I always fuel my diesels at the same Shell/Circle K station in Tampa.
I fueled up for the first time yesterday since the Gulf refineries/pipelines were shut down last week and this is the source of most of our diesel product. Out of caution. I also used my usual ratio of Stanadyne Performance at the recommended 16-oz per 30-gallons.
Fortunately I only filled one of my diesels and it only needed 20 gallons of its 30-gallon tank. Within 4 miles from leaving the station I noticed a "stumble". Within 10 miles the stumble was worse and the truck is making a racket. Acceleration has deteriorated also.
I supplemented with the remaining Stanadyne I had for a total of 32-oz. (Almost 3x the recommended) and performance has improved slightly.
As a precaution I had filled a clear 1-quart bottle with this same fuel at the time of my fill up primarily to check for water.
It has had 24 hours to settle and I don't see any water or contaminants in the sample of diesel. I will drain my fuel bowl filter this morning as a further precaution but I am hoping to avoid draining the tank.
There are really only two possibilities for this, right? Either an insufficient additive package (lubricity improver) at the Refiner or local Terminal or possibly the quality of the refined product itself, for example, low Cetane?
Opinions?
I wish there was a local platform to reach out to other customers to compare their experience but I am not aware of any. The Station manager was polite on the phone but offered no solution.
I fueled up for the first time yesterday since the Gulf refineries/pipelines were shut down last week and this is the source of most of our diesel product. Out of caution. I also used my usual ratio of Stanadyne Performance at the recommended 16-oz per 30-gallons.
Fortunately I only filled one of my diesels and it only needed 20 gallons of its 30-gallon tank. Within 4 miles from leaving the station I noticed a "stumble". Within 10 miles the stumble was worse and the truck is making a racket. Acceleration has deteriorated also.
I supplemented with the remaining Stanadyne I had for a total of 32-oz. (Almost 3x the recommended) and performance has improved slightly.
As a precaution I had filled a clear 1-quart bottle with this same fuel at the time of my fill up primarily to check for water.
It has had 24 hours to settle and I don't see any water or contaminants in the sample of diesel. I will drain my fuel bowl filter this morning as a further precaution but I am hoping to avoid draining the tank.
There are really only two possibilities for this, right? Either an insufficient additive package (lubricity improver) at the Refiner or local Terminal or possibly the quality of the refined product itself, for example, low Cetane?
Opinions?
I wish there was a local platform to reach out to other customers to compare their experience but I am not aware of any. The Station manager was polite on the phone but offered no solution.