I was talking to a truck driver who was delivering fuel to a Murphy station the other day. I asked him about fuel gelling and what he uses to keep his fuel from gelling up in the winter. He said he doesn't ever add anything to his truck tanks, he just fills up at stations that don't use soy in their diesel blends. So, I guess I am asking you guys what fuel companies don't use soy in their diesel blends? I live in central Illinois and we have Shell, Circle K, Marathon, Love's truck stop, Amoco, and a few others I suppose. This is my first winter with a diesel and I am trying to avoid any issues if I can keep from it.
biodiesel should be marked. Most stations in cold climates will have winter diesel (#1) when it gets cold out, and you will have a harder time finding #2
What the driver is saying, is he fills up at almost any pump that is not marked #2 or biodiesel.
If you want to be safe, add a little diesel kleen in the white bottle with each fill up.
Ha I use the same additive which seems to work great! As for fill stations I usually try to hit the more busy ones as there fuel is turned over quicker and not sitting there collecting water.
I think every pump in my town is marked with that biodiesel sticker. "May contain 5-20%Biodiesel". I just would like to know if any company specifically does not put it in or which ones put the least amount in.
Based on your climate they are required to provide lower clout (gell) point based upon the season. With bio diesel you can not get lower than -15 C and around my area -40 clout point is what is provided in January.
There are new bio additives that should eliminate this, but they won't be ready for a couple years. HRO is one of them if you want to do a search.
Not only should you avoid biodiesel in the winter you want to avoid switching back and forth between biodiesel and non biodiesel fuels as that situation creates the most problems.
This is from the Duramax owners guide:
"Biodiesel gels sooner than conventional diesel fuel at cold temperature, and biodiesel fuel requires proper blending for winter time operation. Fuels improperly blended for cold temperature operation may result in restricted fuel filters and degraded vehicle performance.
Your vehicle is equipped with a fuel heating system to provide a level of protection against filter plugging from gelling (waxing) of conventional diesel fuel and biodiesel blends. However, the system will not prevent all cases of plugged filters if the operating temperature is far below the temperature at which gelling or waxing of the fuel occurs (cloud point). Use of biodiesel blends greater than B5 (5% blend) should be avoided in cold temperatures.
Vehicles operated for extended periods of time on conventional diesel fuel and then switched to biodiesel blends may experience premature fuel filter clogging and require more frequent fuel filter service."
I switch from b100 to regular diesel all the time with no problems at all. Change fuel filters every 8 to 10 thousand miles. The place I get the bio from cuts their fleet to b50 and uses an anti gel treatment for the winter. I think treating your fuel and changing your filters is the best way to avoid problems.
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