Hey guys I run diesel engines all winter no matter what the temp, AND ITS BEEN A COLD WINTER so far!!!! Fuel Gelling is your ultimate worst enemy and if you want to avoid a reeally very large and at time painful chore, oh let me explain further. Picture this, you driving down the highway and its 5 degrees out, it dropped down from 25 overnight, oh well you get on the road and your at about Max Gross and the truck does not seem to be making as much power as your used to?? You keep going but things are getting worse now the truck is actually slowing down? Maybe just keep dropping gears and it will probably clear up and you will be fine, RIGHT? At THIS point YOU are going to learn just how much FUN it is to spend time outside in 5 degre temps and a 25 mph wind up to your elbows in freezing fuel changing fuel filters on your truck OMG you generally will only make this dreadful mistake only ONCE!!!
Fuel Gelling is something that can really only be fully prevented well in advance of it actually starting to happen. The fuel filters on your truck need to be good and clean prior to winter. You need to run fuel that is made for COLD temps, look I know we all hate to run 50/50 mix because its dirty and we burn more of it BUT if thats the difference between keeping going or being in a dead truck along side the road, well only YOU can answer that? You need to stay well ahead of the game. The fellow above if he would have known what was happening at the VERY FIRST sign of losing some power he should have pulled over and dumped half a gallon of 911 treatment into the tank and that would have at least gotten him to a truck stop where he could have added some #1 to his tanks. I live in ND and we have very little BIOFUELS in this state, when the temps are COLD 10 to -20 degrees try to avoid biodiesel whenever possible, it just plain sux in the cold temps and I would bet 3/4 of the tractors you see stopped along the interstate in in cold temps is because they got stung running biodiesel. IF you do have to run this crap in your truck at least double the normal amount of anti-gel you are dumping in your tanks, and more will NOT hurt!
Diesel engines running in the freezing temps in the winter can be a real learning experience, you can make it painful by going into it depending on your IGNORANCE to get you through it, or you can take a little time and learn the proper way to operate your equipment in these adverse conditions and in the you will realize they are not adverse at all!!
Great luck guys and enjoy the winter!
Karl
