmart but I'm thinking of returning to Stanadyne. Regarding winter blends, I've seen a 0. 5 mpg gallon drop in my fuel economy last 2 months, same trip, always fueling in Dixon CA on my way up to Sierra. I have to believe I'm getting a winter blend which has less BTU per gallon.