Winter Diesel additive gelling test

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I bought some diesel fuel a while back in El Paso specifically to bring home and do some winter fuel additive testing. My thought is to fill new clean Mason jars with the fuel, 5 of them with untreated fuel, 1 each with the prescribed dose of additive from Howes, Power Service and, Stanadyne. I would use
 
Stupid phone! I would use the untreaded jars to test what happens to the fuel if you add the additive after gelling occurs...use 1 to show what an emergency additive does (PS 911) and leave one as a control un touched. I realize it isnt scientific but thought it might be fun.

Thoughts?
 
Just buy your fuel from a reputable semi place, I do this and never have gelled. no addy.
On the road if you have no choice then get any of them. tractor place sells one, I bought, it was rated high, can't recall the name now.
 
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Originally Posted By: stockrex
Just buy your fuel from a reputable semi place, I do this and never have gelled. no addy.
On the road if you have no choice then get any of them. tractor place sells one, I bought, it was rated high, can't recall the name now.


Usually, Powerservice DFS, Stanadyne, etc also includes cleaners and cetane enhancers to the mix, leaving little room for anti-gel.
 
I've never had a problem on road either...and only use an additive if I buy fuel down south and know I'm heading north into MUCH colder weather. The idea is just a fun test to see them work.
 
Drop 1 quart of methanol for every 10-15 gallons of diesel and you will never have any gelling problems.
 
Originally Posted By: Andy636
Drop 1 quart of methanol for every 10-15 gallons of diesel and you will never have any gelling problems.


No gelling problems...but now you have something in your fuel that emulsifies water into the fuel. I'd rather have a proper demulsifier (if needed) that helps the water fall out so it can be collected in the fuel/water separator before it gets to my expensive common rail type injectors.
 
Ask your fuel supplier when they have (or will) switch to winter formula. That works most of the time.

However there is a state that is near freezing (0C 32F) where diesel fuel issues are prevalent. It's not a temperature-gelling condition, it's more moisture related. That's when you need the aftermarket additives.
 
Hoe will you simulate gelling?

Most chest freezers don't get much colder than 0*F... and I don't think any diesel gels at that temp.
 
My hope is...because the fuel was purchased from someplace where it doesn't get cold (El Paso TX)..and was purchased in the warmer months..that it has not been blended in any way with anything to prevent gelling. I'm going to rely on good old fashioned Canadian cold weather to hopefully push it past its gel point. One of the other reasons I want to do this is to see if it does indeed gel up. Much like the hysteria that can surround motor oils, there are many that believe that gelling up is a HUGE problem and buying fuel even a few hundred miles south of where you will end up is dangerous. I don't believe that level of hype, in fact, I think a lot of times gelling up is actually other fuel system issues..like water that freezes.

So basically this test will be a very extreme set of circumstances..summer fuel blend from a very hot locale...transported to deep winter. In real life would this ever happen...highly doubtful. I just want to see what happens to the original fuel and what some of the popular additives do to it. I will say this..when I was pouring it out into the storage tank it was about 40F..and it poured like a very thin hydraulic oil...not like fuel..so hopefully it will work for the test.

And again...I DON'T have a gelling problem...it's just something I'm going to do for fun.
 
No harm in experimenting. I would be more interested in how they perform with a known quantity of water in them, but I don't know how much would be needed or how to go about it.

Howes and Power Service have never let me down in any way, but in the early 2000s I tried FPPF Polar Power and sheesh....plugged fuel filters over and over. The fuel never gelled, but ice crystals were a problem after every cold weather shut down. I would park for 8-12 hours (engine off), and within a few miles of driving I was stopped to change the fuel filter. After that one filter change, I was good to go until the next day. Changing the fuel filter was fairly quick and easy on an N14 Cummins but still not my idea of a good time. Howes and Power Service have never put me through that, no matter how cold or where I bought my fuel.

I don't mess around with winter. I make the assumption that any fuel I buy could be carrying excessive water (it seems almost certain in Houston) and I treat my fuel appropriately, but not excessively. I don't put all my trust in the fuel tanker driver putting in additives or the quality of what they do put in. There's too much at stake.
 
Originally Posted By: PiperOne
Originally Posted By: Andy636
Drop 1 quart of methanol for every 10-15 gallons of diesel and you will never have any gelling problems.


No gelling problems...but now you have something in your fuel that emulsifies water into the fuel. I'd rather have a proper demulsifier (if needed) that helps the water fall out so it can be collected in the fuel/water separator before it gets to my expensive common rail type injectors.


I'm the kind of person that likes a large amount of data to make decisions. That in mind, I've actually called PowerService and Howes about this (Stanadyne never returned my calls).

I did also find this link.
http://www.ezoil.com/resources-diesel-fuel-additives-emulsification-vs.-demulsification
What I like about this link is that, even though it's part of a product sales site, they given a very even and broad answer to the question about emulsification/demulsification. Just like everything else in life, there is no "best". There are pros/cons to both emulsification and demulsification additives and processes. There is no "best" answer for all applications regarding removing moisture; you need to assess the conditions of fuel, and operation, storage, etc.

After speaking with a chemical engineer at PowerService, I've decided that it's not worth worrying about. The big three (PowerService, Howes and Stanadyne) all make good products that are tailored to specific conditions. The better you research your application and define your conditions, the easier you'll find a product that will work for your concerns. I used to believe that demulsification was the only answer to all things; now I realize that's not true at all, and there are challenges with demulsification I was not aware of until I researched it.


Funny thing is that anti-gel additives in diesel supplements don't assure a final value of "x" degrees of anti-gel performance. What they do is "add" to the value of the fuel already being used. Example:
Say you choose Stanadyne and their product offers a 25 degree improvement in cloud-point. What that means is that whatever fuel cloud point exists, it will improve by 25 degrees. If your chosen fuel source clouds at 20F degrees, the additive will improve it to -5F. If your fuel is only good to 50F degrees at cloud point, it will only drop to +25F deg with the additive. Starting with winterized fuels helps the additive product take your cloud point deeper into the cold range. (note: cloud point, plug point, etc are terms for the same conditions). The anti-gel additives suppress the cloud points by a magnitude of improvement, not final value. If you read the marketing info closely for these products, you can even see they call them "improvements" and not stagnant "values". Also, these improvements are based upon proper use of ratio; more or less product in mix will alter this CPP ratio.

Some of the products are what I'd call "full service" additives; they address not only gelling of fuel, but have additives for lubricity, cleaners, anti-foam agents, cetane, etc. Other products are only specific to one or two tasks. You need to carefully research the choices from each brand to know what you're getting.
Example: the "silver bottle" (Diesel Kleen) from PowerService is similar to their "white bottle" (Diesel Fuel Supplement) in terms of addressing lubricity, cleaners, etc, except that the white bottle has the addition of an anti-gel additive. That anti-gel additive takes up space in the formulation; leaves less room of other things by volume and solubility. Therefore the "silver bottle" can hold more cetane improver and detergent, because it has zero anti-gel in it. The white bottle has less cetane improver because it has the added benefit of anti-gel. IOW - the more you tasks you assign to the product, the more of a compromise it becomes.
Example: Stanadyne has a "full service" product called "Performance Formula". But they also offer stuff that addresses singular things as well.
And again, "full service" products are a nice compromise, but they don't do anything "best". They are a good jack-of-all-trades-and-master-of-none approach.


Caveat Emptor!

.
 
"Test" is done, I will post a thread very soon.

I did want to comment on dnewton3's post. The ez oil link was an interesting read...but, as noted, it is marketing for a product THEY sell. I do know this....the engine OE's and folks that make the fuel injectors....seem to prefer de-mulsifiers by a pretty good count (eg. GM specifically says no emulsifiers for the Duramax). I would have no issue running an emulsifier in an older IDI or other lower pressure old style system that (usually) has pretty cheap injectors.

I will also add...I don't regularly use additives...and in many years and millions of miles I've never had fuel system issues. I gelled up once because I had B100 in the tank and we had a sudden cold snap. A 10% kerosene solution got the truck running.

I carry an antigel in the trucks and it gets used if more southern latitude fuels have to travel north into much colder weather.


Caveat Emptor indeed!!
 
That link I provided is not really sales marketing from E-Zoil; not that I can tell. I think it is a copy/paste on their site from another source; they credit the paper (and others) at the bottom of the link, but I could not get the page to open for that particular paper.

I like the link simply because it seems to have a "pros/cons" approach and not a "this is great and everything else you'll ever buy from someone else is horrid ...." approach. The info does not push anything as right or wrong, but shows how/why certain conditions may benefit from different approaches. It seems far more honest than typical marketing hype, if you ask me.
 
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These anti-gelling additives can also be helpful for those of us that live in cold climates and heat our house with home heating oil. Home heating oil is very similar to #2 diesel but slightly less refined and contains less additives. Many of us have our oil tanks stored outside where the fuel oil can gel up just like diesel fuel. Many of the diesel anti-gelling or cold weather additives can be used in fuel oil to prevent gel up or other problems with your furnace system.

When I first learned about K100 fuel treatment, I found out that it is safe for use in oil fired furnaces so I decided to try it out. I have used K100D in my fuel oil a few times now and it seems to work. I have never had a freeze up and my fuel filters look horrible when I change them now. Before I started using K100, the filter elements always looked fine. The K100 definitely does seem to break down the sludge and grime in the tank. I am having my furnace cleaned in a few weeks. It will be interesting to see what it looks like on the inside now, compared to before I ever used the K100.

Anyways, I just thought I would throw that out there. And of course, always check with the additive manufacturer to make sure it is safe for use in oil fired furnaces before you try them out.
 
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